Tag Archives: Dracula

Movie review: The Invitation (2022)

07 Wednesday Sep 2022

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The lure of Dracula entices moviegoers to the cineplex once more with this latest adaptation of Bram Stoker’s tale. This time the setting has a modern approach with the idea that the notorious nosferatu has been living all this time and set up his abode in new Carfax Abbey.
The wheels that turn in order to pull us into the narrative are a little slow and cumbersome, placing our focus on orphan,  Evie Jackson (Nathalie Emmanuel) who resides in New York, struggling to make ends meet in the catering business, when she receives the result of a DNA test through a new software programme. This leads to a connection with an estranged cousin and his family who live in England, and the promise of another life with wealth and romance to entice her further into their world. So Evie and her streetwise ways land her in prominent society into the path of Walter De Ville (Thomas Doherty), the charismatic lord of the manor. Behind the visage though is something more sinister with old world rules at play.

Australian director, Jessica M. Thompson does well to craft this new vision of an age-old Gothic tale for her sophomore feature length outing, but it has to be said that the writing is clumsy and falls prey to cliches all too often. There are bold attempts at providing this fresh spin, but in doing so, there are choices made that leave one groaning in response. Perhaps I am showing my age, but The Invitation succumbs to modern trappings, where some of the details and depth are glossed over for the sake of image, but this comes at the destruction of the story’s essence. As such, one is more likely to fall into a sense of lull as we are guided through each of the steps towards the film’s climax.

The ending even feels a little mismatched too, as if trying to force a potential franchise out of this. The way it is handled makes no sense whatsoever. If it were not for Emmanuel’s performance, who is once again showing that she is a force to reckon with on screen and more than deserves the lead status here, this film would be positively dormant with no hope of resurrection throughout. 

The Prognosis:

The Invitation is a bold attempt at reinventing an old tale for a modern audience. Its delivery however leaves you wanting, missing the mark on numerous occasions. Nathalie Emmmanuel shines in an otherwise lacklustre narrative that rests too easily on its laurels, failing to drive the direction into a riveting new place.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: House of Dracula (1945)

07 Monday Dec 2020

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Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year is Universal’s second Monster mash up, House of Dracula, and being one of the last movies to feature these iconic creatures also indicated that the times were changing and a new shift in horror was about to occur.

Treated as a direct sequel to House of Frankenstein, this feature would once again Count Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and a mad scientist together.

This time though, it is the Count (once again played by John Carradine) that seeks a cure for his vampirism. Although there are questions around the legitimacy of his intentions as he seems to still go about his day (or should I say night?) without a care. This in complete contrast to the doomed and tragic figure, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr reprising his role once more). Dracula approaches Dr. Edelmann (Onslow Stevens) to aid him in his quest for a cure, who believes he can do so using a mysterious plant that can reshape bone. It is Dr. Edelman’s belief that using a series of blood transfusions, he can assist Dracula.

It is at this point that Larry Talbot enters the scene, also hoping that the Doctor can help him. Dr. Edelmann however is too consumed with the Count and so Talbot gets himself incarcerated by the police for fear that he will turn into a wolf and kill again. Whilst imprisoned, Inspector Holtz (Lionel Atwill in one of his last film roles) and Dr. Edelmann witnesses the transformation, with the latter now convinced, and promises he will try to find a cure.

Larry Talbot continues to be one of the most fascinating characters in the Universal Monster franchise, with his inner conflict and turmoil, the characteristics that Chaney Jr played so well. Here Talbot is driven to suicide, throwing himself off the cliff into the waters below, only to survive the ordeal. Dr. Edelmann finds Talbot in the caves beneath the castle and in doing so stumbles across Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) still clutching the skeletal remains of Dr. Neimann from the previous movie. Edelmann takes the monster back to his castle but swears not to revive him for fear that it will only cause ruin.

