The Gothic Horror Blogathon – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

This post is the second of three reviews for The Gothic Horror Blogathon being hosted by Pale Writer

Tnx for letting me participate!

“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds… true love? ” – Dracula

Number of Times Seen – Twice (Theater in ’92, and 28 Oct 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Count Dracula travels to England in order to woo a young woman who he believes is the reincarnated version of his soul mate who died centuries earlier.

My Take on it – This is a version of the Dracula story that I only saw once when it came out in the theater 27 years ago.

I recall enjoying it but didn’t quite remember everything that happened.

That;s why this movie was a great choice for this blogathon.

They do a wonderful job adapting the story of Count Dracula and are able to show that even a bloodthirsty character like him can have love truly conquer all.

This is a love story in the purest sense and they make it work throughout.

The film has a superb cast led by Gary Oldman as Dracula who is both chilling and captivating as this character.

The supporting cast is populated with great actors who allow us to care about all of them as the story moves along.

Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Billy Campbell, Cary Elwes, Sadie Frost and Richard E. Grant all do wonderful jobs with these characters.

The film’s look and feel is excellent and it has the ability to transport the viewer back to a time and place where this story can seem even more believable as things unfold.

The only problem that I had with this film is the fact that the various story lines and character arcs feel a bit too rushed at certain points due to the  the attempt to give closure to all of the various story threads along the way.

This film was definitely deserving of its 3 Oscar wins (of 4 nominations) for Best Sound Editing, Best Makeup and Best Costume Design.

Bottom Line – Great adaptation of this story that shows how even with a character like Dracula love can try to conquer all. The cast of this film is superb and Oldman shines in the title role. Hopkins, Ryder, Campbell, Reeves, Frost, Elwes and Grant are all great as these characters because we learn to care about all of them over the course of the film. The look and feel of this version of the story works really well and transports us back to another time and place while also making things quite believable the whole way through.  The one problem with this film is that they try to do too much with these characters and their story lines and some parts of the film feel a bit rushed to try and give closure to the various aspects of the story.  Very deserving of its 3 Technical Oscars for Best Costume design, Bets Makeup and Best Sound Editing.  Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – During pre-production of the movie, Francis Ford Coppola came up with the idea that, when in the presence of a being such as a vampire, the laws of physics don’t work correctly. This is why shadows often act independently of the figures casting them, why rats can run along a ceiling upside-down, and why liquid drips up. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)

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