This straight to video, low-budget follow up to the hip, modern-day "Dracula 2000" continues on from where the last film finished, although it has new characters and story path. In some ways I found it better, even a touch of creativity in its idea. A priest/vampire hunter tracks down the corpse of Dracula to a morgue, but before he can destroy the burnt remains, a coroner and med student steal the body when they are offered money for it. However their own agendas come to the foray when they bring Dracula back to life. Directed by Patrick Lussier, who did "2000" and then the following sequel "Legacy". What he crafts is slick, if on the shallow side but he uses the Romania backdrop to great affect instilling a Gothic ambiance. Most of the moody action takes place in one area, giving a taut strangle-hold as Dracula is kept captive for most part and those around him try to figure out what to do. Interested in his immortality, they try to harness this ability through his blood in the hope it could be a cure for sickness/ or disabilities (in which why Craig Sheffer's character has a special interest) but in doing so they need to take away the evil. Or they would become one of the un- dead. Or maybe the un-dead is tempting? The story is characterised by these traditional character arches to only build up plot twists, especially when plans come crashing down. Now throw in Jason Lee Scott's character, quite ambiguous but edgy and imposing in sight. The sub-plots involving this priest do draw you in, but little is explained. Now the technical side, the stunt work was dazzling (like the opening involving Scott and Jennifer Kroll) and the action was bloody in a relentless charge. It tries to play it for laughs and kicks. Doesn't entirely come off though. The performances are decent. Diane Neal is ravishing, but potent in the lead. Jason London has a twitchy quality, but is likable. Craig Shaffer's portrayal is kind of predictable, where John Light does a better job. As for Dracula, Stephen Billington doesn't get all that much to do but his presence and visual manners acquit themselves well. As for the ending, it sets-up for the next instalment; "Legacy"."Picked a bad day to become a vampire."

Featuring Diane Neal (A.D.A. Casey Novak from "Law & order: Special victims Unit"), this straight to DVD movie has some great special effects, brilliant cinematography, and some true jump-outta-your-skin moments.We jump from an exciting opening scene where Father Uffizi (Jason Scott Lee) beheads a couple of luscious vampires to New Orleans where medical students discover a vampire (Stephen Billington) and bring him back to life, costing the life of Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick. What a shame.This is all about getting Dracula's blood to heal a scientist, Lowell (Craig Sheffer). They need to work fast as the self-flagellating Father Uffizi is on their tail.This was one of Roy Scheider's last films. He only has a cameo, but it is still good to see him.This would have been a much better movie had there been some gratuitous nudity. There were certainly enough times that it would have been appropriate.There was some really good stuff at the end, but I'll leave that for you to see.

this is a sequel to Dracula 2000,but not completely.it's still about Dracula,but it begins shortly after the first one ended.the thing is,***spoiler ahead*** it ignores the ending of 2000.if you paid attention to the very end of that film,you'll realize that the events in this one couldn't happen the way they do.end of spoiler***oh,well,that's life.it still has the same biblical bent to it.but this one lacks many of the things 2000 had.gone is Gerard Butler as the title character,a fairly big loss,in my opinion.this Dracula(the character)is not as compelling,nor did i feel he was seductive or charming.gone is also the visual style of 2000.there's also no macabre humour here.nor is there much action.what is added is some overacting by many of the cast involved.While i don't have anything against Jason Scott Lee,i feel he was trying way too hard to make the character serious.***minor spoiler***oh,and if you're expecting to see Roy Schieder(he is billed as being one of the stars of the movie)then you better not blink,or you'll miss him.overall,this entry is not as fun as Dracula 2000,but i still thought it was OK.For me,Dracula II:Ascension is a 6.6/10

Dracula II: Ascension starts in 'Ostrava, Czech Republic' where Vampire hunter Father Uffizi (Jason Scott Lee) dispatches a couple of Vampire twins (Jennifer Kroll)... Jump forward to 'New Orleans, Two Months Later' where medical student & morgue workers Elizabeth (Diane Neal) & Luke (Jason London) have to autopsy a burned cadaver, however while checking it's teeth Elizabeth's finger is pricked by what looks like a fang. Elizabeth calls her boyfriend the crippled professor Lowell (Craig Sheffer) & they both decide that they may have a Vampire on their hands & the potential knowledge of immortality while Luke just thinks about all the money they can make, together they decide to steal the body & run experiments on it in an attempt to discover the secret of the Vampires regenerative powers & everlasting life...Co-written & directed by Patrick Lussier I expected the worse from this teen orientated Vampire film but surprisingly it's not too bad at all. The script by Lussier & producer Joel Soisson moves along like an absolute rocket & while it's not the most gripping of films I doubt you will have time to get bored. As a Dracula flick it's unusual & there's a bizarre scene at the end where Dracula himself has to count seeds & undo knots before can do anything else which I've personally never heard of before & overall this feels different to most Vampire films. The character's aren't great but they suffice as does the dialogue & there's a couple of twists in there too which may take you by surprise although many may not like it's open ended climax which presumably is carried over into it's follow up Dracula III: Legacy (2005). Overall I was impressed although it has little to do with it's predecessor Dracula 2000 (2000).Director Lussier does a good job & the whole film has a certain style, there's some decent fights & action scenes here too. There's not much here to scare you & it being set in a contemporary American setting does little to create atmosphere. There's some gore, there's a few decapitations & severed heads, there's a couple of badly burned bodies & some blood splatter along with a Vampire who has lost his face.With a supposed budget of about $3,200,000 this is well made & has that Hollywood polish about it. The acting isn't especially great but it's alright.Dracula: Ascension is a decent teen horror flick that I didn't have high hopes for but found myself enjoying a fair bit, I reckon it's worth a watch & if you don't expect too much the chances are you'll like it.