Through all these distractions, the Count has been using his charms on the Doctor’s assistant Milizia (Martha O’Driscoll) but is prevented by the good old cross. The Doctor’s other assistant, Nina, (Jane Adams) a hunchback, witnesses the Count’s attempts and notices the absence of his reflection. Time for another blood transfusion, only Dracula turns the tables, hypnotising Nina and Edelman and then reversing the transfusion, so that Edelmann is given the vampiric blood. 

This action proves to be the Count’s downfall however as Edelmann exposes Dracula’s coffin to sunlight, killing him. This is just beyond the half an hour mark leaving the question again as to the true danger that Dracula exhibits when he doesn’t last the entire feature.

With the Wolf Man being treated and the Dracula out for the… count (ahem), this leaves a hole for a villain to fill. In steps a transformed Edelmann, struggling with the vampiric blood in his system that sends him crazy and a climax that brings about the rise of Frankenstein’s creature, a horde of angry villagers, and only a cured Talbot to bring down the house.

House of Dracula serves up a much neater storyline compared with its predecessor, House of Frankenstein, and the performances are strong. It still struggles to incorporate all the different aspects, but considering it’s short running time of just over the hour mark, there’s enough packed in to entertain, and ultimately became a commercial success as a result.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The House of Frankenstein (1944)

04 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by in Movie review, retrospective, Universal Horror

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Some thirteen years after the release of Dracula back in 1931, Universal now had a decent backlog of Universal Monsters in their midst.
After the relative success of Frankenstein vs The Wolf Man, which pitted two of their creatures head to head in its climax, it was a logical step to combine as many as possible into the one film. 

In order for this trick to be pulled off successfully however, requires some clever plot devices to wrangle each intricate characteristic into a believable situation. Curt Siodmak was called upon to carry out this difficult task, which seems a logical choice as he had overseen a lot of the Universal horror movies during the time. His decision was to introduce a new character in Dr. Gustav Niemann, a mad scientist played by Boris Karloff in what would be his last role in the Universal horror franchise. Accompanying him from a prison break is hunchback (another trope), Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), who is willing to carry out Niemann’s demands with the promise of a new body. 

Niemann though only has revenge in mind for the three people who wronged him and sent him to prison. 

This story is really told in two parts; the first part being the revenge on Burgemeister Hussman, which Niemann does by initially killing Professor Lampini and taking on his identity as a travelling showman and his Chamber of Horrors. The show in question just so happens to contain the skeletal remains of Count Dracula with the stake still impaled. Legend has it that if the stake were to be removed, Dracula would once again walk the earth. Naturally this happens, but Niemann convinces the Count (John Carradine) to carry out his task of ridding him of his nemesis with the promise of protection. Once the Count offs Hussman though, the group land in a spot of bother and Niemann quickly reneges on his agreement and ditches Dracula’s coffin, forcing him to submit to the sunlight and ultimately be destroyed. Dracula’s demise seems all too easy and as such renders him slightly useless in the movie and far from menacing.

The latter half of the movie focuses on the resurrection of Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) and The Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) who were last seen washed away with the flood that submerged the ruins of Frankenstein’s castle. It turns out that they had been frozen in ice, and Niemann thaws them both, once again hoping to use them to his advantage. 

The film is aided by the return of Chaney Jr and the troubled Larry Talbot who continuously serves as the heart of the franchise. Here, a love triangle is formed as he finds himself falling for a gypsy girl Ilonka (Elena Verdugo – who was a descendant of the Verdugo family that founded Los Angeles), rescued by Daniel and Niemann. The former has also fallen for Ilonka’s charms and is then driven by jealousy when his love is not reciprocated, and also by anger from Niemann’s failure not to live up to his promise.

The climax is nicely tied up with a collision of personalities all vying for different means, and when that clash comes it can only lead to the demise of all, be it silver bullet, thrown from the roof, or driven into the swamp quicksand from angry villagers wielding flaming torches.

