 Culture Cartel critic Mike Bracken believed the story was " largely clichéd " , coupled with " bad acting " on the part of Watson and the female cast , but commended the realism Nicolaou created by shooting on location in Romania — using Romanian residents for smaller roles in the film — as well as the fact that the film does not " take itself too seriously " , making it " more fun " than Francis Ford Coppola 's Dracula . Cold Fusion Video 's Nathan Shumate echoed Bracken 's opinion on the " authenticity " created from the Romanian landscaping and actors that gave " the feel of verisimilitude " , but criticized the stop @-@ motion subspecies as being " irrelevant to the main action " , and the story as a " general lack of urgency " . Richard Scheib , a critic for science fiction , horror , and fantasy review website Moria , felt the original film " showed promise " when it attempted to go " back to the folklore roots of vampirism " ; he also liked the authentic feeling from shooting in Romania , but felt the limited budget restricted the film from being convincing , with David Allen 's stop @-@ motion subspecies creatures being a disappointment . When he had a chance to review Bloodstone , Scheib felt the sequel delivered " vampire clichés " , but again " showed promise " with its imaginative make @-@ up effects — specifically the staking of Stefan , the reattachment of Radu 's head by the subspecies creatures , the look of Mummy — as well as the visual effects of Radu 's shadow stalking Michelle through town , which gave Scheib a sense of Nosferatu . Another criticism from Scheib was with the replacement of Laura Tate with Denice Duff ; Scheib characterizes Duff as " internalized and afraid " , as opposed to the addition of Melanie Shatner 's character , Rebecca Morgan , whom he classifies as " alert and intelligent " . 
