In 2015,Guinness World Recordsnamed Count Dracula the most adapted literary character, with 538 productions making use ofBram Stoker’s legendary vampire in some way. Of course,Draculahas been in the public domain since 1962, making its content easy to appropriate for cameos, team-ups, and schlock. Stoker wouldn’t recognize his creation in many of these; there’s very little of his work in something likeBilly the Kid vs. Dracula. Nominal adaptations such asThe Last Voyage of the Demeteronly take from chapters, if that, of Stoker’s original book. Andthe latest film connected to Dracula,Abigail, doesn’t mention his name at all.
But if Dracula has traveled far from his book, and if his name and presence have been used to prop up forgettable films, that doesn’t change the fact that he is one of horror fiction’s greatest characters, from one of its greatest novels. There have been inspired adaptations, parodies, and sequels to Stoker’s story,capturing the terror, sexuality, and adventure of the novel– though none to date has done all at once. And the character has been plucked from his original story and placed into some very entertaining yarns. To rank every screen project featuring Dracula is beyond our scope here, but here are 16 theatrically released star turns for the world’s most famous vampire, good, bad, and in-between.
It’s hard to be mad atDracula: Dead and Loving It, but it’s easy to be disappointed with it. The film could have been a wonderful follow-up toYoung Frankensteinfor directorMel Brooks. Dracula has just as much iconography as Frankenstein ripe for affectionate spoofing. Brooks targeted everything fromBela Lugosi’s accent toGary Oldman’s wig andHammer’s buxom vampire brides.
But the laughs just don’t land. Pulling from every famous take on Dracula to date may have hurt the comedy. Many of the jokes are low-hanging fruit, andthe story sticks too close to the real thing to really cut loose. Worse, the spark that animatedYoung Frankenstein(no pun intended) isn’t present. There are good bits in the film, but watching it, one wishes Brooks would come out of retirement to close his directorial career on a better note.
Dracula: Dead and Loving Itis available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
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15. Count Dracula (1970)
Good intentions can only take an adaptation so far. The 1970Count Draculalives up to its promise to be the most faithful depiction of Stoker’s novel for about a half-hour.Sir Christopher Leeis dressed all in black, sports the literary count’s white hair and moustache, and gives disquieting recitals of some of Dracula’s finest speeches from the book.
But Lee’s is the only performance here with the passion necessary to do right by Stoker. The rest of the cast seem either untrained or on autopilot. The meagre budget is betrayed throughout. Andthe commitment to following the book ends after the first thirty minutes. Even if it hadn’t,Draculais too adventurous and grand a Gothic novel to be properly captured on the cheap.
Count Dracula
Count Dracula, a vampire who regains his youth by drinking the blood of maidens, is pursued in London and Transylvania by Professor Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris.
Count Draculais available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
14. The Last Voyage of the Demeter
The Last Voyage of the Demeterhas a poetic title. And the idea of fleshing out the doomed ship’s captain’s log from the novel into a movie is an exciting premise. Frankly, it’s more promising than another straightforward adaptation of the whole novel would be at this point, the kind of fun twist on the original worth rooting for. Unfortunately, two things mar the execution: a cavalier attitude to the material being adapted, and cliché upon cliché upon cliché.Plot, character, music, scare tactics: all of them are old hat. The original script byBragi Schut Jr.waslong marred in development hell, and judging by how well the film turned out, might have been better off there as an enticing might-have-been than a disappointing reality.
The Last Voyage of The Demeter
The Last Voyage of the Demeteris available to rent on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
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13. Dracula’s Daughter (1936)
I’ve always preferred Dracula to Frankenstein. But I’ll readily concede that Universal gave the latter much better sequels.The Bride of FrankensteinandSon of Frankensteinare two of the best entries in the Universal horror canon.Dracula’s DaughterandSon of Draculasuffer by comparison. Neither is as quirky, ambitious, nor memorable as their counterpart; whatever their budgets and production histories, the finished products come off as routine programmers.
In the case ofDracula’s Daughter- one of the last horror films made at Universal before its founding Laemmle family lost the studio - the film is marred by an obnoxious love interest/comic relief combo (Marguerite Churchill), a dull male lead (Otto Kruger), and a listless air to the production. ButGloria Holden does provide a compelling central performance as a reluctant vampireunable — or ultimately unwilling — to resist the bloodlust.
Dracula’s Daughter
When Countess Marya Zaleska appears in London, mysterious events occur that lead Dr. Von Helsing to believe that the Countess must be a vampire.
Dracula’s Daughteris available to rent on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
12. Son of Dracula (1943)
Of the two classic Universal sequels,Son of Draculahas more to it, even with such bad miscasting as the all-AmericanLon Chaney Jr. as Dracula (and it is Dracula himself here, despite the title). He gives it the ol' college try, and he was the first to play Dracula in a moustache, but there’s no getting around his voice or his blue-collar demeanor.
