Originally written February 17, 2012
Everyone’s heard of Dracula in some form or another, and this is one of the earliest interpretations of the character to be seen on-screen (it’s debatable whether or not Nosferatu was an earlier interpretation). This is important, because this movie created the version of the character that most people associate Dracula with. Bela Lugosi is so iconic in this role that it’s how Dracula has typically been depicted in the years that followed.
And now for the plot of this particular movie. Basically, Dracula is a vampire, but nobody knows this. When a guy named Renfeld comes to Dracula’s castle to secure a property lease, he winds up getting hypnotized by Dracula and doctors start noticing he’s going crazy. Dracula also meets two girls, Lucy and Mina. After biting Lucy, Dracula sets his eyes on Mina next, but Dr. Van Helsing is then called in, who starts to figure some things out.
The movie is pretty great. One of my only real complaints is that, as a modern viewer, it’s really not scary at all for a horror movie. If anything, it’s just creepy, but it lacks the thrills that horror movies gained in the years to come. Still, it’s a good story, and it just gives off that vintage “classic” feel. Also, Bela Lugosi does such a great job as Dracula. He literally defined the role, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone else that’s had a character so closely associated with a performance. I do also want to shout out the performance for Renfield’s character, since he is always entertaining in his insanity here. Overall, Dracula is a great movie, and if nothing else it did an amazing job at giving birth to the “Hollywood horror” genre, inspiring so many movies to come after it.
4/5
