''Fracchia contro Dracula'' is a 1985 Italian

horror comedy Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

film directed by

Neri Parenti Neri Parenti (born 26 April 1950) is an Italian film director and writer. He is known for comedy films, including the series starring Paolo Villaggio playing the character Ugo Fantozzi, and a later series of '' cinepanettoni''—zany comedy film ...

Plot summary

Giandomenico Fracchia, Villaggio's "monstrously shy" character, is tasked to sell a piece of real estate in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. Otherwise, he will lose his job. The customer is the obtusely nagging and prickly accountant Arturo Filini, who suffers from heavy nearsightedness and does not realize that the manor he is interested in is actually

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

's castle. Once on the spot, Fracchia is terrified at the going-ons while Filini, in true

Mister Magoo ''Mister Magoo'' is an American animated television series which was produced from November 7, 1960 to February 2, 1962. Each episode includes five four-minute shorts and was either aired together with bumpers as a single half-hour show, or was s ...

-style, dismisses them as 'tricks' to dissuade him from the estate deal. Meanwhile, a young and attractive

vampire hunter A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a fictional occupation in folklore and fiction which specializes in finding vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures. A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampir ...

(

Isabella Ferrari Isabella Fogliazza (born 31 March 1964), better known by her stage name of Isabella Ferrari, is an Italian television, stage and film actress. She is best known for her role as Commissioner Giovanna Scalise, the main character in the police dram ...

) arrives. She is determined to avenge her brother's death, who perished trying to rid the world of Dracula and his cohorts. The events turn even more farcical when Dracula's sister confesses her love for Fracchia to try to avoid being engaged to the

Frankenstein Monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

. In the end an ash-tipped umbrella seems to solve the situation, but...was it all for real or just a horror-film fueled nightmare?

Cast

Release

''Fracchia contro Dracula'' was distributed theatrically in Italy by

Titanus Titanus (also called Titanus Distribuzione) is an Italian film production and distribution company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Vi ...

on December 19, 1986. The film grossed a total of 818,235,000

Italian lire The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually fo ...

. Film historian and critic Roberto Curti stated that the film was a commercial disappointment being released at a fruitful time of the year and only becoming the 60th highest grossing film in Italy of that year.

References

Sources

External links

* 1985 films 1985 comedy horror films Italian comedy films Dracula films Italian vampire films Films directed by Neri Parenti Films scored by Bruno Zambrini Films set in castles Films shot in Aosta Valley Films set in Rome Films set in Transylvania Vampire comedy films 1980s Italian films {{comedy-horror-film-stub