[rating: 3/5]
Universal’s eighty-one year old “Dracula” earned its own spotlight in this year’s Film Festival, showing at the Lucas Theater on Halloween night. A perfect place to screen the vampire classic, the historical Lucas Theater has been running since 1921 – it probably showed “Dracula” when it was originally released in ’31 on Valentine’s Day.
Back then, “Dracula” was a horror film true to the monster it centers around. Bela Lugosi (Dracula) even exaggerated his accent in an attempt to make the audience uncomfortable, if not fearful. That, plus the use of fake bats and arched eyebrow stares that could rival Spock’s, were obvious components that the cast and crew put real effort into giving the audience something to scream at.
Unfortunately, as made apparent by the giggling audience, these once chilling tactics are now being interpreted as helplessly comedic.
But it could be worse.
Instead of being charming in that, “Aw, they tried so hard” way, the focus could be on all of the loose ends left to the wind. Lucy Weston, for example, who was turned by Drac and started attacking small children in the night – what happened to her? Did Van Helsing get her? And speaking of Helsing, what was it that he needed to do at the end of the film? Maybe take care of Dracula’s wives? You know, those three other vamps that are terrorizing London.
But all of this is overlooked by critics, simply because “Dracula” is a classic. It was the springboard that allowed the vampire industry to evolve into what it is today, still going strong with recent films such as “Hotel Transylvania” and the Twilight series. Dracula himself has become a timeless icon.
The Savannah Cinema Circle also touched on “Dracula” and its history after the film. They shared the history of the set, the same one where “The Phantom of the Opera” was filmed. It is said to be haunted, and as such it hasn’t been taken down, now famous for being the oldest set still in existence.
They also touched on the curiously quiet soundtrack of “Dracula.” The director apparently wanted to stray away from German Expressionism and refused to ‘show off’ with an abundance of music. The next time you watch “Dracula,” listen – the only music in the piece is when the characters are at an opera.
From this lecture, and despite the film’s shortcomings, “Dracula” reserves its right to be honored. In its prime, it was a frightening film about a vampire that most of the world had not yet heard of. Today, it is still a movie that features important characters, and the origination of their story.
