Dracula (1931) is an original monster movie from Universal. This adaptation of the popular romance novel has a lot of history. Read here for our history lesson and what it is about!
Being in 1931, sound had just made its way into cinema. On top of that, this is the first horror movie with sound. I watched a restored version on a Blu-ray disc, so many intricacies went into bringing this monster back to life. They cleaned up scratches in the film and fixed distorted sounds among much more. Also, It is necessary to mention the Spanish version. I don't mean you can choose Spanish in the languages menu. They simultaneously filmed this version alongside the English counterpart. It had its own director and actors while reading the same script. Many movie lovers believe the Spanish version is better in a technical sense as well as more sensual in the romantic moments.
If you want a Dracula that follows much of the classic folklore, this is something you should enjoy. He can't stand sunlight, sleeps in a coffin, has the large black cloak, the accent, turns into a bat and more. However, a couple of aspects are different. Dracula can also be a wolf. This might confuse you based on the classic vampire versus werewolf debate. Another is that garlic isn't a factor, but wolfsbane is one. Van Helsing is in the movie too, but he is not a hunter. He is a professor who discovers Dracula as shown below. Mina is an original character from the book as well who Dracula wishes to make his own pictured above.
I won't say that this movie is legendary. I understand the appeal. It has a high-quality production design for its time period. They had to design an old castle, so I appreciate that part. The story itself is exceptional. I think that's why people watch the film today. You really need to love movies or really love Halloween. Don't go into this film looking for something like The Wizard of Oz even though they are from the same decade. Movies are always improving but drastic changes were happening then.
Overall, it's cool to see these old films restored and watch them today. My movie rating is B-.
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