On face value, Siodmak ticks all the boxes of what can be expected from each of the characters but ultimately, there is nothing new to offer at hand, and because of this the film falls short on satisfaction. It is still a solid production, entertains, but never does enough to lift itself above the standards of its predecessors.

It was great to see Karloff (he definitely owns this movie and deserves to wield the lead antagonist mantle) and Lon Chaney Jr share screen time together, but the chance to have the creatures provide any form of menace are  squandered. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Son of Dracula (1943)

02 Wednesday Dec 2020

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After a successful resurrection of their key horror monsters through the early monsters with The Invisible Man, Kharis aka The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and the birth of the tragic Larry Talbot – The Wolfman, it would be inevitable that Universal would turn their attention to Count Dracula.
The trouble is the Count was destroyed in the climax of the 1931 movie by the hands of his foe Van Helsing.
In 1936 Universal stepped around this issue by introducing an offspring in the form of Dracula’s daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska, but with her demise also coming at the film’s conclusion. 

The answer would be presented by the Siodmak brothers Curt and Robert, who produce another heir in the mysterious Count Alucard. 

Part of the film’s appeal is choosing to set the story in New Orleans, not only because it brings the gothic tale Stateside, but as a location is itself rich in mysteries and folklore.

Set on a plantation owned by an elderly Colonel, where one of his two daughters, Katherine (Louise Allbritton) has a morbid fascination with the occult to the point where she has invited the afore-mentioned Alucard to stay with them.
When Alucard arrives (played by Universal’s A-Lister Lon Chaney Jr, which may have been a way to appease the star having been overlooked for the role of the phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, a role initially made famous by his father) it is soon apparent that he is of the ‘undead’ and after he pays a visit to the Colonel, the latter is found dead from a supposed heart attack.
The land and titles are left to the Colonel’s two daughters, but Katherine seems only interested in the estate “Dark Oaks” and not of the money which she happily relinquishes to her sister Claire (Evelyn Ankers).
Despite being betrothed to her long time boyfriend Frank, she supposedly jilts him for Alucard, who is not so cryptically revealed to be an ascendant of Count Dracula. Frank then in a fit of rage tries to shoot and kill Count Alucard, but the bullets simply pass through him and into Katherine, killing her instantly. The flip here though is that Katherine is already part of the ‘undead’ club having been transformed by Dracula and has claimed her wish for an immortal life.

Son of Dracula plays nicely with the mythology of Dracula and vampires, as we see numerous instances taking on the form of either the vampire bat or a cloud of mist providing him the ability to transform or travel at whim as long as he is granted an invitation of course.
Where the film adds its own flavour comes through the Katherine plot device which is revealed to be a plan to overthrow Dracula and entice Frank to join her in the afterlife.
This decision is a welcome inclusion to the franchise as it makes a more sinister approach to the central characters and this curious fascination that people have taken to the dark arts.
Possibly a logical step in the canon even if it does make Dracula secondary to the evil on screen and overshadowing his threat to a degree. 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Tokyo Vampire Hotel

29 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Movie review, Sydney Underground Film Festival

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Now in its sixth year the Sydney Underground Film Festival has firmly laid claim to the weird and wonderful world of movies on the festival circuit. In doing so it has provided Australian audiences with access to a unique, colourful and bizarre celluloid landscape that wouldn’t ordinarily see the light of day.

Thank God they do, because films like Tokyo Vampire Hotel fits the criteria perfectly, offering a diverse and delightful skew on the tried genre of vampirism, which is so refreshing to see.

Japanese director Sion Sono provides a theatrical cut to his 9 part miniseries for the festival, with a rich and striking pallet that sometimes feels like it is dripping off the screen.

The characters are instantly iconic and ooze charisma, from the magnanimous Yamada to the sword-wielding K, the latter cutting a familiar figure in Japanese folk mythology and on occasion triggers images of Lady Snowblood to the mind’s eye.

