Retro Review: Horror of Dracula (1958)

Originally titled Dracula, but was renamed later to avoid confusion with the Universal film starring Bela Lugosi. This movie serves as an update and a reboot to the Dracula series. Hammer Film Productions took the reins for this movie instead of Universal. The title character is played by Christopher Lee (Count Dooku of Star Wars II & III and Saruman of Lord of the Rings). Van Helsing is played by Peter Cushing (Tarkin in Star Wars: A New Hope and Hammer's Frankenstein series). Oddly enough both characters had major roles in Star Wars, but never in the same movie.

The movie follows the same framework as some of the other movies. Dracula is visited by a guest, Jonathon Harker, but in this case, he has been sent to kill the vampire. This doesn't go well and his associate, Van Helsing, has to inform his family that he was killed. From there members of the family are attacked in the night and gradually turned into vampires. This is revenge for the death of Dracula's lover (sort of) at the hands of Harker.

The mythology is gradually laid down and the movie moves a little slow at times, but the dialogue stretches are interesting and well acted. This movie was an update in a lot of ways. The Universal movies didn't have blood, color and didn't even show the fangs of the vampires. This movie adds all of those things while keeping with the spirit of the original movie series.

The special effects, while good for the day, are a little distracting from time to time. The Dracula death sequence starts out good, but then looks a little goofy when the face is shown. The end of the sequence is done well stylistically; the ashes of the evil are blown away, leaving only the ring of Dracula.

One of the only gripes with the movie is that Dracula doesn't have a lot of dialogue other than the beginning. Christopher Lee is a good actor and should have had more lines. There could have been a decent amount of banter in the final battle, but getting down to business makes the fight a little more intense.

If you like the Universal movie, then this one won't disappoint. If you think that the 1931 film is too old school for your tastes, then this version might be better for you. Horror of Dracula is a good middle ground for horror enthusiasts.