Dracula (1931) - Tod Browning

Dracula is the cornerstone of Horror. The most successful Vampire movie of all time. Bela Lugosi will always be associated with his role of the bloodsucking noble. This was released before Frankenstein and did quite successful. It began the Universal Horror brand that has lasted for decades. It is such a classic and well done film. Directed by Tod Browning, this spectacular piece is incredibly creative. Of course it takes liberties with the Bram Stoker novel, it's hardly surprising with a Hollywood Blockbuster like this one.

This film is so iconic and unique. It was made right along side a Spanish language counterpart, that is just as interesting as this one. The cast and crew is spectacular. Like I said above, Tod Browning and Bela Lugosi. However, we have Dwight Frye, Edward Von Sloan, and Helen Chandler as Mina. The acting is tight and keeps you entertained the entire time.

The story is about Dracula reigning his horror on England. He creepily stalks around sets. Bites girls on the neck and evades Dr. Van Helsing. Browning does a great job of using light in this movie. Dracula's eyes are terrifying. The movie is written so well too. Garrett Fort wrote the screenplay and it flows so seamlessly. This is really a superior picture and it should be required viewing in Film Appreciation classes.

This is a really easy movie to recommend. The movie is really easy to get into for those that feel like they would be bored by a black and white movie. Especially one from the thirties. The movie is also really entertaining and can be appreciated for a quick horror movie night. In short, if you want to find something to watch then seek this out. It should be easy to find.

There are far worse things awaiting man than death.

Universal Studios commissioned a new musical score from composer Philip Glass. It premiered at The Brooklyn Academy of Music on 26 October 1999.
The large, expansive sets built for the Transylvania castle and Carfax Abbey sequences remained standing after filming was completed, and were used by Universal Pictures for many other movies for over a decade.
Bela Lugosi played the role of Dracula on Broadway in 1927 before touring the country with the show. The American performance of the British stage actor Hamilton Deane's adaptation of the book was a smashing success. Soon after the play began touring Universal started to express interest in the script.

Comments

The Human Monster (1939) - Walter Summers

Bela Lugosi turns in a fantastic performance. It is right on par with the exact same films that had made him famous like Dracula . My personal favorite being The Black Cat . Like the latter, this film suffered from poor circulation and lack of advertisement. Either that or the public wasn't interested in seeing Lugosi in anything else other than his famous bloodsucker. This film has a broad and well acted plot that was rich with detail. Lugosi has two sides in this picture. His well loved and compassionate side. The other is a strict, brutal lone shark that acts as a sinister villain to blind and handicapped people. He really brutalizes his victims. It's a macabre message to pay your bills. The film is slow moving and plagued by the usual setbacks from its time. Most of the nation wasn't really that concerned with horror at the time. But studios knew that they would always have an audience. This film is a prime example of that. It's sad because it's

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Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t

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Inseminoid (1981) - Norman J. Warren

What can be said for mindless schlock pictures like this one. They were pumped out in droves during the eighties. Inseminoid !? give me a break! It sounds like some pre-pubescent teenage boys came up with the title. On the plus side the movie isn't horrible to look at and it has a decent amount of gore. If you can separate yourself from the political incorrectness, then you might have a perfectly decent Sci-Fi Monster Feature. A research team exploring caves on Jupiter accidentally awakens an ancient alien that rapes and impregnates one of the team members. She suffers from terrible shock and trauma, leading to a complete mental breakdown as her pregnancy accelerates faster and faster. Feeling threatened she decides to kill anyone she deems a threat. Can the rest of the research team survive or will they all become victims of INSEMINOID! Apparently this movie had a million dollar budget. That's really shocking considering the outcome of the picture. The acting

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