K’s character complements the old and new world of vampire legend, hailing from the Dracula dynasty and charged with locating and protecting soon-to-be 22 year old Manami from rival vampire clan, the Corvins.
Manami becomes the core focus for the warring families as they vie for her pure blood and become victors once and for all.

It’s obvious that this film originated in broken down segments with the pace and energy peppering the narrative at a cracking pace, and constantly pushing the viewer onto the next scenario. The soundtrack also helps to fire the action along thanks to math-rock act Tricot’s catchy upbeat anthems. To Sono’s credit he does this seamlessly and with each instance he up’s the ante and trebles the crazy much to the delight of this reviewer.

The result has us see some beautiful images and strange scenarios from total annihilation by a sugary sweet assassin, armed with crazy dialogue and an endless supply of ammo and arsenal to take out an entire café; to massive gunfights and explosions on the streets of Tokyo; and full-on gore, mayhem, and bloody carnage, as vampires and mortals rip each other to shreds.
It’s a glorious sight to behold and leaves you wanting more from the world that Sono has created on-screen.

The Diagnosis:
Tokyo Vampire Hotel has cult viewing written all over it and deserves a global audience. Go see the theatrical cut while you can.

– Saul Muerte

Catch the screening of Tokyo Vampire Hotel at the Sydney Underground Film Festival.

Screening times and tickets available below:

FRIDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER – 10.30PM
FRIDAY TICKET

The lure of Dracula

06 Wednesday Sep 2017

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Ever since Max Schreck transformed into Count Orlock in the now infamous silent film, Nosferatu, directed by F.W.Murnau in 1922, the subject of Bram Stoker’s Dracula has graced the screens across the ages.

Like the titular character from one of Gothic literature’s finest creations, Dracula seems to be eternal, forever gracing the celluloid art form, whist adapting and transitioning across the years.

With the latest news coming from geek tyrant that It director, Andy Muschietti and Bram Stoker’s Great Grand Nephew teaming up for a project involving the prince of darkness as a prequel, entitled Dracul, I thought I’d take a quick snapshot of this enigmatic character and what draws us to him year-on-year.

Notably, it would be Universal who would elevate Stoker’s creation into the limelight with Tod Browning’s Dracula on 1931.

Starring Bela Lugosi, who’s interpretation would be the catapult for the look and feel that his character would bring to the screen and would initiate a further four sequels before Abbott and Costello turned his image into a comical adaptation.

It would take a further 10 years before a production company would bring Count Dracula back into the darkness with Hammer Films 1958 version starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

Hammer would use their new-found success and blood red recipe to push the Dracula series into a total of 9 films, with the afore-mentioned Lee appearing in 7 of these movies. Interestingly Dracula wouldn’t appear in their first sequel, Brides of Dracula directed by Terence Fisher.

During this time, numerous other production companies would try their hand at the subject matter, including Blood of Dracula, an attempt from producer Herman Cohen to repeat the success of I Was A Teenage Werewolf, the latter would appear in the It Mini Series made in 1990 as it was the height of pop culture Stateside during the 50’s and would see the Loser’s Club watch it at the cinema.

As the Hammer recipe grew stale, Roman Polanski would inject some much-needed zest with The Fearless Vampire Killers in 1967 and a blatant parody of the British film company’s vision.

Following this Jesus Franco would add some Spanish flavour with Count Dracula in 1970, starring Christopher Lee again in the titular role, before Blaxploitation movement would see an African prince lured into the land of the dead in Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream before Andy Warhol would dabble as well introducing his own visual style with Blood for Dracula in 1974.

Five years later, Universal would try to re-invent the fable and bring some much-needed sex appeal and casting Frank Langella as Dracula.
This also coincided with another version of Nosferatu coming to the screen, directed by the enigmatic Klaus Kinski entitled, Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, and has its own cult following as a result.

A brief interlude in the comedy realm would see Duncan Regehr take on Dracula in The Monster Squad, which comes across as a haunted version of The Goonies.

And then, he would pretty much stay dormant until, he would be moulded once more for Francis Ford Coppola in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins, in the early 90’s.

Mel Brooks would craft his comedic touch with Dracula, Dead and Loving It by 1995 and starring Leslie Nielsen, before the shouldn’t be comical, but tragically is, Dracula 2000, presented by Wes Craven and starring Gerard Butler.

It’s only saving grace during this timeframe is the simply brilliant, Shadow of the Vampire, a quirky portrayal of the making of Nosferatu that would depict actor Max Shreck as a real-life vampire, awesomely played by Willem Defoe.

By the mid-2000’s Count Dracula would find himself morphed into the Stephen Sommers universe with Van Helsing starring Hugh Jackman, a movie, which in my mind is probably best forgotten.

Another film director auteur would try his hand at the subject in 2013, when Dario Argento would provide us with Dracula 3D, but would be pale in comparison to his earlier work.

The last time, we saw Dracula grace our screens would be in the under-whelming Dracula: Untold starring Luke Evans, which left us wondering if there was life still in this age-old tale?

This may all disappear in the coming years, if Muschietti and Dacre Stoker’s project sees the light of day.

Dacre Stoker has delved into the world of his lineage before with his novel, Dracula, the Un-dead, so he is no stranger to the subject, and one can already see comparisons with Stephen King’s creation Pennywise. A character that feeds on the fear of the innocence.

Stephen King would also seek inspiration from the Count in his own tale, Salem’s Lot, so it certainly bodes well with the announcement of this latest pairing.

I for one can’t wait to see how they re-vamp Dracula for a modern audience that will horrify and delight the masses.

Bring it on.

 

  • Paul Farrell

 

Movie Review: Dracula’s Daughter (1936)

20 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by in Universal Horror

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The first sequel to the Universal Dracula franchise would be released just five years after its predecessor.

In the last outing we saw the demise of the titular character at the hands of Professor Van Helsing, (played once again by Edward Van Sloan, and the only returning character to the franchise) who interestingly enough is on trial for the murder of the Count.

That in itself is something I’ve often pondered about. In a world where vampires and werewolves are the stuff of legend, if they were to exist, how would one prove it after they’ve been through such an ordeal and essentially disposed of the evidence?
Anyway, I digress.

Dracula’s Daughter is not only a sequel, but the start of a trend for Universal in order to keep their booming business going when your lead villain has been dispatched – by introducing an offspring.

We would see this repeated again with the likes of Son of Dracula and Son of Frankenstein.
In this instance the Dracula bloodline flows down to his daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska, with a suitably melodramatic performance from Gloria Holden (The Life of Emile Zola).

Her portrayal of the female vampire with a craving to be human (an act that she hopes will come true with the destruction of her father’s body) served as an inspiration to Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned.

The notion of a vampire’s desire to be human has often been looked at in films and novels throughout the years, but as far as I know, this is the first instance of it on the silver screen.

When Countess Zaleska burns the body of Dracula, with the help of her manservant, Sandor, she discovers that the curse has not been broken, so resorts to an alternate method of psychiatry instead.

In steps Dr. Garth (Otto Kruger, Saboteur) who may just have the answer she needs. Garth entices her to confront her demons head on, but her desire for blood proves too strong and she attacks a girl named Lili.

Broken and lost, the Countess feels her only option is to remain a vampire, but decides that Dr. Garth would prove a suitable companion in the after life.

So she resorts to kidnapping his true love, Janet (Marguerite Churchill, The Big Trail) and luring him back with her to Transylvania.

Dr Garth is willing to give up his life for the sake of Janet’s freedom, and all seems doomed for the Doctor, when the manservant Sandor puts a halt on the proceedings and kills the Countess in a jealous rage with an arrow through her heart.

