What "West Side Story" did for the oft-told tale of Romeo and Juliet--updating it and setting it on the harsh streets of NYC--Michael Almereyda's 1994 offering, "Nadja," does for the story of Dracula. "I'm not really good for much of anything," Nadja, the 200-year-old daughter of the late count, tells a bar pickup when we first meet her, but as this film proves, the gal IS more than adept at following in daddy's footsteps and procuring a nice blood nosh for herself. During the course of the film, we see Nadja find a new girlfriend (played by the wonderfully named Galaxy Craze), look up her estranged twin brother in the wilds of Brooklyn, and tangle with a descendant of Dr. van Helsing. The film has three main selling points that make it a must-see for fans of modern-day horror. The first is Peter Fonda, portraying van Helsing as a long-haired hippy type in a wonderfully charismatic manner. Then there is the picture's absolutely gorgeous B&W photography, which transforms "Nadja" into a genuine work of art; DOP Jim Denault and his crew are to be commended for a splendid bit of work here. Indeed, the film looks so very impressive that its oft-discussed pixel FX (which are used seemingly at random and only to ratchet up the disorientation factor) struck this viewer as a mere distraction. And then there is Nadja herself, played, appropriately enough, by Romanian actress Elina Lowensohn, a woman with a striking accent, a distinctive way of emphasizing her lines, and a decidedly off-kilter beauty. Elina has been perfectly cast here (and looks terrific in a cowl!). "Nadja" also features bits of well-integrated humor (as when Nadja refers to her dad as a "night bird"), and although its story line is a bit too dependent on (double) coincidence, it remains enthralling nonetheless; a significant contribution to the Dracula legend.
