There is a certain friend out there who will not be happy with what I am about to say to introduce this movie. I am aware that he has not subscribed so he may never see this but I will have to wait and see on that one. This is the closest movie version of Dracula to the book. Now instantly I can hear him scoffing at the voice over saying words around Vampires being about to travel about in the daylight, although this is not his natural time and does not like to be out at this time. A theory that the book is argued over, when I said this the retort was that he was not out in the daylight and it was always at dusk which does make sense based on the book being set in October where the nights begin to draw in early. Anyway I digress, this IS the closest movie to the book out there. My review so my views stands. This was released in 1992 and seen by me in the cinema and it really worked there as well. The do not see me scene was amazing in that environment. Made on a budget of $40m it went of to recoup $215.8m at the box-office. Which is a success if you ask me, the critics enjoyed it but not as much as me as the scores elsewhere were pretty close together with IMDb giving it 7.4 out of 10 and 72% from Rotten Tomatoes. Its just me that liked it more. Directed by the world renowned director Francis Ford Coppola this movie employed clever tricks rather than CGI-ing everything and was very subtle with its work. Starring Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Cary Elwes, Richard E, Grant, and Sadie Frost. I serious feel the need to ask if you need to actually have the usual middle section of a plot here? OK I will put something here, if you don’t need it just skip to the next paragraph for my summary.
The story begins with Jonathon Harker travelling with a dodgy British accent to Transylvania to visit a Count looking to buy real estate in London. Promised a partnership if he is successful he ignores the warnings of the locals and goes to the castle which is home to the count. He meets the Count who is a little quirky to say the least but seeing a picture of Jonathon fiancé who is the spitting image of his first love Elizabeta. He secretly hatches a plan to travel to London and woo Jonathon’s lady. The lady is called Mina who has (and not thought possible) a worse British accent than Jonathon who is best friends with Lucy. Who is playing around with three different men a Dr Stewart who works at a local mental facility, An American called Quincey Morris and a Lord called Arthur Holmwood. She really needs to make up her mind about who to date. Meanwhile Count Dracula is on his way and arrives in London with a need to feed and Lucy appears to be an easy target. So the men mobile to support her with a mental health doctor calls in his former mentor Dr Van Helsing to come and help with Lucy’s mystery illness. Which Van Helsing correctly deduces that if her blood loss is not obvious then it must be going somewhere, he recognises the two puncher holes in her neck and assumes it is down to a vampire. The fight is now afoot with a Vampire running around in London, the boys are now about to take arms against it. Meanwhile Jonathon who has been locked in the castle is hatching a plan of escape. The battle is about to happen.
If you are expecting a straight up horror show then you will be disappointed as this movie is much more subtle than that. Francis would never do a straight up horror movie and for me he follows the book (not directly) but he adds extra bits and makes some extra bits up but he does follow the general story of the book. More than anything he follows the story and the characters from the book are there and there is plenty of blood and some scary faces and monsters also. This is a love story, with a massive slice gothic imagery dropped on top of it. This just works it brings the love and gives the evil count a human side which wasn’t really there in the book. He knows what he wants and goes after it not looking to woo but to seduce and take control of. Not a nice chap he was evil and nasty but in this version you can sympathise with him with maybe you should not, this version allows you to enjoy the love story. I enjoyed it and there are (honestly) humorous parts, along with blood and gore you would expect from a Dracula movie. Just don’t expect an out and out horror movie as you won’t get one here.
What’s up next? The final part of a four part trilogy and for me brings many different strands of a story together in a perfect conclusion for all the characters in the story… So they made another one…
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