Dracula's Fiancee (2002)
2002
Action / Horror
Dracula's Fiancee (2002)
2002
Action / Horror
Plot summary
Dracula [Thomas Desfossé] has chosen a bride. The Professor [Jacques Régis] and his aide, Eric [Denis Tallaron], are bent on finding Dracula and ending his rule and that of the others who exist in in his "parallel world". First stop is the cemetery where the circus clown Triboulet [Thomas Smith] meets his vampire lover during each full moon. Under threat of having the coffin of the Vampiress [Sandrine Thoquet] opened to the sun, Triboulet reveals that the Madwoman at the Tower of the Damned is the only one who might know the Master's whereabouts. When questioned under hypnosis, the Madwoman reveals that only the Queen of Shadows-- Dracula's fiancée Isabelle, who is being held in Paris by the nuns at the Order of the White Virgins--knows where he sleeps.Eric and the Professor pay a visit to the nunnery. Mother Superior [Marie-Laurence] explains to them that Isabelle [Cyrille Iste] was a foundling and that her estate allows them to keep and protect her even though Dracula has made her mad and her madness spills over onto everyone who comes in contact with her. The behavior of the nuns and an audience with Isabelle herself backs up Mother Superior's words. Isabelle is mostly incoherent, able only to tell under hypnosis that Dracula is in a clock chamber. The Professor plants the suggestion that Isabelle is to meet him at midnight. However, two of the nuns suspect that the Professor will try to take Isabelle away, so they arrange for her to be hidden away.When an elderly couple suddenly show up, claiming to be relatives of Isabelle and saying that they have come to take her home, Mother Superior refuses to let Isabelle go with them. Come midnight, Isabelle tries to leave the house. Before she can meet the Professor, however, she is intercepted by Triboulet who takes her to the Tower of the Damned. There, he offers an infant to the Madwoman, who is really the baby-eating Ogress [Magalie Aquado], in payment for her hiding Isabelle until the engagement ceremony begins. After taking a few bites from the howling baby, the Ogress shows them a secret passage which leads to Dracula's castle. Eric and the Professor, who have been following Triboulet and Isabelle, arrive at the Tower and demand that the Ogress tell them the whereabouts of Isabelle. The Ogress gives them a sob story about how she has been forced to live underground and craves the love of a man. She begs them to take her with them. Eric almost succumbs but, when the Professor sees the body of the baby, he orders Eric to kill her. Eric shoots her twice--once through each breast--and then another shot for good measure. Then they find and follow the tunnel that leads to the castle.The engagement ceremony is about to begin. The participants are arriving--first the old man and woman (who are witches) followed by a violinist, the Shewolf who is to act as the Mistress of Ceremonies, and the Ogress (who has been restored to health by the Vampiress). The Vampiress has brought with her Mother Superior and two other nuns who are to be sacrificed in order for Dracula to appear. While the old man chops out the heart of one of the nuns, the Shewolf escorts Isabelle, in her white bridal gown, to the clock chamber, which is the portal between this world and Dracula's world. Isabelle is told to open the clock. If she sees the image of Dracula within, it means that he has accepted her as his bride. If he does not appear, the Shewolf has been ordered to kill Isabelle. Dracula's image appears to Isabelle, and he leaves her with an engagement ring and tells her that she must agree to one final sacrifice before they can be together. Meanwhile, Eric and the Professor have freed Mother Superior and the remaining nun. In their escape, however, Mother Superior dies of a heart attack and the nun is bitten by the Vampiress.It is morning. The Professor and Eric find Isabelle wandering on the ramparts and take her with them. Eric has fallen in love with Isabelle, but Dracula is calling her, and Isabelle must go. Fortunately, the Professor is in contact with Isabelle's mind. He can tell that she is being taken to the Chausey Islands where Dracula is hiding while more nuns from the Order of the White Virgins keep him and provide him with blood. When Isabelle arrives on the island, the nuns trade her bridal gown for a sheer robe (with roses in strategic spots) and lead her down to the beach where the clock chamber waits. They tie Isabelle to a post and await the incoming tide. Isabelle herself is to be the final sacrifice!Fortunately, the Professor and Eric aren't far behind. The Professor searches the beach for Isabelle while Eric searches the grounds for Dracula's coffin. Triboulet, the Ogress, the Vampiress, and the Old Woman have also gathered to watch the Master's arrival. As the sun sets, Dracula steps out of the clock chamber. Meanwhile, Eric has found a chessboard, and the Professor orders him to move the White Queen so that the Black King is in checkmate. Suddenly, Dracula disappears. When Triboulet, the Ogress, and the Vampiress go to investigate, they find the Professor hiding behind the clock and kill him. Mother Superior orders the nuns to place Triboulet, the Ogress, and the Vampiress on a boat and set them asail. "The morning sun will get them."The tide is rising fast. As the waves begin to crash over Isabelle's head, she suddenly disappears into the clock and is transported to the chamber where Dracula lies in his coffin. As they embrace, Eric appears. Eric begs Isabelle to go with him, but Isabelle refuses. Meanwhile, the nuns have found the rearranged chessboard and, knowing that the chessboard controls the door to Dracula's tomb, they smash the board, sealing in Dracula, Isabelle, and Eric. However, Isabelle and Dracula exit through the clock. Out on the boat, where the Vampiress is tied to the rail, the Ogress can contain her hunger no longer and takes a bite out of the Vampiress's neck, much to Triboulet's objections. As the rising sun burns up the Vampiress, Triboulet kills the Ogress and then turns the knife on himself. On the beach, Dracula and Isabelle walk hand in hand. Her marriage to Dracula has given him the ability to walk in the sunlight. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl]