Seven Deadly Draculas

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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...