# Transylvania 6-5000
**Transylvania 6-5000** is a 1985 American horror comedy in which two tabloid reporters are sent to [Transylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/transylvania) to investigate an apparent reappearance of [Frankenstein's monster](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankensteins-monster), encountering a werewolf, a vampiress, a mad scientist, and other monster-movie figures along the way. It was written and directed by Rudy De Luca, for whom it was a first feature as director, and it stars [Jeff Goldblum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-goldblum), Ed Begley Jr., Joseph Bologna, and Geena Davis.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000) The title puns on "Pennsylvania 6-5000," the 1940 Glenn Miller song, whose writers Carl Sigman, Jerry Gray, and William Finnegan are credited for its use in the film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) • [3](https://ianfarrington.wordpress.com/2021/03/10/transylvania-6-5000-1985-rudy-de-luca/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 8 November 1985, in a limited opening; PG rating, 94 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) |
| Director and writer | Rudy De Luca, his feature directorial debut[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) |
| Production | New World Pictures, a Mace Neufeld Production in association with Jadran Film; budget reported at $5.5 million[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) |
| Filming | Yugoslavia, principally Zagreb and Samobor, with the medieval Mokrice Castle as the castle; a six-week schedule from 29 April 1985[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) |
| Opening | 700 prints, New World's largest opening to date; first weekend earnings from 701 theaters totaled $2.5 million[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) |
| Gross (USA) | $7.2 million[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000) |
| Reception | 20% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (10 reviews); Metascore of 10 on Metacritic[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Tabloid reporters Jack Harrison (Jeff Goldblum) and Gil Turner ([Ed Begley Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-begley-jr)) view footage showing a Frankenstein-like creature assaulting tourists, and their employer dispatches the pair to Transylvania to look into the tale.[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cxt=filmography) Their assignment carries a stake: find the [Frankenstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankenstein) monster or find new jobs.[6](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/transylvania-6-5000/2000112845/)
In the town they encounter a gallery of monster-movie figures: a clumsy butler, the vampiress Odette ([Geena Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/geena-davis)), the butler Fejos ([Michael Richards](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-richards)), the servants Lupi ([Carol Kane](https://www.edgepedia.org/carol-kane)) and Radu (John Byner), the werewolf Lawrence Malbot Jr. (Donald Gibb), a mummy, and the mad scientist Dr. Malavaqua (Joseph Bologna).[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cxt=filmography) • [6](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/transylvania-6-5000/2000112845/) The apparent monsters turn out to be people who have been outcast by the townspeople, no different from anyone else despite their appearances.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000) The comedy trades on horror-movie conventions, including a creepy castle whose owner posts signs announcing that he accepts credit cards.[7](https://www.yidio.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/1166)
## Production and financing
The project had a long development. [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) announced on 15 September 1980 that Krofft International was developing the property under the title Transylvania 6-500, though the company is not credited onscreen.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) By a 6 February 1985 Daily Variety report, [New World Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-world-pictures) had agreed to produce the $5.5 million picture under its final title, with Rudy De Luca directing his first feature.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298)
**The Dow Chemical financing** is the production's most distinctive arrangement. According to the 16 May 1985 Daily Variety, the filmmakers learned that Dow had a large sum of frozen Yugoslavian dinars from a previous business deal, money that could only be spent within [Yugoslavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/yugoslavia). They sent Dow a script and asked the company to invest in the production; Dow agreed to supply the entire below-the-line costs. Veteran producers Mace Neufeld and Thomas H. Brodek came on board, and New World funded most of the $5 million budget with Dow supplying the rest.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298)
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began in Yugoslavia on 29 April 1985 on a six-week schedule, with Zagreb as a primary location and Samobor added as a filming locale; the medieval Mokrice Castle served as the castle in the film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) The end credits acknowledge location shooting with the cooperation of Jadran Film, Zagreb.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) During production, Renee Taylor dropped out after filming one scene when she was offered a part on a Showtime series; her husband, [Joseph Bologna](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-bologna), continued in the role of Dr. Malavaqua.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298)
## Cast
The credited starring cast pairs the two reporters with the town's eccentrics:[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cxt=filmography)
- Jeff Goldblum as Jack Harrison
- Joseph Bologna as Dr. Malavaqua
- Ed Begley Jr. as Gil Turner
- Carol Kane as Lupi
- [Jeffrey Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeffrey-jones) as Lepescu
- [John Byner](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-byner) as Radu
- Geena Davis as Odette
- Michael Richards as Fejos
- Donald Gibb as the Wolfman (Lawrence Malbot, Jr.)
