This
is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has
arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month
long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of
horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down
upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that,
admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like
comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days
leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary
movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.
Night 8: Christopher Lee Memorial Night, "He'll Hold You In A Grasp of Shock!"
The passing of movie icon Christopher Lee earlier this year
was very sad news, but he left us with many, many films to enjoy. He had a long
and impressive career that included both the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings
film series. However, his most famous role is unquestionably as Dracula in a
series of movies for the British production company Hammer. When people think
of Dracula, they either picture Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee. The first
film in which Lee took on the already legendary character was in 1958
with Horror of Dracula, co-starring fellow horror movie icon and superb
actor Peter Cushing, and directed by
Terence Fisher. When Terence Fisher, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee made a
film together for Hammer, audiences were in for a treat.
Horror of Dracula is a loose remake of Todd Browning’s Dracula from 1931, and an even looser adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel. The
movie begins with bright red blood dripping on Dracula’s tomb. Jonathan Harker
arrives at Castle Dracula in Klausenburg to work as the librarian for the
Count, but he is actually a vampire hunter and protégé of Dr. Van Helsing.
Harker becomes trapped in the castle and succeeds in killing the Count’s bride,
but not Dracula himself. Dracula seeks revenge by first trying to take Harker’s
fiancé, Lucy, for his new bride, and then Lucy’s sister, Mina. Van Helsing is
on Harker’s trail and tries to save Lucy and Mina and put an end to the sinister
vampire. Almost none of this happens in the novel. It is almost like Dracula
fan fiction. It takes the already existing characters and then just makes up a
different story and does what it thinks is most entertaining, and it is indeed
very entertaining.
Horror of Dracula was impressive when it was released
because, like other Hammer horror films, it ups the ante on violence, action,
and sexuality. That means that when someone gets stabbed or bitten we see
blood, Dracula’s bride wears a dress revealing her cleavage, and Lee plays
Dracula as a dangerous seducer. This film was shot on Technicolor so the
colors of the sets and costumes are rich and vivid, and red blood is especially
red. All of those elements are still entertaining today, but the reason this
film works, then and now, is because of its reinterpretation of Count Dracula and
Dr. Van Helsing and the screen presence of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Lee’s
tall stature of 6’5” and natural physical appearance give his Dracula a
commanding and imposing presence. Lee's Dracula exudes menace. The danger and threat he poses are
immediate and ever present. In one scene Lee bounds across a large dining room and
over a table to pull his bride away from attacking Harker. Other versions of
Dracula usually give him servants to do his bidding, but this Dracula
drives his own carriage and digs a grave for Mina himself. This is a take charge, action Dracula. In other words, a this is a badass Dracula, and Christopher Lee has the talent to make it believable.
The only match for a badass, action Dracula is a badass, action Van Helsing and that's what Peter Cushing gives us. He makes his first appearance in the movie wearing a very cool, very boss fur collared coat and bowler hat. We spend most of the movie with Van Helsing as he tracks down Dracula. Cushing's performance and screen presence keeps those scenes interesting and entertaining. He believably portrays Van Helsing as learned scholar and fearless vampire hunter. He springs into action too: he leaps over a railing and runs upstairs when he hears someone removed the garlic from Lucy's bedroom. The climactic confrontation between Van Helsing and Dracula does not disappoint; it's action packed and all the while Van Helsing wears his boss coat.
Some people might find Horror of Dracula campy, but it is undeniably entertaining. There is great scenery and the production design does a good job at setting the mood for a Gothic vampire tale set in a far away land. Not every bit of scenery looks completely real but the hint of artificiality only adds to the fantasy element of the movie. Horror of Dracula is a fun movie from beginning to end and never gets
too intense or gross so even squeamish people can enjoy the movie. The blood and horror effects are tame by today's standards but hold up pretty well. There's something for everyone to enjoy in Horror of Dracula, whether you are a horror movie buff or only watch horror movies at Halloween.
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