Horror Of Dracula (1958)

Horror of Dracula (1958)

Dir: Terence Fischer

2/31 #31daysofhorror

What a glorious retelling! The UK title is still Dracula, but to differentiate itself from Tod Browning’s 1931 classic, they re-titled it to Horror of Dracula. This film was borne from the success Hammer Films saw after The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) was released. Hammer’s first Frankenstein film featured Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankesntein and Christopher Lee as the creature. It became known as Britain’s first blood and guts film in color. And maybe the world, as our Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, wouldn’t present Blood Feast until 1963, Hitchcock wouldn’t give us blood in a shower until 1960, and Corman wouldn’t show Dick Miller’s murder spree in Bucket Of Blood until 1959. So, Curse and Horror of Dracula really are our first color films with gratuitous blood. Congratulations. It took an 80 page legal agreement between Hammer and Universal to obtain usage of their trademark Dracula. But they knew from day one, if we are to succeed, there must be blood.

This is my second viewing of the film after diving into the Hammor horror that would come after. And what one notices the second round is Peter Cushing’s ability to utilize anything in a room as a prop. Watch his hand. He precisely maneuvers a dictagraph, delicately wraps a bandage, and of course grabs two candlesticks and forms a cross. I feel as though Christopher Lee gets all the love in the Hammer films, but Peter Cushing annihilates any scene he’s in. There’s an odd stoicism to the acting in these films, but even through that emotionless delivery we believe every moment with Cushing.

Beyond Cushing’s impressive prowess, the bright red blood shocked audiences. Not only is a vampire staked through the heart, but they scream in agony. We have violence and pain in Horror Of Dracula, something cinema rarely showed. There’s this idea that cinema didn’t show actual violence until Arthur Penn’s Bonnie & Clyde (1967) or Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969), but this hogwash. The point these film academics make is that prior to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway being riddled with bullets, an onscreen death didn’t show the agony of death. In a Western, someone would be shot and fall off the horse and out of frame. The death cry was censored out. Maybe I can agree that mainstream audiences didn’t see Herschell Gordon Lewis’ films, but the screams of Janet Lee were heard across the globe. And before Janet, there was Jonathan Harker’s betrothed getting a piece of wood to the heart and howling into the night.

This round I focused on acting and the mise-en-scene. The backgrounds and sets are beautiful. They raise the minor budget and feel true to the film. I enjoyed that Terrence Fischer was able to cut elements from the story of Dracula to save on the production. He knew exactly what to cut, that we wouldn’t miss, like Renfield.