The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945/2009)

I’ve always felt that Dorian Gray gets cinematic short-shrift compared to his contemporaries, Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. While everyone else has had brides and sons and run-ins with Abbot and Costello, Dorian has been largely absent from the big screen. In the 60 years that span between the two films I am about to discuss, no significant addendums have been made to Dorian’s tale.

The most remarkable thing about the two films I am about to review is how utterly similar they are, though produced so far apart. Of course, there are the pacing and aesthetic changes that one might expect, and the recent version is able to be more explicit where the original is not. But what is truly remarkable is how both films treated the source material virtually the same, in my opinion, right down to hitting the same marks and making the same mistakes.

13 Ghosts (1960 / 2001)

There’s not much to say by way of introduction to this pair of films. Both are light and cheesy horror films that are long on spectacle and short on story.  The original was produced and directed by the master of B-movie gimmicks, William Castle, while the remake was produced by Dark Castle Entertainment, a production house set up specifically to pay homage to William Castle and to remake his pictures. The original has been a late-night staple for decades now, while the remake is probably regarded more poorly than it deserves. Though vastly different in execution, both are a lot of fun.

Seven Deadly Draculas

Do you think this is sexy?
Well what's wrong with you?

A Halloween FilmFest!

It’s Halloween! A perfect time for remakes since the horror genre is replete with remakes. To celebrate the occasion, I figured what could be better than to examine not only one of the most remade films of all time, but one of the most iconic figures in horror cinema: Dracula.

There have been practically countless films made about Dracula, but I wanted to focus only on theatrical releases based on the original Bram Stoker novel. You know, to narrow it down a bit. Well, that still left me with seven films. Yes, seven. But what could be more appropriate considering there are the same number of Deadly Sins?

While the variance between the movies is rather great, I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was not one bad picture in the bunch. I thought for sure at least one would be a slog, but I actually found each film rather engaging, albeit in different ways. It seems that Stoker’s original text is only to be approached with respect. Perhaps the fear of nosferatu inspires it.

However, I don’t want to lavish unyielding praise, either. Each film has its shortcomings as well as its strengths. So, I thought it would be fun to assign to each of the films one of the Seven Deadliest Sins. Shall we?

Note: this article assumes at least a passing knowledge of the source material, Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, and thus will not provide a synopsis as other articles do. Thus, any discussion of the films’ deviations from the source is written as if understood. For a quick synopsis, click here. Also, one might simply assume that Dracula dies at the end of each of these films. That would be wrong.

Let the Right One In (2008) / Let Me In (2010)

Some relationships can suck the life right out of you.

Vampire children have always been freaky

Though generally billed as horror, the story told in Let the Right One In / Let Me In is really a genre buster. This story about a loner boy and his relationship with the vampire next door has horror, romance, nostalgia, and coming-of-age all rolled into one.

Unlike so many import films, the American version is extremely similar to the Swedish original. Both films are based off of the Swedish best-selling novel Låt den rätte komma in and were both produced with extensive input from the author, which might account for their similarity. In fact, the differences that are there have so little impact on the central story that just discussing them will make them seem more drastic than they are. But, hey, that is what we are here for...

Carnival of Souls (1962 / 1998)

Keep your hands and arms in at all times.

"Step right up!"

Perhaps I should start this article with a warning: both of these films are available through Netflix for instant viewing. Subscribers to the service will understand what that means.

Not that the original 1962 film is all that bad for an independent B-film. The story-line is a bit confusing, but it is well acted, tightly paced, and visually appealing.  According to my research, the film enjoys a bit of a cult status because, like George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the copyright was left off of the final print, sending it instantly into the public domain, thus freeing it for decades of late-night television viewing.

I wish I could say such nice things about the 1998 remake, but not even tacking "Wes Craven presents" onto the title could raise this flop. The acting is stilted, the directing is bland, and the script treatment would make "Lifetime presents" a more appropriate billing header.