Because nobody likes spending an hour reading a movie review, I bring you Quick Horror Movie Reviews, a site offering to the point reviews of horror films from a guy who has seen thousands of them. From the classics to the hidden gems, the slashers to the creatures, the multi-million dollar blockbusters to the direct to video awfulness, it's all here! Read, enjoy, and for the best experience, go old school and view the desktop version!
Real estate agent Renfield (Dwight Frye, The Bride of Frankenstein) visits a mysterious man named Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi). Renfield soon falls under the control of Dracula, who is a vampire (and if this is a spoiler for you, you may be on the wrong website right now), and they make their way to London. Once there, they team up to search out victims for the Count, eventually leading to a woman of particular interest (Mina Seward, played by Helen Chandler) and Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan), a man who knows Dracula's secret. Released in 1931, this is the oldest of the non-silent "Universal Monster" classics (it is predated by The Phantom of the Opera, by six years), and is largely credited with bringing horror to Hollywood (though other horror films had certainly been made by this time). It inspired many, many vampire movies to come, and gave us the look many think of when they picture a vampire.
Yeah, this is it
While this picture does give us almost everything we expect to see in Dracula--the stare, the pale skin, the jet black hair, the cape--many may not know there is one thing we do NOT see from the Count in this movie--fangs. While implied the two sharp biters are there, we never actually see them. Also of interest--while practically every vampire movie made after this one acknowledges vampires can turn into bats, this one reminds us their shape-shifting is not limited to just the cute-faced, winged creatures--Dracula also transforms into a wolf, something not seen nearly as often in the years to come. This movie, obviously, is the defining moment in Lugosi's career, but Frye steals the show as Renfield, shifting comfortably from the laid-back demeanor of the character at the beginning to the lunatic he becomes. The rest of the performances are so-so, with nothing standing out as especially good or bad. Visually, the movie is a likely a step down from what you may expect--the sets are fine, and we know to expect flying rubber bats, but the directing and lighting leave a bit to be desired. Still, Dracula is an absolute classic--though not my favorite of the Universal Monster movies, it is still one that I always enjoy watching, and is one everybody--horror fan or not--should check out.
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