Scene from Count Dracula(1970)
Released: 1973(US)
Director: Jess Franco
Rated: PG
Run Time: 98 Minutes
Cast:
Christopher Lee: Count Dracula
Herbert Lom: Van Helsing
Klaus Kinski: Renfield
Maria Rohm: Mina
Fred Williams: Jonathan
Soledad Miranda: Lucy
Paul Muller: Seward
Jack Taylor: Quincey
Count Dracula is one of, if not the most iconic figure in horror. Thanks to Bram Stoker’s legendary tale about the character, Dracula has been a prominent figure and an inspiration for many of the vampire tales over the past century. In film, many people have portrayed the character in many forms starting with Bela Lugosi in the original 1931 film. Frank Langella, Gary Oldman, Thomas Kretschmann, and most recently, Luke Evans have played the character use their own unique talents. But there’s nobody who has played the character more prominently than Sir Christopher Lee. The man is a living legend. At 6′ 5″, Christopher Lee is towering and can seem to be imposing. Having starred in several Hammer Horror films as Dracula, Lee made a name for himself playing villains. Sadly, not even his appearance in Jess Franco’s Count Dracula can save this low-budget disaster.
Jess Franco’s film opens with Jonathan Harker on his way to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula, who has purchased land in London for some reason or another. After staying at an inn before taking a stage-coach to Dracula’s castle, Jonathan begins to experience some strange things and is unable to get a good night’s sleep. When he finally arrives at the castle, he is greeted by Count Dracula and is offered a room. Before he knows it, Jonathan finds himself trapped and realizes that Dracula isn’t who or what he appears to be. After escaping the Count, Jonathan wakes up in a mental institute run by Dr. Van Helsing. With Mina and Lucy, Van Helsing determines that Dracula may not actually be human. As someone who has actually read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I was surprised at how literally the book was interpreted. While I admit that it was interesting to see the film interpreted that way, it had the problem of Dracula not being in the movie as much as he should be. In the book, Dracula didn’t actually have many physical appearances, but you could feel his presence and how he manipulates the world and people around him. Dracula’s manipulation in Jess Franco’s movie boils down to “Lucy. Lucy. Lucy. Lucy,” and “Mina. Mina. Mina. Mina.” Dracula is supposed to have incredible supernatural powers. I understand that this is a low-budget affair, but the extent of Dracula’s power seems to transform into a bat that is being swung around on a piece of string.
Honestly, I like some of the shots that were used, and while it is obviously not London, some of these shots kind of set the sinister mood. I thought that was pretty decent. Christopher Lee IS Dracula. The guy’s immense frame allows for a very an intimidating and imposing villain. Lee uses his size and voice to great degree in nearly everything that he does, and it’s no exception here. The man is hypnotizing to watch. He inhabits the character the so well that it is no surprise that most people associate Christopher Lee with Dracula. Herbert Lom does a pretty good job as Van Helsing. He brings a dead seriousness to the role that’s kind of the trademark of Lom’s. He’s famous for playing Captain Nemo in Mysterious Island, and he brings that same kind of presence to this film. Unfortunately, things go downhill from there. As I mentioned earlier, Dracula doesn’t appear very often in this movie. For a book, I think that’s okay, because the author can get away with a villain manipulating events without being seen, but for a movie, you need to see the villain. In some ways Count Dracula is a little TOO faithful to the book. The scene at the inn didn’t need to be there. It slowed things down. Renfield is another issue here. He doesn’t say a damned word. Klaus Kinski is just….there. And he screams….a lot. There’s nothing particularly menacing about somebody who doesn’t say a word. In the book, Renfield is insane, but there is a deliberate method to his madness that in the end doesn’t make him seem that crazy. In this film, he’s clearly nuts. Outside of the Christopher Lee and Herbert Lom, the acting is atrocious. Franco’s constant and irritating use of extreme close-ups are ridiculous. Who does he think he is, Sergio Leone? Not only that, when the camera DOES zoom in, the actors look like they’re staring intently at something just off camera. They look like they’re staring into somebody’s soul. High drama, ladies and gents. If you want to come across as a serious actor, stare intently at something. I think most actors get it wrong: they’re not staring intently enough at things. It’s all about the staring!
I understand that this version of Count Dracula was released in 1970, but it is an absolute mess of a film. I’m a huge fan of Christopher Lee, but this is definitely not one of his best movies. His performance is okay, we just don’t see a whole lot of him. I definitely understand that they were trying to be as faithful to the book as possible, but Bram Stoker’s novel is one of those books that shouldn’t have a direct interpretation. As I said earlier, there is a huge difference between books and movies. When you’re adapting something like Dracula, you have to be willing to throw some stuff out. Franco really didn’t and the movie really suffers for it. Also, Keanu Reeves did a better job playing Jonathan Harker. Yes, I said it. Fred Williams just butchered it entirely. Jess Franco’s Count Dracula is probably one of the worst adaptations I’ve seen for Bram Stoker’s fable. Still, it’s better than Dario Argento’s film, not that would be difficult in any circumstance. It’s really hard to find the positives in a movie where the negatives are so painfully obvious. Hammer Horror this is not. Not even Christopher Lee can save this movie from slapped with a Bad Movie label. It’s pretty bad. 4/10.