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R.I.P. Christopher Lee
In the last Marathon of the Soul, I discussed the influence of vampires in pop culture, most specifically Dracula. Werner Herzog’s adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel had been number 1 after all, and even though the numbered rankings don’t mean much in this context, there really wasn’t any doubt where it should lie. Aside from Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, there is no other story that has had as much influence on pop culture and the horror genre as Dracula. For better or worse, depending on your opinions of Anne Rice and Twilight, the notion of vampires in fiction would not be as prevalent nor would their ‘rules’ be as ingrained into the public consciousness if it hadn’t been for Bram Stoker’s novel. Sure, there had been vampires as the subject of stories around that time, Polidori’s “The Vampyre”, Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla”, but none have had the staying power as the former Vlad Tepes.
Of course a lot of the reason why Dracula has been so durable over the years is because of its adaptation to film, and as is is the horror genre, it has been firmly run into the ground. Most of how we view Dracula (as well as werewolves, mummies and Frankenstein’s Monster) comes from the Universal horror films of the 30’s and 40s, which of course were so influential because they were the first of their kind, but few outside the horror fandom ever recognize the impact of Hammer Films on the classic monster films. Beginning in 1955 with their adaptation of The Quatermass Xperiment, Hammer produced a series of films in the thriller, horror and science-fiction genres, filling them with all the sex, violence and special effects that 50s B-movies could muster. The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein, Doctor Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde, maybe not all of them were film classics, but Hammer was able to forge a look and feel to their films that firmly established who they were and what that they were about.
But again, none of them were quite as important as Dracula.
In retrospect, there’s really spectacular storywise about Horror of Dracula, the first of Hammer’s multi-film series about the titular vampire. After all, it’s just retelling an abridged version of the Stoker novel, without much of the creative differences that marked Herzog’s Nosferatu or Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However, where this movie shines is the inclusion of Peter Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing and the legendary Christopher Lee as Count Dracula. It is Cushing’s portrayal of the doctor, who was otherwise a relatively minor character in the novel, which I firmly believe established the idea of Van Helsing as a vampire hunter and Dracula’s archnemesis. Lee’s performance of Count Dracula is equally interesting, as much ‘in character’ as Bela Lugosi’s in 1931. Unlike Lugosi’s charming European aristocrat, Lee’s Dracula is a demon in man’s clothing, a demonic figure whose overwhelming force of will is apparent even though Christopher Lee says less than five lines of dialogue throughout the entire film (I believe the story is that he hated all of Dracula’s dialogue so he opted not to say it, because who are you to question Christopher Lee?). Both embody the dark, seductive nature that characterize what Dracula represents, but there’s something dangerous, even bestial about Lee’s Dracula that feels so effective even 40+ years later. He really feels like the stuff of nightmares, more so than Lugosi or Gary Oldman or really anybody else I’ve seen that has played the character. That he manages this completely nonverbally is a testament to how truly great an actor he was.
There will probably always be some iteration of Dracula or some other vampire story being made at any given point in time, but horror is a genre which respects the classics, and as horror fans we should as well. If you’ve already seen the Universal Dracula, how about taking a trip across the pond and trying out Horror of Dracula? It’s got boobs, blood and elderly British men galore. What more could you want on Halloween?
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