Dracula

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Herbert Bunston
Directed by: Tod Browning
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Horror
1931

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Dracula (Bela Lugosi) travels to London and wrecks havoc on the people there.

Review:

Tim: Dracula is one of the all time classic horror movies. Bela Lugosi has given perhaps the most iconic portrayal of Dracula. There have been so many vampire movies over the decades and decades since this film's release, and I would bet most of them were inspired in part by this movie. It's one of the classics that simply must be seen.

There are some truly impressive sets in this film. There were a few that looked incredible, even today. These gave Dracula a sense of grandeur and importance. I loved the scenes of Dracula's castle, as well as the huge staircase in his London lair. The scope of the film feels much bigger than it probably was, in part due to the impressive sets.

The film follows Bram Stoker's novel fairly well. We have the visit to Dracula's castle in Transylvania, the voyage in the coffin aboard the ship, arrival in London, John Harker, Mina, and Van Helsing- it's all here. There's not a whole lot of truly terrifying moments, but the movie does keep moving and keeps the audience engaged.

Bela Lugosi was terrific as Dracula. While there's a few moments where he seems to overact just a bit, he's very enjoyable. It was fun to think about how influential this performance was. As he played the part on stage, he's as comfortable in the role as you would expect. Lugosi is clearly the biggest reason to see this movie.

Helen Chandler is good as Mina, but she's not great. She was not as memorable as I would have liked. David Manners was only decent as John Harker. Lugosi is clearly the star of the film- the rest of the cast is serviceable, but no one is really great.

The film starts off very strong. It creates such a creepy, frightening atmosphere. When Dracula gets to London, though, the movie slows down far too much. There's a 15 minute period where I just lost track of what was happening. The movie didn't engage me nearly enough. It does pick up and gain momentum as it moves towards the climax. Unfortunately, the end of the film isn't as exciting or memorable as I'd hoped. It's good, but lacks a powerful punch.

Dracula is a very good movie, but I actually thought that Frankenstein, also released in 1931, was the better movie. I wouldn't have thought that going in, but it felt more memorable to me. Still, this is an important, influential movie, and I recommend it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bram Stoker's Dracula, Frankenstein