Alas—scary movie season! Keeping in tradition with last year, I began watching horror for the -5̶- 6 weeks leading up to Halloween, starting with the tame past and working my way forward. This year’s classic movie monster was none other than the sultry sucker himself, “Dracula”.
“Dracula” was really the first time American audiences were introduced to a full-length horror film. Bela Lugosi’s vampire was brooding, sexual, and scary and I imagine Transylvania must have seemed as exotic and remote as Tatooine did in 1977. But while the character lives on as the OG vampire, I didn’t find this particular version all that remarkable. I’m filing this film in the “undoubtedly influential, but uninteresting” category. Compared to “Frankenstein”, which came out later in 1931 and served as a commentary on society and mass panic, “Dracula” just plays as a “maybe the magic bad guys do exist” tale—a true and singularly dimensioned monster story.
Still worth a watch for the history. 🧛🏻♂️