Before he is able to exact his fury further, he too is brought down, when he is shot by a policeman.

~

Critics have been somewhat split in their reviews of Dracula’s Daughter, some citing its lush cinematography and praising both Director Lambert Hillyer’s work and the performance from Holden. Others say that it pails in comparison to Dracula.

I for one, found it strangely mesmerising and almost hypnotic with some of its lesbian overtones and this is in part down to Holden’s captivating presence on screen.

And like other critics, I too noticed a similarity to Sunset Boulevard in its themes, a film that I’m a great lover of and perhaps why I find myself drawn to this movie, despite it not carrying the same weight as Dracula.

I applaud its effort to push the story into a whole new direction and to offer some alternative narrative to the tried and tested monster storyline.

For this alone, I believe that Dracula’s Daughter its place alongside the movies that made Universal pictures a force to be reckoned with, and its perhaps a shame that it has been lost in the shadows of time due to the overwhelming impact that both Dracula and Frankenstein had on the industry.

– Paul Farrell
Lead Surgeon

Movie review: Dracula Untold (2014)

06 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by in Universal Horror

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OUR FINAL entry into the Dracula reboot section looking back at Universal Horror movies is the most recent.

In this instance, the idea was to go back and tell an origin story (Will they ever learn?) behind Cinema’s most infamous villain.

Unofficially, this film is part of the ‘new Universal Horror’ franchise, but not necessarily part of the merged universe at this stage.

Universal Pictures definitely want to go all out with the release of The Mummy starting Tom Cruise, which is set to land mid-way through the year.

And whether or not Dracula makes another appearance down the track Dracula Untold marks a turning point for the film production company that allows them to bring ‘their’ monsters to a new generation.

When the movie was first being tauted, Alex Proyas had been listed to direct with the title, Dracula: Year Zero, which I can only have been a cross between Batman Begins and The Crow.

That would have been an interesting premise.

As it stands though, the title changed and directorial duties fell to Gary Shore.

Yeah, we’ve never heard of him either, but he does share the birthplace of Dublin with the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker, and he has since gone on to direct a short segment as part of the feature, Holidays.

Essentially we see Vlad, protect his lands from the Turkish Empire, only to need to defend his people once more when he refuses to give up his son and 1,000 other boys to said Empire.

It’s a moment that furies the Sultan, played by Dominic Cooper, who looks like he’s loving the opportunity to play the villain of the piece.

So, Vlad has to turn to a chance encounter, Charles Dance living in a mountain, who is evil incarnate and as we know it the true darkness, a vampire that would turn Vlad into the infamous Count Dracula that we know and love today.

If Vlad can resist the need to feed, he will return as normal within 3 days, but as we all know that won’t happen or the legend will never begin.

Tragedy will strike and it will involve his family, the only things that tie Vlad to this world.

The film is unequivocally carried by Luke Evans as Dracula with his charismatic charms and devotion to his family.

Plus he’s ripped as fuck, which helps.

There are some support roles that would suggest the casting agent spooled through the Game of thrones cast, with the likes of Charles Dance, Paul Kaye, and Art Parkinson all playing significant roles, but all of them can’t help to disguise the lack in plot and storyline, and the absence of depth in the characters.

It feels like a paint by numbers piece, but instead of paint, the filmmakers are using state of the art CGI for their palette.

It’s all style, no substance and one can only wonder what the movie would look like if Luke Evans weren’t there to push the momentum forward.

And with an open ending, Universal definitely had great plans for this franchise.

But with a poor critical reaction to the release, it doesn’t bode well, unless The Mummy can unravel all the criticism that came about and bring Dracula back from the dead.

I guess we’ll find out in June.

  • Paul Farrell

LINKS:
Dracula Movies on Hammer Horror Productions

 

Movie review: Dracula (1979)

04 Saturday Mar 2017

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IT WOULD BE forty-eight years before Universal would look to reboot the Dracula franchise for the silver screen. 

