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A Filmmaker's Review of "Dracula" (1931)

5/5 - An incredible adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel...

By Annie KapurPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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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...

I have seen this film far too many times to actually remember. I do however, remember watching it when I was about 9 or 10 but I have no idea whether that was the first time I saw it. The reason I remember watching it when I was 9 or 10 is because it was near to my birthday. It was a visually stunning film and I do think I was thrilled by it. I watched it many times throughout my teens because of the fact I loves horror films, I kept coming back to revisit the originals to see what had been taken from them to create the new and post-modern horror films we see today.

This film has been a constant revisit for me because of its ability to remain so iconic after so long. Since 1931, every single Dracula has taken something, however small - from this version and I think that's important for us to remember. That is how it keeps itself as iconic and as remembered as it is today.

The film's cinematography is pretty brilliant for a horror film of its time. It uses these static shots constantly to create that feeling of tension instead of overloading a scene, which is something we see in horror movies today. I also believe that the intent of this film isn't really just to scare - but it is also to chill you. It's a film that's supposed to make the audience feel uncomfortable through the way in which its filmed. We have the stairs scene at the end when Mina walks down the stairs at Dracula's request. The shot that is craned upwards creates this weird sense of vertigo and makes you quite uncomfortable when watching it. The entire point of the film is discomfort and everything else, such as: fright, terror and thrill, comes after the audience feeling uncomfortable. This is because it needs to establish the base ideas. Blood-drinking and living by the night are two things fairly uncommon to humans and so, in order to create this understanding that they are associated with vampirism, it needs to be uncomfortable to watch and feel. The film does this spectacularly.

The music in this film creates a terrifying amount of tension. Starting off in a similar way to the copyright infringing "Nosferatu" (1922), the title screen appears at the beginning followed by a hollow flute-like/wind instrument sound. In "Nosferatu" (1922) though, it is far darker. I think that "Dracula" (1931) does this well in its own right because it establishes the mood of the scene and not of the entire movie. It is something I find quite fascinating when I see it and hear it because the music used back then to create this unsettling vibe is far more effective than some of the music used now, unless your name happens to be Joseph Bishara. I believe that Bishara himself has been inspired by the music used for horror cinema from this (20s-30s) time period. It makes perfect sense.

The entire mood of this film isn't though only the way in which music and light are used, instead it is also the way in which the actors act out their roles. We have Van Helsing who is a headstrong character, a personality clash with Dracula. We have the couple; Jonathan and Mina Harker who are idealists in this great turmoil. We also have a number of people who come under Dracula's control throughout the film to show us exactly what he can do. When Dracula is defeated, this entire mood seems to be lifted and we get a sense of comfort at last - after one hour and around fifteen minutes.

All in all, this film is an amazing horror classic with some great components in order to create this chilling vibe. I am glad that I have spent so much time watching and re-watching it because I would've never have thought of half of the things I know now upon one watch. I think that even if you've watched it 100 times, maybe you should watch it one more.

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About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

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