- Norman Fell in a special appearance as Mac Turner
New World reportedly asked producer Mace Neufeld to prepare follow-up stories for the Begley and Goldblum characters, intending De Luca to write and direct a series of "road" pictures, according to the 16 May 1985 Daily Variety; no such series resulted.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) The film also had an off-screen consequence: Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum met during the European shoot, began a relationship, and married in 1987.[8](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/christopher-mcdonald-was-broken-when-geena-davis-dumped-him-for-jeff-goldblum/)
## Release and reception
The Hollywood Reporter announced an 8 November 1985 release on 700 prints, described as New World's largest opening to date; first weekend earnings from 701 theaters totaled $2.5 million, and the film went on to gross $7.2 million in the United States.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000)
Critics were largely negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 20% Tomatometer from 10 reviews, against a 41% audience score from more than 5,000 ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000) Metacritic records a Metascore of 10, with all four of its listed critic reviews negative.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/critic-reviews/) Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune wrote that De Luca "is not a director" and that maybe 1 percent of his gags work.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/critic-reviews/) Janet Maslin of The New York Times judged that the actors seemed to think they were doing something funny, but that the screenplay, written by De Luca as well as directed by him, consisted of "utterly listless comic setups."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/critic-reviews/) The Washington Post criticized the framing and editing, saying the film "appears to have been edited with a putty knife."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/critic-reviews/) Audience assessments have been more divided: some later viewers rank it with other 1980s horror spoofs, while others call it a bad-movie favorite.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000) • [9](https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10701.phtml)
The film has remained available on home video and streaming; as of recent listings it streams on Amazon Prime Video and other ad-supported services, and rents or sells on several digital stores.[10](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/transylvania-6-5000)
## Other uses of the title
A 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon of the same name, directed by Chuck Jones, sends Bugs Bunny to a Transylvanian castle where he meets the vampire Count Bloodcount; its gags turn on the magic words "abracadabra" and "hocus pocus."[11](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/01/22/transylvania-6-5000/) The 1985 feature is unrelated to the cartoon.[11](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/01/22/transylvania-6-5000/)
## References
1. [Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cp=1&pos=5&sid=58a304e9-c78e-4b6f-9a1a-fbe38e039574&sr=0.40465298)
2. [Transylvania 6-5000, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transylvania_6_5000)
3. [Transylvania 6-5000 (1985, Rudy De Luca), Ian Farrington](https://ianfarrington.wordpress.com/2021/03/10/transylvania-6-5000-1985-rudy-de-luca/)
4. [Transylvania 6-5000 critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/critic-reviews/)
5. [AFI|Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58408-TRANSYLVANIA-6-5000?cxt=filmography)
6. [Transylvania 6-5000, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/transylvania-6-5000/2000112845/)
7. [Watch Transylvania 6-5000, Yidio](https://www.yidio.com/movie/transylvania-6-5000/1166)
8. [Actor Was 'Broken' When Oscar Winner Dumped Him for Bigger Star, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/christopher-mcdonald-was-broken-when-geena-davis-dumped-him-for-jeff-goldblum/)
9. [Review of Transylvania 6-5000, RPGnet](https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10701.phtml)
10. [Transylvania 6-5000 streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/transylvania-6-5000)
11. [Transylvania 6-5000, Dr. Grob's Animation Review](https://drgrobsanimationreview.com/2024/01/22/transylvania-6-5000/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Vampire and werewolf films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license