A lot had changed in the world since then and because of that we’re presented with a much more sexually charged Dracula.

A far cry from Bela Lugosi’s representation.

I’d never seen this version before writing this review and upon watching this version, I saw so many images that were reflected twenty years on with Bram Stoker’s Dracula directed by Francis Ford Coppola, including Gary Oldman’s hair.

But this was 1979 and Coppola’s version was not yet on his radar. 

He was knee deep in Apocalypse Now terrain at the time.

In this instance, directorial duties fell to British-American John Badham (Saturday Night Fever, Blue Thunder, WarGames, Short Circuit).

His leading man would be Frank Langella, (Skeletor folks!!) who seems to carry such sinister presence on screen, whether he is portraying Nixon, Boris Balkan, or in this case, Dracula himself.

There’s actually a lot like in this version of the Dracula story.

With the Tagline “A Love Story”, the focus on romance suited Langella’s dashing stature alongside Kate Nelligan as Lucy, (not Mina in a decision where these roles would be switched from the novel).

The film would dive straight into the action too, jumping straight on board the ship Demeter, as it crashes of the coast of Whitby.

There is a lot of focus on Dracula’s transformative states, be it wolf or bat, to great effect for its time.

There are great support roles too with Trevor Eve’s stoic Jonathan Harker, Lawrence Olivier’s restrained performance of Van Helsing, and the always brilliant, Donald Pleasence as Dr Seward.

Yes it does take liberties with some of the choices narratively speaking but it’s an enjoyable movie all the same that comes highly recommended from the Surgeons team.

  • Paul Farrell

LINKS:
Dracula Movies on Hammer Horror Productions

Movie review: Dracula (1931)

03 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Universal Horror

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The thirties would prove to be a truly golden era for Universal Pictures opening the way for greatest horror monsters to grace the silver screen ranging from Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and The Mummy.

Leading the charge though, was one of THE most iconic characters, Count Dracula.

Based on the novel by Bram Stoker, the creature of the night, the nosferatu who oozes charm would need to have an enigmatic personality to portray him.

And Universal would find their man in Hungarian born Bela Lugosi, who made his name capturing the titular character on stage before winning the role for the film, despite not being the first choice.

Cinematic history would be made though the moment Lugosi saunters across the screen and speaks with his authentic Eastern European tones that sent women swooning.

But it wasn’t just Lugosi’s performance that would captivate and would path the way for Dracula to become a classic in its own right.

Almost stealing the limelight from Lugosi came through the guise of Dwight Frye’s maniacal portrayal of Renfield.

His haunting laugh sends chills to the bone and Frye injects enough erratic energy that it pushes the picture forward with adequate momentum and is a delightful contrast to Lugosi’s slow and decisive movements.

Combine that with Edward Van Sloan’s Van Helsing, a performance that set up a precedence for all those that would follow in his footsteps as Dracula’s key nemesis.

Above all of this though, credit should be bestowed upon the director, Tod Browning.

His career had been carved through his strong career, starting in the silent era back in 1917 with Jim Blumbo.

Browning would go on to form a formidable pairing with actor Lon Chaney in a total of 10 films together, including The Unholy Three, and the awesome movie, The Unknown, which also featured Joan Crawford.

Dracula wouldn’t even be Browning’s first foray into the vampire genre, directing London After Midnight four years prior.

He would also go on to direct cult favourite Freaks…“One of us. One of Us!” a year after Dracula was released.

Interestingly though, Browning’s detailed approach was strangely absent and rumours have circulated since that the production was often in disarray.

Browning even left much of the direction with cinematographer Karl Freund although he would never be officially credited for his involvement.

Despite this, the film was ultimately a success and would spawn a series of gothic horror movies that would stretch a further couple of decades and a further five more sequels.

  • Saul Muerte

LINKS:
Dracula Movies on Hammer Horror Productions