1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Dracula

#60- Dracula (1931)
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye
Directed by: Tod Browning


Plot Summary: Renfield makes a trip to Transylvania in order to speak business with Count Dracula. Renfield seems confused as to why the townspeople are in fear of Dracula, until he stays the night in his castle. Count Dracula is a vampire, who hypnotizes and attacks Renfield to be his slave and help him travel to England. In England, Renfield is declared insane and sent to a sanitarium, leading Dracula to his newest group of victims to prey on.


Looking at classic horror flicks, not many get more iconic than Dracula. While there have been many films about vampires (too many, in my opinion), many would regard the 1931 Universal film as a standard for all vampire films. After watching it for the first time, I felt that it had aspects to it that were worth remembering, but not a lot of it had aged well. The underlying question while going through the film was if I thought the film was scary and finding out what made it scary back then and what could keep it scary for modern audiences.

Of course, no one could talk about this film without talking about Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. Lugosi reached iconic status in horror thanks to his contribution of playing the most recognized vampire portrayal ever. His voice was the inspiration for numerous homages and parodies of the character, and his presence is commanding throughout the film. One film technique I really enjoyed was the attention focused on his eyes. Today, we can look at it as just shining light near the eyes, but in 1931, I'm sure the effect was very unsettling.

Professor Van Helsing is played by Edward Van Sloan. Van Sloan does an alright job with what he has, but he doesn't really get to do a whole lot. The dynamic he has with Dracula in this film is more based on intellect, instead of vampire-slaying action. The role is a little too plain for my taste and his acting can range on the awkward with some of his line delivery. While he is a famous character, Van Helsing can be grouped with how I feel about most of the other supporting characters, with their acting ranging on bland and forgettable.

One of the more noteworthy performances was Renfield, played by Dwight Frye. Frye is really able to play two different forms of Renfield, a quiet and more reserved businessman in the beginning of the film, and a mindless servant of Dracula for the rest of the film. Dwight Frye is really able to sell his insanity with the use of his wide eyes, long smile and terrifying laugh. Aside from Lugosi, Frye is the only other performance that left a good lasting impression on me.

While I felt Lugosi and Frye gave good performances, I wouldn't say they were scary or nightmare inducing. Sure they were creepy, but for me, they aren't the selling point of the film's horror element. The sets in this film, particularly Dracula's castle provide a very haunting atmosphere that allows the viewer to be pulled into a mystical and chilling environment. There is so much attention to detail with the castle, from its winding staircases to the spider webs strewn throughout the entrance way, it really is able to paint the perfect atmosphere for a horror film that is both Gothic and romantic in its presentation.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This is arguably the most famous vampire film of all time and should be recognized as a cornerstone in the horror department. Dracula gets a mild recommendation to all horror fans that should check it out for Lugosi's iconic performance.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

Dracula and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures