Short Round: Dracula (1931) ****/*****

This is where it’s at when it comes to classic horror. When I think of monster movies of the studio system, I think of Dracula. Huge, elaborate sets, out there performances from strange character actors, and the most memorable visual representations of already iconic characters, that’s what Universal was good at. Dracula has atmosphere to spare. Just in the first ten minutes you’ve got spooky shadows, howling wolves, fog, squeaky doors, spider webs, and a bevy of creepy crawly critters. Every horror movie should be going for this sort of over the top mood setting, it’s what makes the genre fun. And then there’s Dracula, creepy but refined in the hands of Bela Lugosi, accompanied by a trio of ethereal, brainwashed vampire brides, and thirsty for all the blood he can get his hands on.

This is the way a vampire should be portrayed on film, cartoonish recoilings from crosses, lip smacking coveting of blood dripping from paper cuts, and a confident pursuing of the town’s wives and daughters. Lugosi is a cross between a date rapist and Jeffrey Dahmer. Admittedly, the movie goes downhill once it leaves Dracula’s castle in Transylvania to travel to London, and the film ends with more of a whimper than a bang; but it gets extra points for the mood and legacy alone. This is the perfect old movie to watch on Halloween night, just something about the scratched up old print makes it feel extra spooky. Like this old film is a cursed artifact hiding ancient secrets. And, you know, there’s a good amount of dated campiness to laugh at throughout. This movie has got some killer rubber bats in it.