Halloween-o-rama: Dracula (1931)

Vampires on film have been getting a short shrift lately, and though there is one culprit that shall remain nameless, it's almost become more of a wider cultural phenomenon- Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood take the camp inherent in this type of humanoid monster and give it a sexy treatment (not all bad, but not good for image); the Blade trilogy does it less sexy (alright, Ryan Reynolds aside, ladies) but just as slick and tongue-in-cheek; and Underworld puts them in a guns-and-leather war against werewolves. Since the 70s they've been turned into comedies, romances- heck, every genre has more vampire films than does horror. The classic convention of vampires is all but gone now, and we've moved into a post-modern kind of storytelling. People are still doing creative things with the classic vampire tale (the 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In is a fantastic movie they sort of unnecessarily remade for the US market, both films getting the "all hyped up and then we're over it" treatment by the public), but it's far from where Bram Stoker began. 

But why dwell on the problems of the present when we have such a rich past. The 1931 Dracula isn't even where classic vampire cinema begins; Murnau's landmark film Nosferatu predates it by 9 years, itself a take on Bram Stoker's tale (made without getting the rights). But Dracula is the definitive film, and it's hard not to associate the character of Count Dracula, the subject of more films than any other fictional character, with Bela Lugosi. His thick Romanian accent not only sounds authentic, it basically is the real deal- Transylvania, the home of Count Dracula, is a region in central Romania.

And if you want to get into Halloween mode, the film is almost a perfect mood-setter. The looming, Gothic castles, the constant state of fog and nighttime, the big, fake, rubber bat- it's all very spooky. I don't think it will scare modern audiences, but it's a great movie, and definitely deserves its place among the classic horror pantheon.

Bela Lugosi is obviously the main attraction, but I want to single out Dwight Frye (who also plays Fritz in Frankenstein, obviously 1931 being a busy year for him). His role as Dracula lackey Reinfield is so over-the-top, so creepy, so wonderfully strange, it's masterful. Bela Lugosi was great, no doubt, but there's less of the role than I think people give credit for- he gives his glare, does his accent thing, and leans in for a bite. Frye is just all over the acting map, and I think he was the actor who gave this film the extra boost it needed.

Also, he eats bugs and rats.

Dracula is great, it's a landmark film, and it's a must watch. End of story.

Tomorrow: TBD