Dracula (1931)

 

This is the one, people: this is the film that actually began the long history of horror in cinemas, and it was all thanks to an enthusiastic nephew of a studio executive at the time. Success followed and Universal Studios was firmly linked to horror as they gave humanity the classic creatures. But it all started with thé vampire of all vampires.

This one also cemented Bela Lugosi's name in the annals of history forever and though you could argue that the man played some questionable roles later in his career, this is the actor at his most iconic and suave.

Renfield is a clerk on his way to a castle in Transylvania to finish up on some paperwork with a local count who wants to by Carfax Abbey near London. But the local people all warn him not to go to the castle, as there are creatures of the night that prey on hapless humans.

Whether or not they make music, is a matter for another discussion. And this isn't one of the better jokes.

The count lives in a decrepit castle and quickly turns Renfield stark raving mad. They head off towards England and the ship they're on is always in a tempest. When the vessel finally docks, the entire crew is dead and Renfield is committed to a psychiatric hospital. But stranger things are afoot, as ladies turn up dead, bereft of blood and with two very distinct wounds in their necks. Pretty soon, our evildoer's gaze falls upon two young ladies by the names of Lucy and Mina Harker. Lucy alas expires, but because Mina's father is friends with a Doctor Van Helsing, an expert at pretty much anything, they soon discover that a vampire is to blame for all this. 

Heck, they discover it is Dracula so rapidly, you could blink and miss it. There's not a lot of mystery here. 

So now the chase is on, as Mina's fiancé Jonathan Harker and Van Helsing race to stop Dracula's reign of terror. 

The story is exceedingly well known, but how does this film still hold up? 

Well, mostly thanks to atmosphere. See, this version was based on the stage play and it shows immensely. The action is light and far between and there is a big amount of talking. You could literally see this as a play filmed and nothing more. But several elements give this an atmosphere that remains creepy. One of those is the absence of music. This gives the film an eerie dread and the silent scenes are actually rather tense, especially those either in the castle or in the fog-filled London streets. 

There's a reason Lugosi is still so fondly remembered as the quintessential vampire: not only is his dress sense impeccable, his stare, mannerisms and of course Eastern-European accent set the gold standard for anything vampire related, possibly even to this very day. Is it at times a little hammy? Of course, but that was par for the course back then. 

You know who actually really shines here? It is Dwight Frye as Renfield. He hopscotches between complete loony and surprisingly restrained and is by far the best actor present. Mister Frye deserves a lot more recognition, but his name seems to disappear a bit from history in favour of the leading men of the time. But he truly is a sight to behold. 

True, nowadays this is all rather tame and the pacing is slow by any standard, but there is no denying that the imagery and dialogue are preserved for the ages thanks to an excellent production and memorable scenes and cinematography. Any vampire aficionado has to see this one, no question about it.