[HorrorScience] Dracula (1931)

On this occasion I am going to talk about one of the most important films for the horror genre, since it could be considered to have brought this genre closer to the masses, achieving commercial success that previous films had not achieved. Such was the acceptance of this film that its production company (Universal) decided to dedicate the following years to producing a large number of similar films, most of them starring what are today considered classic horror monsters, such as the werewolf, the mummy or the creature built by Dr. Frankenstein.

After having fooled around with the vampire theme in London After Midnight Director Tod Browning was in charge of directing this version of Bram Stoker's work to the cinema, a task that was not easy, due to the sudden death of Lon Chaney, the company's star actor and the main favorite to represent Dracula.

That role ended up falling into the hands of a Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi, who had been playing the character for some time in a popular play, which would be the main basis of the script for this film.

A slow melody opens the sober opening credits, the story begins by showing us a hurried carriage that advances along narrow and dangerous mountain roads to reach the nearest town before sunset. Renfield, one of the carriage's passengers, tells the driver that he has to continue advancing to the Borgo gorge, where he will take another carriage to Dracula's castle, which seems to exalt those present, who They recommend that he not go near the castle and they give him a crucifix. to protect him from the demons that may stalk him, to which our protagonist pays no attention.

Renfield finally arrives at the enormous old castle, where he meets a colorful man who introduces himself simply as Dracula. The gloomy and dark atmosphere of the castle seems to scare the recent guest, but the company of the Count calms him down, as he is a very polite and courteous man with him, until at one point Renfield cuts his finger and causes a strange reaction in his host.

The reason why Renfield has gone to Dracula's castle is the purchase by the Count of Carfax Abbey, a place to which both will travel the next day by boat. In the following days, with business concluded, Dracula leaves Renfield alone to rest after his long journey. Once alone in the room, Renfield notices the presence of three beautiful, ghostly women who seem to instinctively attract him, and fortunately Dracula appears to drive them away and protect the visitor.

In the next scene, the ship where Dracula was traveling arrives in London with the captain's corpse tied to the rudder and the rest of the crew dead, which will cause the police to investigate and end up arresting Renfield (now converted into a demented follower of Dracula) as the main suspect.

The vampire is on the loose in London, attacking young girls at night and enjoying the opera or theater after "having eaten." This will be how he meets the other important characters in the film, such as Dr. Seward (owner of the asylum near Dracula's new house) and the young girls Mina and Lucy, who will become the vampire's next targets.

Meanwhile, Renfield has been committed to Dr. Seward's asylum, where some fellow doctors are investigating the strange events that have recently occurred. Professor Van Helsing believes that everything is the work of a supernatural creature, a vampire, and suspects Renfield, who is obsessed with feeding on the lives of small animals, in order to continue living.

The next morning, Professor Van Helsing will examine Mina, who is very tired after a nightmare the night before. Before the professor finishes his verdict, Dracula appears to visit, showing his most sociable side, which will quickly be unmasked by Van Helsing, causing a particular duel between the two.

Can Van Helsing take down Dracula before it's too late?

In general terms, I have to say that despite the great quality of this film, It has not aged as well as other Universal works from the same period., however it continues to retain many of the brilliant elements that made it a classic.

One of those elements is the atmosphere it transmits. Its extensive sets are as beautiful as they are terrifying, especially when it comes to Dracula's castle., where some of the best scenes of the film take place. Because we are talking about a film from the 1930s, the slow pace that existed in silent films is still noticeable, which allows us to recreate a little more with that sinister world inhabited by immortal vampires and weak humans.

That slowness is also one of the negative points of the film, since despite the short duration of the film it can have scenes that become heavy, as well as a fairly quick and abrupt resolution.

Lugosi's role as Dracula is quite convincing, perhaps it is because of the way he pronounces English (a language that he did not master) or because of the fact that he was previously playing that role in theater, or perhaps it is because I have seen Dracula dozens of times represented as Lugosi did in this film, becoming the standard of the character for many versions of it.

Renfield is a character that many will remember from the book, where he was a crazy man obsessed with eating insects who, apparently, already knew Dracula from an event in his past. In this film that character takes the role of human protagonist, occupying the place that would correspond to Jonathan Harker, and then becoming the insane Renfield of the original work, this last state being where Dwight Frye gives his best, with a crazy face and a demented laugh I find them extremely disturbing.

Curiosities about the film:

• Bela Lugosi was always considered a gallant with the ladies, which is why he offered to negotiate with Bram Stoker's widow to try to lower the cost of the copyright that she requested for the film, managing to reduce the sum considerably.
• After his death, Lugosi was buried dressed as Dracula, as it was one of his last wishes.
• At the same time this film was being filmed, a Spanish version was also filmed with Spanish actors, using the same sets and script. This version has some moments in which it surpasses the American version, although the Dracula played by Carlos Villarias was not liked as much as Lugosi's.