Dracula

Putting On This Special From Netflix Will Give You Your Bloodsucking, Undead Fix. Series creators and showrunners Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat take the classic horror novel from Bram Stoker and add a new twist to the story telling and the characters. More so than the 1992 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this mini-series makes me want to go back and read the original source material, especially if this ends up being a “one-and-done” type of show; there was just so much interesting new takes on the character that it interests me enough to delve deep into the mythos of the story Bram Stoker wrote about. Dracula tells the classic Bram Stoker novel in a brand new way. The mini-series begins in the 1800s following the Prince of Darkness himself, Dracula (played by Claes Bang) in his old age as he uses Jonathan Harker (played by John Heffernan) to become young again, by sucking his blood from him as Jonathan sleeps. The series then follows Dracula from his castle on his journey to London, via boat filled with passengers that the Count uses as meals. Following a small snag he ran into on his transportation to London, we see Dracula finally make it to his destination…200 years later, and now we get to see our favorite blood-sucker feasting on people in the modern age. This all leads to new understandings of the classic character and his weaknesses, as well as a poetic ending for this monster you don’t see coming. Although this is essentially a mini-series (there are 3 separate episodes with opening and closing credits), it honestly just feels like watching a 4 ½ hour movie with intermissions added in. It really feels grand in scope, and I wish they could piece this together as one long film so I could see it on the big screen in an actually movie theater. One thing I absolutely loved about this tell this story of the classic monster; it didn’t feel old or repetitive. There was playing with time going on because they would have a character talking about how they got to the point they’re at, and we (the audience) would get to see it in flashbacks; I found that so fun because it got you thinking, “Where exactly is this going?” Another aspect I enjoyed about this version is the filmmakers interpretation of Dracula’s powers and weaknesses as well as their reasoning behind how and why he had those weaknesses (honestly, I just love when filmmakers add new mythos to their stories that I would have probably liked this whether it was good or bad). Above everything else though, I think Claes Bang is perfect in this role. In trailers and stills for this mini-series, I thought he was actually someone who they digitally made to look like Bela Lugosi, but after seeing his performance throughout the series, he may have become the person I envision as the perfect Dracula from now on. Overall, Dracula is a fantastic new take on a classic, old story. Everything from the twist on the old mythos surrounding the character to the way the story unfolds as the episodes progress will have you hooked and wondering, “What happens next?” If you have any interest in Dracula or vampires in general, then it’s definitely worth the watch. 4 ½ out of 5⭐