But if the film’s Dracula is weak, it’s got plenty of Gothic atmosphere – Southern Gothic, that is, as the film is set in the Louisiana bayou. There are some fun supporting characters, includingFrank CravenandJ. Edward Brombergas a pair of professors trying to thwart the undead. Andthe real villain is the female lead Katherine(Louise Allbritton), who manipulates Dracula and her own family in a bid for immortality.
Son of Draculais available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
11. Abigail (2024)
Abigail’sconnection to Dracula is a tenuous one. If early publicity hadn’t named it a reinvention ofDracula’s Daughter, you could probably miss that the film has anything to do with the count at all. The premise of a kidnapping gone wrong is certainly a fresh take on the idea of Dracula having a little girl, and there is some fun and stylish art direction to be enjoyed here.Alisha Weirgamely portrays a young vampire with a sadistic yet childlike idea of play, very different from Holden’s tortured countess in the original.
But the focus is less on Abigail than on the crime crew who capture her. And they are a collection of stock, one-note personalities who offer a few laughs but little real interest. There are tepid riffs on vampire film clichés, but the story is critically wounded by other, equally tired stereotypes of the broader horror genre.
After a group of criminals kidnaps the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.
Abigail is currently in theaters in the U.S.
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10. Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
Throwing Dracula into the 1970s was an obvious act of desperation by Hammer, andDracula A.D. 1972is no one’s idea of a masterpiece. Butthe juxtaposition of traditional Gothic horror and the hip scene of 70s London is so silly, I can’t help but like it. The film is dated in only the most charming of ways.
One person who didn’t enjoy the fun was Christopher Lee. He’d been unhappy with Hammer’s Dracula series for years by this point. But he andPeter Cushing, paired up as Dracula and Van Helsing 14 years after their last battle in those roles, manage to capture a lot of the old magic here. Hardly anyone would be scared by this film today, but it’s great for a Halloween party. Just don’t invite anyone named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame).
Dracula A.D. 1972is available to rent on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
9. Love at First Bite (1979)
Now here’s a Dracula spoof with some pizzazz. Perpetually tan actorGeorge Hamiltonmay seem an odd choice to play any vampire, let alone Count Dracula. But he managed tomorph his Lugosi impression into a full comic character: dignified, out of touch, and sexually frustrated. He can smoothly handle Van Helsing’s psychiatrist descendent, but the Romanian Communists and New York social scene are another story.
There are some easy “fish out of water” jokes here, but some clever twists on that old chestnut as well. Hamilton has a great foil inArte Johnson’sRenfieldand a fair romance withSusan Saint James. There are lulls, but this is a fine comedy. It seems a shame Hamilton’s run of spoofs only went one further withZorro, the Gay Blade.
8. Horror of Dracula (1958)
Hammer’s inaugural entry in their Dracula series is held in high esteem among horror circles. It’s hard not to attach some greater weight to this film; it was the first time Christopher Lee played Dracula and Peter Cushing played Van Helsing. Yet I can’t say it’s ever been among my favorites. The female leads are stiff, the scale is constrained by a lean budget, andthere’s hardly any lines of Stoker’s in the dialogue.
But if it isn’t Hammer’s finest, that doesn’t mean it isn’t good.Horror of Draculalooks great, has wonderful music, and its shortcomings can easily be forgiven whenever Lee and Cushing clash on screen. Lee’s Dracula isn’t quite perfected here, but Cushing’s performance seems effortless, and the physicality of both actors injects a lot of energy into what could have been a very idle movie.
Horror of Draculais available to rent on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
Why Do We Keep Getting Sucked In by Dracula Stories?
The iconic vampire has had a career in Hollywood spanning a century.
7. Dracula (1979)
I’ve never been a fan of making vampires heroic or sympathetic. That goes double for Dracula: he’s evil and scary by design in the book, and that’s the way I like it. I’m also not a fan of inconsistently applying Stoker’s vampire lore; either stick to the rules or throw them out, but don’t change your mind mid-movie. Universal’s 1979Draculais guilty of both issues.
That said, this – the third adaptation to take as much from the Deane/Balderston play as from Stoker’s novel – isone of the most handsomely produced, with gorgeous sets, photography, and staging. Some of the story twists are inspired. While I don’t love every interpretation of the characters here, the takes are all well-thought-out and brilliantly performed. And while thisDracula is a bit on the romantic side, the film doesn’t forget he’s evil. The mess he makes of Mina (Jan Francis) is one of the most repulsive displays of vampirism I’ve ever seen.
Dracula(1979) is available to rent on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
