Critical Tom Russo for
The Boston Globe called it "woefully dim-witted". Steven Hyden for
The A.V. Club called it "such a colossal comedic misfire that it makes the execrable
Scary Movie films look like masterworks of
Preston Sturges-esque genius by comparison". Frank Scheck for
The Hollywood Reporter called it a "lame vampire spoof" that "has no bite". Adam Markovitz for
Entertainment Weekly called it "a no-stars, no-plot, no-point vampire spoof about a group of coeds studying abroad in a haunted castle,
Transylmania boasts the kind of acting and direction usually relegated to the adult section of your local video store". Mike Hale of
The New York Times wrote that
Transylmania is "destined to spend a short and painful life in theaters and then join the ranks of the DVD and late-night-cable undead". Robert Able of the
Los Angeles Times wrote that "if your idea of a good time is laughing with repulsion at a humpbacked Romanian nympho with a torture-loving midget dad, or tittering every time a bong appears, a darkened theater awaits you". Brian Orndorf said that "I surveyed the crowd at the screening I attended, feeling the chill in the air as seven strangers sat in stone-cold silence – not a single laugh from anyone. The eighth moviegoer? Fast asleep five minutes in. I've never envied a person more". It is listed in position 33 of
Rotten Tomatoes' "100 Worst Movies of All Time".
Box office The film was a
major box office disaster and had an extremely poor opening, at #21 with only $263,941 from 1,007 theaters, making it the 3rd worst movie opening since 1982 for films which opened in more than 600 theaters, and the worst ever at the time for films opening in over 1,000 theaters.
2012 lawsuit David and Scott Hillenbrand were sued by their financial backers for financial recovery in 2012. Kim Swartz, an attorney at Mitchell Silberberg representing the Hillenbrands, says in response, "This is a completely meritless lawsuit. The plaintiffs saw the finished film numerous times before they chose to invest. In any event, David and Scott Hillenbrand and their team of top professionals did everything they could to try to get their investors a return on their investment, even to the Hillenbrands' own financial detriment, and, as stated in the Complaint, in spite of the plaintiffs' failure to provide the agreed upon P&A funds in a timely manner. The Hillenbrands look forward to having the plaintiffs' completely meritless claims dismissed and to prosecuting their own claims." ==See also==