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Jessica Rosenbach (0 KP) created a post

Feb 10, 2018  
Reading Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalo. It is the continuation of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. Set in the late 1800, this steampunk historical fiction/romance will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.
     
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Dana (24 KP) rated Salem's Lot in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Salem's Lot
Salem's Lot
Stephen King | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror
8
8.1 (50 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have not read too much by Stephen King, but I do consider him a great author. This book, in drawing inspiration from Bram Stoker's Dracula (which I didn't know until I read the forward of the book) is an excellent read! Like all of his books, there was the overarching creepy vibe to the setting and the characters. I didn't really trust any of them at any point in the story, which I think is the point. There is no reliable narrator in this.

It was cool to see the allusions to Dracula, the almost letter writing style was awesome because it comes directly from the source.

This book begs the question of what would happen if Dracula took place in a modern day town of middle America and answers that question well. I can't wait to pick up another book by Stephen King!
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Scars of Dracula (1970) in Movies

Feb 24, 2018 (Updated Feb 25, 2018)  
Scars of Dracula (1970)
Scars of Dracula (1970)
1970 | Classics, Horror, International
Hammer's sixth film with Dracula in the title was supposed to reboot the series from scratch, with a new actor in the title role; distributors insisted on Christopher Lee being brought back, which explains both the opening sequence in which Dracula is (somewhat bafflingly) resurrected, and the general sense of resignation in Lee's performance.

Script rambles, attempts to inject more gore and sex into the Hammer Dracula formula; director Baker doesn't seem to be really up for it, somehow. Some elements from the original novel reappear, also a few from previous Hammer Draculas. Patrick Troughton (looking like Liam Gallagher's granddad) is good value as Dracula's long-suffering handyman Klove. Some of the younger cast would go on to have decent careers; nothing to suggest that here, though. The rubber bat puppet from this film would go on to have no career whatsoever, which is not at all surprising. All really kind of perfunctory and mechanical.
  
Dracula (English) (1931)
Dracula (English) (1931)
1931 | Horror
7
7.8 (24 Ratings)
Movie Rating
It goes without saying that the importance of Dracula cannot be understated. Releasing in 1931, it was Universal Studios first steps into the horror genre, not long after 'talkies' became a thing, and surely paved the way for he mountain of horror titles that have come along since.

Bela Lugosi is Dracula, and though there have been fine portrayals of the titular vampire since, his performance lay the ground work for how a lot of media realise vampires to this day. He cuts a striking figure, he's suave and sinister, and the thick European accent is paramount to how he made Dracula a classic.
I first saw Dracula when I was a kid, and having watched it again recently, it's still a striking experience. While there may not be anything inherently frightening or scary by today's standards, the old black and white style, paired with long moments of uncomfortable silence (Director Tod Browning has exclusively worked on silent films before this), make for a suitably eerie atmosphere.

It's obviously a film that shows it age, but still hasn't lost any of it's charm. The version I watched recently was a Blu Ray restoration, and it's clear how lovingly that restoration has been implemented. Watching a film from the 30s look so crystal clear is something special.
  
Dracula - Dead and Loving It (1995)
Dracula - Dead and Loving It (1995)
1995 | Comedy
6
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A good decent spoof of Bram Stokers Dracula, and many a Hammer horror film. It has the king of spoof films in Leslie Nielsen being very silly indeed. Very light hearted by todays standards. A good fun film with some impressive sets I have to add!
  
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David Hyde Pierce recommended Dracula (1958) in Movies (curated)

 
Dracula (1958)
Dracula (1958)
1958 | Horror
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Horror of Dracula. First of all, the match up of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee was so brilliant. They were so great together. Plus, the ending — I hate to say this, because you’ve to see it — when Dracula has Van Helsing at his mercy, and the sun’s come up outside, and Van Helsing tears down the curtains, so the sun comes streaming in, and then takes two candlesticks and forms a cross. It’s just so cool. And I think that’s the first time anybody ever did that in a movie; now they do all kinds of versions of that thing. But I just thought that was pretty brilliant writing."

Source
  
Count Dracula (1977)
Count Dracula (1977)
1977 | Classics, Horror
8
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Surprisingly faithful BBC adaptation of the famous story has definite merits, but also perhaps shows why most people don't stick so close to the text. Young solicitor Harker goes off to Transylvania to close a deal with the engimatic Count Dracula; you can probably guess the rest.

