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nTitle: Horror of Dracula (1958)
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nDirector: Terrence Fisher
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nCast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, MelissanStribling, Carol Marsh
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nHorror of Dracula is one of the most important of all thenDracula movies mainly because it’s the first time that Christopher Lee donnednthe fangs and cape for the role; in my opinion one of the most ferocious andnsavage of the Dracula’s. Christopher Lee doesn’t say much in this film (actuallynhe only has about fourteen lines!) but his look, snarl and hiss painted a very feralnpicture of Count Dracula. Lee would go onto play this character many times overnfor Hammer films and even other directors outside of Hammer films, but it wasnhis portrayal of the character on Horror of Dracula that will forever remainnhis best. But it wasn’t just Christopher Lee who made this film such a memorablenexperience, many important elements came together to make this version ofnDracula one of the best out there. For one, we get Peter Cushing playing one ofnhis most memorable roles, that of Vampire Hunter Dr. Van Helsing, a vampire expert! We also have Terrence Fisher, now Terrence Fisher wasn’t just any old director; he was one of the best that Hammer ever had. He directed many of the most memorable Hammer films, amongst them The Cursenof Frankenstein (1957) The Mummy (1959) and The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) and these are just a few of the best ones, he did many other films for Hammer; so we have a true master of horror behind the director’s chair.
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nHorror of Dracula starts out with Jonathan Harker arrivingnat Dracula’s castle to work as Dracula’s librarian. That’s right, on this one;nHarker isn’t in Dracula’s castle to sell him a piece of land in London. Nope,non this one he is here to work for hire as Dracula’s book keeper. Draculanwelcomes Harker to his castle, feeds him, and then proceeds to make him hisnprisoner! Now, if you know anything about Count Dracula, then you know this isnstandard operating procedure for the count. He bids you welcome and then whennyou are all nice and comfortable, he goes for the jugular! But, what Draculandoesn’t know is that this Jonathan Harker already knows that Dracula is anvampire, and he’s come here disguised as a “librarian” to kill him! We also have a professor in the “black arts” and a very knowledgeable guy in the field of the supernatural, Dr. VannHelsing to go up against Dracula! Will Dr. Van Helsing have what it takes to eliminate Dracula forever?
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nSo what works for me with this movie is how persistent it isnwith its horror movie ambiance. Some of the best movies always keep that horrornatmosphere going all the way through, the mist, the spooky woods, the castle onntop of the hill, and this one most certainly keeps it going, which I love. Thenfilm is filled with many spooky images, many memorable horror film moments.nThere’s this one scene in which a vamped out Lucy is walking through the woods,nholding a child by her hand and we all know her intentions are to eventually feednon the child. Wow, there’s some spooky moments right there, the woods just seemnso haunted, the vampire vixen, so beautiful, yet so evil! And the scenes wherenVan Helsing and crew go into a mausoleum to stab Lucy the vampire through hernheart? Wow, awesome stuff, actually, kind of gruesome for a film coming out ofn1958, I’m sure back in those days, seeing a bit of blood splashing on VannHelsing’s face must have been truly shocking for audiences of the 1950’s! Thosenscenes with Dracula appearing on the girls bedroom window as he is bathed in falling leaves and the night sky,nso memorable! Actually, the whole film is filled with these classic images;nwhile watching it you’ll feel like you are in the presence of a classic film. True, this film does take some liberties with the book, but then again, what adaptation of Dracula doesnt right? What matters in the end is if the resulting film is effective and I can assure you, this one is.
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nThis was the first time that Lee and Cushing would embody thesencharacters and since they are doing it for the first time, they perform with ancertain intensity that was never to be repeated in the rest of the sequels. Thatnscene where they confront each other in the last moments of the film are somenof the most classic moments on any Hammer film, ever! Actually, if you’ve nevernseen a Hammer horror film, then this is the best one to start with, in my booknit remains the best one of the Hammer Dracula’s. It was followed up by a filmncalled Brides of Dracula (1960), which by the way was also directed by the awesomenTerrence Fisher, that was a truly excellent sequel to Horror of Dracula. Even takingnin consideration that Christopher Lee didn’t’ return in the role of Dracula, Brides of Dracula still remains a great Hammer production, truly atmospheric, very much a classic vampire movie. So if you want a double dose ofnspooky, old fashioned awesomeness, I recommend a double feature with those two films!nHammer would later repeat the formula presented in Horror of Dracula through a seriesnof sequels, which to be honest, with few exceptions, were always good horrornfilm fun for me because they were always bathed in that old school gothicnatmosphere. Hammer did a good thing by embracing that gothic setting for their Dracula films, it’s what people loved about these movies. The atmosphere and the spookiness in these films is the stuff that Halloween movies are made off. This is the reason why Horror of Dracula isnmy Halloween movie recommendation for Halloween 2013. If you guys want to see anmovie that captures all those things you love about Halloween encapsulated in one spooktacular film, but with a touchnof class, than look no further than Terence Fisher’s Horror of Dracula, a truenhorror classic and one of the best Dracula films ever made!
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nRating: 5 out of 5
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