A look at Hammer’s Dracula series, Part 1…
Which
is where Hammer Films comes in. Everything you need to know about Hammer Films
is displayed during the opening credits of Horror
of Dracula (just plain Dracula to
everyone but s heathen Yanks): the opening title is hit with a splash of blood,
where it then drips down slowly as the camera lingers on it for an
uncomfortable period of time. Fairly chaste by today’s standards, but it might
as well have been a slap in the face in 1958. Hammer had already blown through
the Hayes code censorships with what’s considered the first of the Hammer
Horror cycle, The Curse of Frankenstein,
which pushed the levels of violence that were cabaple of being shown in horror
films (or any films) at the time, and
Horror of Dracula continues the
tradition; reuniting all of the key figures of the previous film for another
revamping of a classic film monster. Taking possibly even more liberties with
the source material than the Lugosi version, Hammer’s Dracula still weaves a creepy and atmospheric tale utilizing everyone’s
favorite bloodthirsty Count.
What’s
most surprising watching the film now is how little Dracula is actually seen on
screen. Much hullabaloo has been made about the later entries and how reluctant
Christopher Lee was to return each time - in the case of Dracula: Prince of Darkness, not even uttering a single line of
dialogue for the entire run-time - but here, after the opening where the Count
introduces himself to Jonathan Harker, he pretty much fades into the background
to become a snarling, hissing monster for the remainder of the film - and
that’s when he actually bothers to show up. So it’s entirely to Christopher
Lee’s credit that he leaves such an indelible impression in the role - and not
just due to the unforgettable images of him red-eyed and blood dripping from
his fanged mouth. Lee is physically imposing in the role, but he also gets
across the dark romanticism of the character; wholly believable when he slips into
the rooms of young women and hypnotizes them into doing his bidding.
One
of the joys of so many of the Hammer Films was the pairing of Lee with his good
friend Peter Cushing. The two obviously got a charge out of working with each
other, and that spark shines through even the worst of their offerings form
Hammer and otherwise. Cushing plays the heroic Dr. Van Helsing as the complete
180 from Victor Frankenstein - a hero so indelible, he was brought back for all
but one of the subsequent eight sequels. Rounding out the Hammer repertoire is
Michael Gough as the distraught brother to one of Dracula’s victims, and while
Gough never reached the heights of popularity Cushing or Lee did, the actor was
still enormously talented, as his role here and in other Hammer films will
attest.
Getting
the most improved award would certainly have to be director Terence Fisher -
the filmmaker continues the style he curated so well on The Curse of Frankenstein and takes a notch or two further, making
the difference between Horror of Dracula
and his earlier work not unlike that of Citizen
Kane to classical silent cinema. Dracula
is at once more assured, more modern than the previous film, and the look
Fisher achieves here would define the Hammer brand for literally decades to come.
Acting
as a stepping stone from the innocent to
the lurid, Horror of Dracula is not
only a perfect introduction to the world of Hammer horror, but horror in
general.
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