Scores very highly for its acting - Frank Finlay is a charismatic Van Helsing and Louis Jourdan a playfully evil Dracula - and also for its atmosphere, even with BBC TV production restraints (videotaped interiors, some rather weird special effects). For an adaptation to stick quite so close to the book is very nearly exceptional, too - Savory makes Lucy and Mina sisters, combines Arthur and Quincey into one character, and cuts down the final act, but that's about it. The drawback to this, of course, is that after the first act Dracula gets relatively little screen-time and even less dialogue, and it does drag on just a tiny bit. Nevertheless, its fidelity and seriousness mean that this is certainly among the top echelon of Draculas in any medium.
  
Van Helsing (2004)
Van Helsing (2004)
2004 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
8
6.8 (87 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Cast, acting, graphics/SFX, story (0 more)
Occasional under acting via dialogue. (0 more)
The original beginning of the Dark Universe
In the early 2000s we saw a drop in great movies, even good ones and was left with the occasional sleeper hit and the obvious box office hits.

In 2004 universal released 'Van Helsing', with pretty decent promoting, and some neat casting with rising stars Hugh Jackman & Kate Beckinsale at the helm - with Richard Roxburgh as Dracula (also Robbie Coltrane as Mr Hyde)

The Story:
Van Helsing is on a mission from God, to rid evil from the world. After a 'paris job' goes wrong, Helsing returns to the Vatican to be briefed on this next assignment which sees helsing and his ally and friar named carl heading to Transylvania, to hunt down and kill count Dracula.
Joining forces with a Gypsy Princess named Anna who also seeks to kill Dracula in order to break her family's curse before her bloodline ends allowing her family to enter the kindom of heaven.
  
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David McK (3227 KP) rated Van Helsing (2004) in Movies

Aug 28, 2019 (Updated Oct 7, 2019)  
Van Helsing (2004)
Van Helsing (2004)
2004 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
7
6.8 (87 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Early 2000s (2004?) movie, that re-imagines the role of van Helsing (from the Dracula novel) as a Monster hunter, rather than the elderly scientist he is usually portrayed as, and with Hugh Jackman stepping into the central role as just that character.

Also starring Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious (and, yes, again wearing tight fitting trousers a la Underworld) and with Richard Roxburgh doing all but chewing the scenery as Count Dracula, this see's Van Helsing travel to Transylvania in an effort to uncover the mystery of his past and aid Anna in stopping her family's curse in a film that also sees many of Universals 'classic' monsters (Wolfman, Dracula's brides, Frankenstein's Monster, Jekyll and Hyde) involved.
  
House of Dracula (1945)
House of Dracula (1945)
1945 | Horror, Sci-Fi
8
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Get The Gang All Together: The Crossover II
House of Dracula- was a direct sequel to House of Frankenstein, and continued the theme of combining Universal's three most popular monsters: Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), Count Dracula (John Carradine), and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.).

The plot: This monster movie focuses on the iconic vampire, Count Dracula (John Carradine), and Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney), better known as the Wolf Man. Both beings of the night are tired of their supernatural afflictions, so they seek out Dr. Franz Edelmann (Onslow Stevens) for cures for their respective curses. While trying to aid the imposing creatures, Edelmann himself develops a transformative condition, adding to the many ghouls lurking around the foreboding landscape.

The working titles for the film were Dracula vs. the Wolf Man or The Wolf Man vs. Dracula.

Although Glenn Strange appears as the Monster in most of the film, footage of Chaney as the Monster from The Ghost of Frankenstein and Boris Karloff from Bride of Frankenstein was recycled; Karloff appears in a dream sequence, while Chaney, as well as his double Eddie Parker, are seen in footage in a fire scene.

Strange recounts that a scene with the Monster stuck in quicksand was particularly arduous for him. On top of three hours of getting into makeup, Strange spent the rest of the day buried in cold sand, including during the lunch break, and was so cold by midafternoon that he could barely feel his legs. Lon Chaney Jr. attempted to help Strange keep warm by passing him a bottle of scotch, with the result that Strange was so drunk that after getting out of costume and makeup, he had difficulty dressing himself in his street clothes. Chaney's drinking contributed to his reputation as being difficult to work with, and probably was the reason Universal let him go after the film was completed.

The film, which was the seventh Universal film to feature Frankenstein's monster, as well as the fourth with Count Dracula and the Wolf Man, was a commercial success, but was one of the last Universal movies featuring Frankenstein's monster, vampires, and werewolves, with the exception of the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), in which all three appear.

Its a fun entertaing horror film starring the universal monsters.