A Filmmaker's Review: "Dracula" (1958)
5/5 - The magnum opus of Hammer Horror...
Hammer Horror's Dracula (1958) has been respected as one of the greatest attempts at Bram Stoker's 19th Century novel ever. And yes, I can definitely agree that this is in fact the case. Now, it may not stay very true to the book, but the general concepts are kept the same. There's nothing really to critique negatively because Hammer Horror rarely stays completely true to its source material. Now, let's have a look at how me and this film have played out ever since I first watched it some ten years' ago...
Ten years' ago, I saw this film not on TV, but somewhere else (for the life of me I cannot remember) but I remember watching it again shortly after that because I was so interested. It seemed that this film wasn't true to the source material but was still incredibly entertaining and, given the fact I was actually reading "Dracula" by Bram Stoker at the time, it made me all the more interested to see what they did with it on the screen. By this time as well, I'd already seen Nosferatu (1922) and Vampyr (1932), I had also already seen Francis Ford Coppola's attempt at the story (which also stands to be one of my favourites to this day). But a decade ago, this Hammer Horror stuff was still new to me. So I sat through this film - as I would another maybe twenty times over the next decade and finally, I re-watched it last night whilst taking notes and that's how we ended up here.
Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula does take some lessons from Bela Lugosi and also takes some movements from Nosferatu, but it is also completely original in that instead of being slow and cautious - this Dracula seems to appear out of nowhere and thus, invents the jump-scare. I hadn't seen this movie in well over a year before watching it last night and I can honestly say, nothing scares you like Christopher Lee as Dracula. Standing over 6ft in height, I can imagine that the imposing figure of Christopher Lee dressed as Dracula could've actually made some of the folks on set genuinely scared.
The next thing we have is Peter Cushing. Peter Cushing portrays the fearless Dr. Van Helsing. Van Helsing, if you've read the book (or been unfortunate to watch the Hugh Jackman film of the same name) is one of the most primary characters of the novel and the film as he must be the one to kill Count Dracula. Now, in this film he kills Dracula by entrapping him in sunlight and holding a crucifix over him. It is highly effective for the cinematic experience of the film because of the fact it is so long and outdrawn. I think a simple stake to the heart would've been too short and not spectacular enough for what the movie was attempting to achieve and so, it fitted perfectly with the atmosphere.
The music is incredible. it also adds to the atmosphere but then there's this terrifying music every time Dracula is approaching. It is almost like his own theme tune. He approaches and all of a sudden, we have this loud, dark music completely with string instruments and minor keys. It is that notion of creating abject terror that this film focuses on, but it also remains as a great spectacle to watch. It is an amazing movie which has its eyes on all the right things in order to make the film memorable and effective in the world of constantly evolving horror movies. To this day, "Dracula" (1958) has not faltered in its impact on audiences everywhere because of Lee's absolutely terrifying portrayal of the title character.
If you haven't yet read my review of Bela Lugosi's Dracula then you can do so here: https://vocal.media/horror/a-filmmaker-s-review-of-dracula-1931. The Dracula films are absolutely brilliant and every single one that is made keeps borrowing something from the last. It is an incredible way to evolve and learn the story of the essentials. But unfortunately enough for you, the main way you're going to learn what the story is really about is if you read the book. Christopher Lee's portrayal though, has gone down in history as one of the most magnificent and terrifying Dracula's there is with many people citing his performance as not only the greatest one of his own career but the greatest performance in any horror film, pretty much of all time. I too, honestly think that this is the case, but as for now - we're going to have to wait and see if any future Dracula's return to their roots and borrow and steal from Lee's own performance in 1958.
About the Creator
Annie Kapur
200K+ Reads on Vocal.
English Lecturer
🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)
🎓Film & Writing (M.A)
🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd) (QTS)
📍Birmingham, UK
Keep reading
More stories from Annie Kapur and writers in Horror and other communities.
A Filmmaker's Review of "Dracula" (1931)
Bela Lugosi as Dracula is one of the most iconic and remembered performances in cinema history. Even if you haven't watched the film itself, you know what it looks like. You know the kind of air Lugosi gives off - which is probably best described as something incredibly unsettling. Let's first take a look at my history with this film...
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Horror
Backyard Skulls
February 2007 His blade slices through the fleshy parts with ease. It’s graceful, disgusting but graceful. How he holds that carved handle with equal parts purpose and delicacy, as if he’s painting a rummage sale art piece to hang over a fireplace.
By Christy Munsonabout a month ago in Horror
The Poisoner
Assassins have existed since the dawn of time, higher ups in society across the world desire to see those who wronged them dead! So killers are hired to eliminate the targets for wealth, typically money is the reward they seek. Most assassins use hidden blades, carried under their sleeves, quickly slashing their victims before blending in with the crowd again. Others use sniper rifles or other long range guns, shooting from afar or up close. The best assassins are subtle and sneaky, the greatest ones of all have never been caught! There are a disturbing number of ways you can kill a human, I obviously won't share any, not in this story so use your imagination. The point of this tale is to explore the most bizarre assassin to ever walk the planet, a killer who is still unknown but has committed a countless amount of murders across the globe. All of which include spiking or tampering with the victims food or drink. This would poison the target to the point of fatal illness, it happened to the most unlikely of people, as though this assassin had no true targets but simply killed for sport. Perhaps there were reasons he chose to kill these people, but it is a mystery that has been left unanswered for decades. Many believe there to be multiple Poisoner assassins throughout the years, the theory that is it no single man or woman makes a lot of sense. It is a theory many subscribe to. The targets killed range from cute couples, families or lone travellers, who visit exotic restaurants whilst on their holidays around the world. It is always detected to be either rat or ricin poisoning, that kills the victims. There have been numerous cases investigated, where CCTV has spotted strange chefs in kitchens, those who were never officially hired had slipped in a disguise and tampered with the food. They always wear the chef's scarf over their face, to hide their identity. The figure has been described as male, standing tall and athletic. To presume the killer is male, he has been spotted in bars too, a hooded figure with a balaclava, spiking drinks of people who later end up dead. Usually the police don't investigate until the killer has already committed his murder, so it seems they have long vanished before any trail can be found. Not to mention the amount of people who were at first presumed to have been food poisoned, where it was the restaurant or cafe found responsible for not properly serving well cooked food. Only for forensics to later discover the truth, which was far more sinister and purposeful. Nobody knows who this assassin is, or why they do the terrible things they do. They are presumed to be male, but even that is uncertain. The race or gender of the killer is not yet confirmed. No face has ever been identified. A pattern has not been detected either. The Poisoner is a ghost, an assassin so good, they always manage to slip through the cracks, what with their many disguises and hiding spots. One can only assume the assassin seeks out those with bounties upon their heads, do if you've angered the wrong person, someone high up in society, be sure to eat food from the supermarket instead. You'll never know if The Poisoner is after you or not, until it is too late! If you eat or drink anything that tastes off, you should probably bin that item and wash out your mouth, there's a good chance it may be dangerous to consume. Then you'd become another death, on a list of thousands.
By Joseph Roy Wright4 days ago in Horror
Stuck in Place
Amy whistled as she walked through her front yard, looking for any sticks she could pick up and throw into the pile she and her brother were making. They had a big windstorm recently; as such, all the trees in their yard had suffered some damage in some loss of sticks. Or perhaps losing those sticks was a good thing since their trees probably needed to be pruned anyway. Amy wasn't sure.
By Rebecca Patton5 days ago in Fiction
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.