[HorrorScience] Dracula – Horror of Dracula (1958)

Reading time: 6 minutes

Qualification

Horror of Dracula

Year

1958

Duration

80 minutes

Director

Terence Fisher

Distribution

Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Valerie Gaunt, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh, Melissa Stribling, John Van Eyssen, Charles Lloyd-Pack

Script

Bram Stoker (original work), Jimmy Sangster

A few days ago we said goodbye to Christopher Lee, an unforgettable figure in the horror genre and the actor who has played Count Dracula the most times. It is for this reason that I think it is time to comment on "Horror of Dracula", the film where he put on the cape for the first time, which was also the one that made him known to the general public.

During the 50's The British company Hammer Productions became interested in the classic monsters that Universal Pictures had popularized decades before., considering making new versions of their classics in full color and with a more current style. Universal's two most memorable monster films tend to be Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931) so after having successfully created an alternative version of the first with Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Hammer Productions decided to do the same with Dracula in a film that, due to rights problems, is known by two different names: Horror of Dracula and Dracula.

After seeing some credits that place us in Dracula's imposing castle, we see how Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) arrives inside after traveling the last kilometers of his trip on foot, since no car driver dares to get so close to the Count's lands.

Inside the castle, Harker finds a note from Dracula instructing him that he will not return until evening and to please settle in until his return. The guest's tranquility will be interrupted by an attractive woman (Valerie Gaunt) who begs him for help, since she is apparently a prisoner of the Count, but then flees in terror, since Dracula (Christopher Lee) has just returned.

[HorrorScience] Dracula – Horror of Dracula (1958) — First appearance of Dracula

Apparently Harker He has traveled to the Count's castle to work as a librarian in the enormous collection of books that he owns, so the relationship with his new boss is very formal and there seems to be no reason to be alarmed. However, Both characters seem to know more than they say., since Dracula locks Harker in his room and Jonathan turns out to be aware of the reason why the Count never appears during the day, since his condition as a vampire prevents him from doing so.

The aforementioned woman will release Jonathan from his prison to beg him again to help her escape and just in a moment of weakness she bites the visitor's neck, shortly before Dracula stops her from continuing to attack him. Now Jonathan He knows that he is doomed and tries to kill the Count during the day, before the curse that runs through his body takes over his judgment and he cannot complete his mission.. Although he manages to kill Dracula's companion, the Count awakens before being eliminated, thus ending Jonathan's hopes of ending his legacy.

A few days later, Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) arrives in a small town near Dracula's lands. The superstitious townspeople prefer to avoid talking about any topic related to vampires, so the only help Van Helsing gets is from a waitress who gives him Jonathan Harker's diary, which causes the doctor to rush to the castle, where he will not find the Count but his former friend Jonathan, completely vampirized, after which he decides to kill him. Before leaving the castle, the doctor discovers the corpse of Dracula's companion, thus deducing that The Count has abandoned his lands in search of a new partner.

Upon returning home, the doctor brings the bad news to Arthur Holmwood (Michael Gough) and his wife Mina (Melissa Stribling), who are relatives of Jonathan's fiancée Lucy (Carol Marsh), who is apparently ill with anemia.

As can be deduced This anemia is nothing more than the symptoms of being in the first phases of your transition to vampire., because apparently Dracula has decided to take revenge on Jonathan by staying with his fiancée. Van Helsing and Arthur will have to try to find the Count and prevent him from claiming more victims. Will they succeed?

Anyone who has read Bram Stoker's novel will have raised their hands on more than one occasion when reading this summary due to the enormous number of changes that have been made to the story compared to the book. The truth is that there are not too many Dracula films that have tried to be similar to the book, but it is clear that this version of Hammer Productions decided from the beginning to simplify the story and eliminate characters, thus focusing on the acts of Dracula and his pursuers, and honestly, I think it was a right decision, because It's one of the most entertaining Dracula movies I've ever seen..

The fact that Van Helsing has become the hero of the story is shocking to say the least, but Peter Cushing plays an enormous role, although he physically cannot compete against the imposing and aggressive Count played by Lee, his intelligence is enough to even the duel. This confrontation will provide the viewer with a lot of quick fight scenes between the two, which will culminate while they go through every corner of the Count's labyrinthine castle and which, thanks to James Bernard's fast-paced music, will keep us in suspense waiting for the final resolution.

In short, Horror of Dracula does not try to follow the original work and does not have the beauty and delicacy that the 1931 version had, but it offers us something that neither Stoker's book nor Lugosi's film had: an interesting direct duel between the intelligent and kind Van Helsing and the savage and vengeful Dracula.

Horror of Dracula curiosities:

Removed the sound of Dracula's footsteps to make it seem more supernatural
The ring that Dracula wears is a copy of the one Bela Lugosi wore when playing the character
Because when this film was shot most of the public already knew that Dracula was a vampire, it was decided to make Jonathan Harker and Van Helsing also know that fact from the beginning.