Series Overview:
And while I love Lee as Dracula – he is large and commanding and threatening – I don’t think he’s surpassed the looming pop culture premise of Bela Lugosi in my mind. Lugosi is essentially The Beatles of Draculas, and I’m not sure if any other actor will be able to break down Lugosi’s legend. Lee may be an awesome and badass Dracula, but Lugosi taught us how vampires behave. Lee is great, but he can do no better than second-best.
Cushing, on the other hand, is the most definitive Van Helsing I have ever seen. Who played Van Helsing in 1931? Does anyone remember Edward Van Sloan? Who else played Van Helsing? If you say Hugh Jackman, you’ll get a prod in the ribs. No, Cushing is not only great in his movies, but he has become the archetypal Van Helsing forever. He is the new standard by which to measure all future Van Helsings. Indeed, if you are an aspiring actor, and you’re given the monster movie role wherein you have to provide exposition on a monster, go no further than Cushing for inspiration. This is how to do monster movie exposition correctly. Stern, serious, and never tired of repeating the same story.
All of the films featured a young Jonathan Harker type (usually named Paul) and they all do their jobs well enough I suppose. There were also a handful of sexy Minas and Lucys for good measure. But these young people seem like secondary heroes when compared to the aged monster and his aged nemesis. That’s the central appeal of Dracula, I think: He may be sexed up, but he is not a young dapper gent driven by his libido. He is a full-grown adult, fighting with other full-grown adults, tearing past their mature sensibilities to destroy them. Youth plays a central part in bringing Dracula down, but it’s the classicism that should remain.
Until you get Chinese vampire mummies involved. Then we can just sit back and let our inner 10-year-old boys take over.
Thanks for joining me on this journey. Next week, we’ll be covering Kevin Smith’s Askewniverse. Until then, kiddies, pleasant nightmares.
Witney Seibold is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can read his weekly articles Trolling, Free Film School and The Series Project, and follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
