Transylvania Twist (1989)

I remembered a long time ago that I did enjoy Transylvanis Twist, and after re-watching it I still do. True, the characters are rather clichéd and while not awful to look at the low budget does show at times. However, the soundtrack is cool, the film is smartly written with amusing nods to recognisable horror figures/films and some very funny jokes. The stock footage may be too much occasionally, but still well-used and interesting and the story is always fun and rarely dull. The acting I thought was good also, Angus Schrimm and especially Ace Mask are hoots in their roles and Terri Copley is very sexy without being too vapid. Steve Altman does a good job making sure his character isn't too tiresome and Robert Vaughn while he's been better is still good value. All in all, a very entertaining movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox

People always automatically think about "Scary Movie" and "Young Frankenstein" when mentioning the only successful horror spoofs, but the surprisingly enough the 80's brought forward a handful of worthwhile comedies that have been long forgotten by now, like "Student Bodies", Pandemonium" (both covering the territory of teen-slashers) and "Transylvania 6-5000" (similar to this movie). "Transylvania Twist" is easily the best of them all. Oh, and please note that "Saturday the 14th" is NOT part of this list. This spoof reasonably succeeds well where others – especially the nowadays ones – fail embarrassingly: a witty script and a wide selection of gags and parody elements that are both clever and laugh-out-loud funny. The story (something about a librarian traveling to Transylvania to find a book that belongs to the evil Count Orlok) is unimportant but that actually doesn't bother you, as the velocity of the jokes is incredibly high and most of them are truly imaginative and spot-on. The comedy highlights include, for example, a randomly pointless interlude song about … a randomly pointless interlude song! You really have to listen carefully to the lyrics on that one; I swear you'll hurt your stomach laughing. There's also a downright fantastic collage of bit and pieces of Boris Karloff lines out of "The Terror" cut and edited into a conversation with this film's lead hero. Robert Vaughn receives top billing, and probably also a pay check that used up 50% of the film's budget, only to appear after more than an hour into the film. Horror cult icon Angus Scrimm has a delightful supportive role as Orlok's spontaneously vaporizing butler and, yes, there is a silly "Phantasm" tribute towards the infamous flying spheres. Sweet movie! Admittedly certain gags (like the game show of death, to name just one) feel a little overwrought and outstay their welcome, but those little flaws are easily forgiven.

I saw this because Angus Scrimm is in it he steals the film when he makes fun out of his most famous horror character The Tall Man from the Phantasm films. But the film is more like a spoof and should not be taken serious at all and keep a look out for Boris Karloff has he makes a special appearance.

This movie is so incredibly stupid, but it's still one of the most enjoyable films I have ever seen. It is one of those ridiculous movies where everything that happens is totally silly and whacked out.The plot revolves around a guy named Dexter Ward,who works for a library and must search out the Book of Ulthar which is 200 years overdue. That concept alone pretty much tells what the rest of the movie is like. The characters are all a little odd to say the least, like Victor van Helsing, the fearless vampire hunter, played by the B-Grade actor extraordinare Ace Mask. One of the more amusing scenes features a flashback to van Helsing's youth, in which the child portraying him has a moustache and gets in trouble at school for staking one of his classmates (who just happens to be a vampire dressed in a little Dracula-type costume). I also liked the part where van Helsing is talking about a book that caused two brothers to never speak to one another again. When asked what that book was, he replied that it was either the Book of Ulthar or the latest Jackie Collins novel. Robert Vaughn is enjoyable also with his over-the-top acting that made him such a favorite with Roger Corman fans.This movie is so much fun on so many levels. The comedy is so crazy that half the time you're laughing at the hilarious acting and dialogue and the other half of the time you're laughing at the sheer stupidity of what is supposed to be funny.I definitely recommend this movie to fans of Roger Corman flicks and fans of the Zucker and Abrahams movies.THIS MOVIE IS A CLASSIC!