STEPHEN Sommers successfully resurrected an old horror favourite with The Mummy so one would have thought his track record would bode well for this latest venture.

Sadly not. This take on the Dracula tale is unnecessarily convoluted, over-long and has an ending which is guaranteed to make you squirm in embarrassment.

While the special effects are undoubtedly spectacular, they are simply not enough to distract from the flimsy plot and hackneyed script.

And once the novelty of seeing the delicious Hugh Jackman running around in sexy vampire-killing garb wears off, nothing can save it.

Not Richard Roxburgh, who was so superb in Moulin Rouge and more recently The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Although his Dracula is sardonic, stylish and theatrical, he is just not on screen enough to make an impact.

And certainly not Kate Beckinsale, who is forced into running round in the most ridiculously tight corset and leggings and full make up for most of the film.

Mind you, if it helps to detract from her excruciatingly poor Eastern European accent and the way she insists on standing round with her hands on her hips in a "look at me, I'm so brave and fearless" way, then that's not such a bad thing.

Frankenstein's monster and a comical monk provide a little light relief from the continuous onslaught of special effects.

But Sommers should really have left the count and his crew to their eternal damnation to save the rest of us from suffering the same fate.

SC