A rendition of the Dracula tale with many similarities to the British 1950s Dracula.A rendition of the Dracula tale with many similarities to the British 1950s Dracula.A rendition of the Dracula tale with many similarities to the British 1950s Dracula.
Yasmeen Shaukat
- Shirin
- (as Yasmeen)
Deeba Begum
- Shabnam
- (as Deeba)
Habibur Rehman
- Aqil's Brother
- (as Habib)
Asad Bukhari
- Dr. Aqil Harker
- (as Asad)
Munawar Zarif
- Guy at Nightclub
- (as Munwar Zarif)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWas almost banned from release because the censors felt it was too vulgar.
- GoofsIn the beginning of the movie, Dr. Aqil and later his brother, with no prior experience of or information about vampires, know exactly how to kill one.
- Crazy credits"adopted from the novel by Bram Stoker"
- ConnectionsFeatured in Zibahkhana (2007)
- SoundtracksGranada
Written by Agustín Lara
Featured review
Man, that was enjoyable!
I like a good vampire movie now and again, and "Zinda Laash" is easily one of the most fun and bizarre examples of the genre that I've come across.
As other commentators on this site have noted, this is very clearly based on the 1950s British film version of Dracula, which was released in the U.S. as "Horror of Dracula." At times, "Zinda Laash" is almost a scene-for-scene remake of the British film, with even some of the same music cues re-used. (I could less charitably say "stolen!") I didn't mind this derivativeness too much, though; in fact, it was like a wacky bonus sometimes.
Despite being unoriginal in terms of plot, "Zinda Laash" still feels unique because it's got very bizarre (to a U.S. viewer) touches that clearly come from the Pakistani culture. For example, several scenes are suddenly interrupted by great song-and-dance numbers. The song lyrics are often weirdly fascinating, and the dances strangely sexy. I know these musical numbers slow down the plot, but I found them to be great fun nonetheless.
It's also interesting to see a version of Dracula that's largely secular - certainly there's no Christian iconography in evidence, which is logical of course, considering that this was produced for a mostly Muslim audience.
Another weird touch I should note is that some elements come directly from Bram Stoker's novel, not "Horror of Dracula." I don't want to spoil anything, but you might notice these faithful little inclusions during the scene when Dr. Aqil meets Dracula's bride. So, the film-makers obviously read the book in addition to ripping off the British film version! I like a bit of fidelity to the source novel.
Of course, most people would laugh this stuff off the screen today for seeming hokey. But actually, the photography is moody, the locations are well-chosen, and the hokey parts really just enhance the film's charm for me. What can I say? I got a charge out of it...
As other commentators on this site have noted, this is very clearly based on the 1950s British film version of Dracula, which was released in the U.S. as "Horror of Dracula." At times, "Zinda Laash" is almost a scene-for-scene remake of the British film, with even some of the same music cues re-used. (I could less charitably say "stolen!") I didn't mind this derivativeness too much, though; in fact, it was like a wacky bonus sometimes.
Despite being unoriginal in terms of plot, "Zinda Laash" still feels unique because it's got very bizarre (to a U.S. viewer) touches that clearly come from the Pakistani culture. For example, several scenes are suddenly interrupted by great song-and-dance numbers. The song lyrics are often weirdly fascinating, and the dances strangely sexy. I know these musical numbers slow down the plot, but I found them to be great fun nonetheless.
It's also interesting to see a version of Dracula that's largely secular - certainly there's no Christian iconography in evidence, which is logical of course, considering that this was produced for a mostly Muslim audience.
Another weird touch I should note is that some elements come directly from Bram Stoker's novel, not "Horror of Dracula." I don't want to spoil anything, but you might notice these faithful little inclusions during the scene when Dr. Aqil meets Dracula's bride. So, the film-makers obviously read the book in addition to ripping off the British film version! I like a bit of fidelity to the source novel.
Of course, most people would laugh this stuff off the screen today for seeming hokey. But actually, the photography is moody, the locations are well-chosen, and the hokey parts really just enhance the film's charm for me. What can I say? I got a charge out of it...
helpful•143
- dr_foreman
- Jul 23, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Dracula in Pakistan
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.44 : 1
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