Hooptober X: The Devil Made Me Do It
#1: 1 film based on a work of or invoking the name Bram Stoker: Dracula

The Podcast Macabre 2023 Horror Challenge
13/52
50. The original version of #24

My copy

So let me get this straight: Dracula has his own cool spooky castle that features armadillos (?!), possums, a comfy bed, nice soil, delicious wine AND 3 vampire babes? And he decides to leave?? Honestly the most unbelievable part of all this.

You can't downplay how important this film is to horror and cinematic history. DRACULA helped usher in the new age of talkie films. The decision to go without a soundtrack adds a certain eeriness to it. The rubber bats are obviously dated, but considering this film is almost 100 years old it's understandable.

DRACULA drags at times. However, there are some spectacular performances. Bela Lugosi is obviously an icon, but Dwight Frye steals the show as Renfield, Dracula's ghoulish servant. There's a scene where Renfield makes a maid faint, and while she lays there unconscious we get this fantastic shot of him crawling towards her like a wolf about to feast.

While Lugosi's performance is legendary, I would've loved to see more of a showdown between Dracula and Edward Van Sloan's Van Helsing. I wasn't surprised by the final scenes but it seemed too easy and ended more abruptly than I would've liked.

I recently purchased the 2-part Universal Monsters 4k/blu-ray set and I'm hoping to incorporate more of these films in my Halloween watching. Last Hooptober I could only get through 19 films so this year I'm giving myself a head start.