Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie Review

"No demonic beasts! And nothing deceased! It's time to relax and that's what we're gonna do!"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 14, 2012

Music of the Vampire delivers a fun, funny, funky little Scooby-Doo mystery that, every now and then, took me by surprise. (Sly references to everything from Ghostbusters to Bram Stoker's Dracula to the classic Hanna-Barbera Scoob that started it all? Yes, please. A dash of subtle political satire for the adults in the room? Absolutely, thanks for thinking of us. Playful jabs at the Twilight franchise and the more obsessive branch of its fanbase? You had me at hello, Tom Sheppard. You had me at hello.) Unfortunately, though, Music of the Vampire is a terrible musical. Every time the music kicks in, every time a vampire reveals the intricacies of his evil master plan via song, every time Fred and the Mystery Inc. gang get their graveyard Glee on, Warner Premiere's eighth direct-to-video movie, movie roo! comes apart at the seams.

Mystery Inc. is on the case...

After ripping the mask off yet another mysterious menace, Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), Velma (Mindy Cohn), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby-Doo (Welker) decide to take a few days off and go to the one place they won't have to worry about running into any sinister spirits, monsters or g-g-ghosts: um... Vampire Palooza, an annual fang-festival hosted near the outskirts of Bayou country. There couldn't be any real vampires to contend with, though, could there? Enter silver-tongued Twilight castoff Bram and his troupe of singing, dancing vampire performance artists. (Think Armand's Théâtre des Vampires in Interview with the Vampire. Now imagine Antonio Banderas leaning back and belting out a stocky power ballad.) Bram sets out to sweep Daphne off her feet, Edward Cullen style, but only because the ritual he plans to perform to resurrect his master, an ancient vampire lord named Valdrona, involves presenting his undead king with a proper vampire bride. But is Bram a real vampire? Is Valdrona really a centuries-old creature of the night? And, if not, whose face is it behind the mask?

There are more than enough suspects -- friendly Cajun swamp-rat Tulie (introduced at the outset in an opening scene ripped straight out of Aladdin), famed writer and museum curator Vincent Van Helsing (Jeff Bennett), shifty Vampire Palooza vendor Lita Rutland (Mindy Sterling), opportunistic politician Jesper Poubelle (Cummings), or any one of Bram's actors -- and more than enough evidence to suggest Lord Valdrona just might be the real supernatural deal. (Although you know Velma is going to have something to say about that.) And there are more than enough jinkie hijinks -- Shaggy fears he's been bitten by a vampire, Scooby scarfs down leech gumbo, and Fred builds a high powered stake launcher that doesn't launch or stake very well -- and more than enough silly scares, crazy chases and mystery solving to go around. And therein lies the problem. Music of the Vampire didn't need to be a musical; shouldn't have been a musical. Nothing about its songs scream clever, chant "I belong," whisper "what a fantastic performance," or shriek "sing along!" The music isn't unbearable ("Scooby and Me" is about as grating as it gets) but you'll be scrubbing songs out of your head with a vengeance, not scooby-doo-doop-doop-doop-doo-do-ing as the credits roll.

Neither will your children... not that they'll be nearly as distracted by the songs or critical of the movie's musical malady. If nothing else, Music of the Vampire has a blast dabbling in parody, pop culture one-offs and, of course, that patented Scooby-Doo antics that have kept the series in the multi-generational spotlight for more than forty years. Yes, Daphne's singing voice will haunt you for a few days, and yes, "Bride of the Vampire" is awful, "Scooby and Me" is the epitome of mediocrity, and "Done with Monsters" sounds as sleepy as it is. But between the movie's snazzy color-curdling animation, the cast's (spoken) voice work, and all of the spooky vampire stalking and mystery solving Sheppard and director David Block are able to conjure up, the latest direct-to-video Scooby-Doo offering will keep kids laughing, humming and bouncing in their seats. I may have grumbled at times, but my son didn't do anything other than grin. I may have winced when Lord Valdrona burst into song, but he thought it was hilarious. I may have pegged the culprit from the beginning, but he was shocked. Thankfully, Music of the Vampire redeems its lyricist's sins with a solid mystery, a sharp sense of humor, and the Mystery Inc. gang, who would need to do far, far worse to earn the wrath of a lifelong Scooby fan.

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like Camp Scare and Legend of the Phantosaur before it, Music of the Vampire's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation is brimming with eye-watering colors, blood-curdling primaries, and depths-of-the-abyss blacks. I'd even go so far as to say these direct-to-video Scooby-Doo releases boast some of the most colorful images out there, and that's saying a lot in a market dominated by Pixar, Dreamworks and other giants of animation. Clarity is dead on as well. The animators' line art is crisp and clean (without any significant ringing or aliasing to worry over), the bayou's spooky swamps and the Vampire Palooza festival grounds are sharp and striking, and the CG that's employed from time to time (when the Mystery Machine rolls across a rickety bridge or when Shaggy is on the run from a fireball-slinging vamp) blends rather seamlessly with the movie's traditionally animated elements. The only issue to be found? Banding. Lots and lots of banding. Each instance is relatively minor, and much of it traces back to the original animation and subsequent source (computer generated lighting effects take their toll whenever the lights are low), but it's there. And there... and there... and in the sky, in the candle light, along the flashlight beam, right there in... well, you get the point. Anomaly hunters will also spot a few artifacts here and there, but don't fret; what little already negligible macroblocking I noticed was static, meaning it too hails from the original animation and source, not some nefarious compression inadequacy. All that being said, Music of the Vampire flies high, swoops in for the kill, and drains the life out of its DVD counterpart.

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Music of the Vampire's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't bristling with creepy, crawly directional effects, but it scares up plenty of good old fashioned sonic fun. Dialogue remains clean and clear throughout, without a bark, boo, jinkies, ruh roh, or zoinks going unaccounted for. The rear speakers sink their fangs into everything the soundscape has to offer, even if the movie's sound design isn't the most robust or immersive. LFE output is cautious but firm as well, with enough weighty thrashing and crashing to make every fright, chase and downbeat a suitably devilish delight. And the music? Questionable composition notwithstanding, the centerpiece songs sound about as good as they could, despite a distinct front-heaviness and a bit too much emphasis placed on the lyrics. If anything, the mix isn't as full as, say, a feature animated film's. But I doubt anyone will complain, especially when the end result rarely disappoints.

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Music of the Vampire doesn't offer much at all in the way of special features. The only extra to be found is a kid-friendly Sing-Along suite (HD, 14 minutes) with six songs from the movie: "Bayou Breeze," "Done with Monsters," "The Vampires Dance," "The Vampire's Bite," "Scooby and Me" and "Do You Want to Live Forever?"

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire works... when it isn't trying to be a musical. Entertaining as Warner Premiere's eighth direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movie can be, its songs fall flat and nearly spoil all the fun. Warner's vibrant video presentation and toothy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track certainly help; an almost complete lack of extras doesn't. Ultimately, kids will buy in and sing along, but older Scooby fans won't be so eager to let Music of the Vampire leech their hard-earned cash.