Scott LeBrun 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.

Wizard-8 After producer Menahem Golan left Cannon Films, his cousin and former partner Yoram Globus struggled to keep the company alive, but awful efforts like "Rockula" doomed the company to eventually close its doors. It's a pretty cheap-looking affair, for starters, though I guess its look could have been more tacky by other filmmakers. A bigger problem with the movie is the script. There is not a lot of story here, in part due to the movie having important stuff happen offscreen or explained by characters in awkward exposition. Things are instead padded out by many musical numbers, but even if you have a love for popular music that came out around the time this movie was released (like myself), more likely than not you'll find the music in this movie to be absolutely terrible. The final stake to the heart is the fact that the vampire protagonist isn't sympathetic enough - you won't really care if he manages to lift the curse on himself or not. And his various acts in order to lift the curse, while supposed to be amusing, aren't the least bit funny. This is one of those movies where you can't help but wonder why nobody involved realized they were making a turkey.

meryles 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.

niteman 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.