The invitation is there, but I don't know if many would be returning their RSVPs for "THE DEVIL'S WEDDING NIGHT"? The devil sure did not. Nothing really sets this apart from the cheap, sleazy and rough looking euro gothic horrors exploiting clichéd elements of sex and violence. In a way it's uneventful, lumpy and nonsensical. Twin brothers head to Transylvania and Castle Dracula in search of a mythical ring, but encounter the castle's current residents; a countess (Rosalba Neri) and her dead servant. She plans to use one of the brothers to house the spirit of her former lover - Count Dracula.
It doesn't really come into its own in delivering compulsive theatrics until the third act, when the black mass wedding / ritualistic resurrection gets under way throughout an earsplitting thunderstorm. Before then, there are few random atmospheric images (open graves, crypts and a blood bathing countess engulfed by mist), sound effects (bats squealing and heartbeats), and lustful or supernatural actions (floating vampires and an aggressive bald vampire with uneven fangs), but for most part it's drab, and fairly talky --- emphasizing the words; Transylvania, or vampire, or Dracula and constant zooms of people cackling, or staring straight at the camera in trying to set-up its nightmarish awe. The slow nature and disorienting camera angles are used to evoke superstition and mystery, but the plot comes off convoluted and it's hard to connect with Mark Damon's dual performance. Rosalba Neri on the other hand makes those dull moments bearable.
The climax of good vs. evil, amulet vs. ring transpires into what looks like a slow-mo (no effects though) dance off, or someone demonstrating their martial arts because of a lack of visual effects. Although there's a sequence involving a projected stuffed bat that needs to be seen to be believed. Anyhow think of kids playing with their toys using their imagination and making sounds, well that's how this climatic standoff plays out between the sharp-shooting brother and the delectable countess, where it's the music and psychical acting implying the powers of the mythical jewelry. At least the encounter's finale provides a nasty looking practical effect, cheap, yet, a well done throwaway.
It doesn't really come into its own in delivering compulsive theatrics until the third act, when the black mass wedding / ritualistic resurrection gets under way throughout an earsplitting thunderstorm. Before then, there are few random atmospheric images (open graves, crypts and a blood bathing countess engulfed by mist), sound effects (bats squealing and heartbeats), and lustful or supernatural actions (floating vampires and an aggressive bald vampire with uneven fangs), but for most part it's drab, and fairly talky --- emphasizing the words; Transylvania, or vampire, or Dracula and constant zooms of people cackling, or staring straight at the camera in trying to set-up its nightmarish awe. The slow nature and disorienting camera angles are used to evoke superstition and mystery, but the plot comes off convoluted and it's hard to connect with Mark Damon's dual performance. Rosalba Neri on the other hand makes those dull moments bearable.
The climax of good vs. evil, amulet vs. ring transpires into what looks like a slow-mo (no effects though) dance off, or someone demonstrating their martial arts because of a lack of visual effects. Although there's a sequence involving a projected stuffed bat that needs to be seen to be believed. Anyhow think of kids playing with their toys using their imagination and making sounds, well that's how this climatic standoff plays out between the sharp-shooting brother and the delectable countess, where it's the music and psychical acting implying the powers of the mythical jewelry. At least the encounter's finale provides a nasty looking practical effect, cheap, yet, a well done throwaway.