Horrorfest 2025: Dracula (1979)

Dracula
Written by W.D. Richter
Based on the play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston
Based on the novel by Bram Stoker
Starring Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan
UK/USA, 1979

I’ve been a Frank Langella fan ever since I laid eyes on him when I was 6-years-old in his scenery demolishing turn as Skeletor in MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. And, I’ve been a Dracula fan since roughly the same age. So you’d think I would have seen Langella’s take on the count by now, wouldn’t you? You’d be wrong!

But guess what? This year’s the year! I’ve finally done it! And Frank Langella did not let me down.

I went into the movie, having not heard much else about it other than Langella was in it, thinking he’d be the main event. And he pretty much was, however, I was surprised to find the rest of the movie was pretty great too. It even has a score by John Williams, and this is AFTER he became the guy who did SUPERMAN, STAR WARS, JAWS, etc. You might say, at the height of his powers. But you never hear anyone talk about his DRACULA score. It’s worth checking out.

If you’re familiar with DRACULA, it’s hard not to get lost in the strange differences between this one and others – like some other productions (I’m looking at you, Hammer), this one mixes around the names Mina and Lucy between the two different character types willy-nilly (and for seemingly no reason). It also starts dramatically in-media-res, during Dracula’s journey across the sea, bravely skipping the most famous Dracula stuff, back at his castle with Jonathon Harker (or Renfield, depending on your adaptation!).

I was excited for Laurence Olivier’s portrayal as Van Helsing – always nice having a heavy hitter on hand who can go toe to toe with Dracula – but here he’s oddly stilted with a strange accent. I understand the Dutch doctor WOULD have an accent, I just feel like it dampens and strains Olivier’s performance. So that was a little bit of a letdown. Donald Pleasence is similarly wasted as Dr. Seward, though, it’s fun to see how wrong he is about everything. Harker and Renfield are forgettable.

But anyway, why dwell on the negatives of what is otherwise a very handsome, grandiose and properly operative take on DRACULA, centering around Langella’s great performance. It’s aided along by a brisk pace and satisfying conclusion, making it one of the better of the many, many DRACULA movies out there.