In what has to be one of the dopiest vampire comedies of them all, Dean Cameron of "Summer School" fame stars as Ralph, a centuries old vampire who doesn't suck blood or shun the daylight or anything like that. He just doesn't die. But he's living with an additional curse: every 22 years, he loses the love of his life, Mona (the adorable Tawny Fere) to a pirate sporting a rhinestone-encrusted peg leg and wielding a hambone. Seriously. This time, he's determined to break the cycle instead of being idle. He has the help of people like Chuck (cult icon Susan Tyrrell, "Forbidden Zone"), the Axman (Bo Diddley), and a barfly (Kevin Hunter), while the death-obsessed creep Stanley (a priceless Thomas Dolby) tries to play Van Helsing.You know with a cast like that - with another music star, Toni Basil, playing Ralphs' mom Phoebe - that this merits a viewing on that basis alone. The material is often unbelievably lame and stupid, yet at the same time it's so utterly goofy that it's hard to resist. It's often styled just like a musical, with people like Cameron, Basil, and Fere belting out numbers; and the songs can be dumb, but like the movie itself, they can be catchy and still inspire some amused chuckles. As a plot point, Ralph and his friends form a band that doesn't adhere to one style - first, they're "Rockula", then they're "Rapula". A recurring gag is to have Ralph play off a mirror image of himself (another cliche of vampire lore is dispensed with here) that regularly goads and mocks him.Co-written and directed by Luca Bercovici ("Ghoulies"), whose brother Hilary composed the score, this does generate some good vibes, punched across by an enthusiastic cast. Cameron is a likeable hero, Fere a sexy and endearing leading lady, and Basil is a hoot as the mom. Other familiar faces like Tony Cox ("Bad Santa"), Rick Zumwalt ("Over the Top"), and Bill Brochtrup ('NYPD Blue') turn up, but it's a crying shame that Diddley doesn't get more interesting things to do.All things considered, "Rockula" has enough quirks to qualify it for some sort of cult status.Six out of 10.

Eh, I'll go with Rockula, though Rapula clearly knows good times when he sees it. Dean Cameron plays a young vampire trying to woo a local pop star so that he can break a 400 year old curse about a peg-legged pirate who wants to beat her with a hambone. Or something. What really matters here is that Toni Basil plays Rockula's vampy mom, Susan Tyrrell and Bo Diddly play his bandmates, and the music is highly amusing. Even though this was released in 1990, it has an 80s vibe through and through, complete with bad song and dance sequences and even a faux music video. Recommended to all fans of rock/horror hybrids, 80s schlock, and inimitable Dean Cameron.

This is quite simply the single most entertaining and enjoyable vampire movie i have ever seen. I mean, REALLY. Toni Basil singing and dancing her little heart out in a fantastic array of bizarre costumes (corset with hula skirt?), Dean Cameron dueling with the reincarnation of a pirate with a rhinestone pegleg over a steaming cryogenic storage chamber? THOMAS DOLBY as a music video producer/coffin salesman who drives what appears to be a replica of the DRAGULA car? SUSAN TYRRELL, excuse me, in cowboy chaps and a funny hat playing the fiddle? BO DIDDLEY (i'm dying here, i really am) in SPANDEX with GOLD RECORDS around his NECK?????? This is as good as it gets, my friend. Whether you're looking for cheesy songs you can more-or-less sing along with by the second replay, snorkeling midgets in bubble baths, or, i'm sorry but i've got to say it again, TONI BASIL IN A CORSET AND A HULA SKIRT, Dean Cameron dressed like Elvis, one-liners a-plenty, intellectual references (what play does Dean Cameron go to see with Tawny Fere? "The Hands of Egon Schiele"????? I'm going to COMBUST, seriously!!!!!!) or love, romance, and "Bat-Dork," this is the ONE, the ONE, THE ONE. Despite-- or perhaps because of-- the fact that this film dates from 1990, it is a concentrated syzygy (the total is greater than the sum of its parts) of everything that was fun and great about 80s film. Surreal, macabre, bizarre, and hilarious, this is a MUST SEE for everyone who thinks fondly of yonder 20th century. Actually, it's just a must-see for everyone. I love this movie so much i actually go into withdrawal if i don't see it at least every six months. Even now, i suffer.

Gleefully cheesy movie that features Toni Basil, Thomas Dolby, Bo Diddley, and the furry eyebrows of Dean Cameron. Centuries-old vampire starts rock band to impress woman and overcome centuries-old curse. Along the way, we're treated to classic vampire rock and rap, a bit of blues, and even some Sheena-Eastonish prancing and pouting by Tawny Fere. Not a great movie by any estimation, but a good party flick.