Behind the Couch

1958 Dir. Terence Fisher Perfectly epitomising the brand of lurid horror Hammer is now famed for, Dracula is one of the most important titles in the history of British horror cinema. Despite its low budget, it boasts a rich gothic atmosphere, impressive production design and iconic performances from Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Jimmy Sangster’s screenplay, coupled with Fisher’s agile direction, not only streamlines Bram Stoker’s original novel, but accentuates the underlying sexual themes evident within it. Lee’s incarnation of Dracula emerges as a sexual predator, stealthily corrupting the morals of those he encounters. With feral ferocity he pierces the heart of polite Victorian society, unveiling repressed desires and creating lustful, hideously grinning she-demons in his wake... This new cut of the film includes previously excised moments such as Dracula’s bloody seduction of Mina and his decomposition in a shaft of sunlight at the film’s riveting denouement. Hea...

Asia bares her fangs... Dario Argento is currently ensconced in shooting his adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel, 'Dracula'. Filming began in Hungary (where Argento previously filmed Phantom of the Opera and produced Michele Soavi's The Church ) in June and the film stars Rutger Hauer (as Van Helsing), Thomas Kretschmann (as Dracula), Marta Gastini (as Mina) and Asia Argento (as Lucy). A few on-set photos have found their way online courtesy of Asia Argento…  According to Alan Jones’s on-set reports , filming has gone well thus far and the shoot has proved something of an Argento ‘family’ reunion. Working with him again are the likes of special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti (who has worked on the majority of Argento's films since Phenomena in 1985), cinematographer Luciano Tovoli (who also lensed Argento’s gothic masterpiece Suspiria and edgily reflexive giallo Tenebrae ), production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng ( The Stendhal Syndrome,...

Dir. Tod Browning After my post yesterday about Bram Stoker and the fact that the whole of Dublin is reading Dracula this month , I found myself craving a peek at Universal’s classic adaptation of Stoker’s novel again. Featuring Bela Lugosi in his most iconic role, and some of the most memorable imagery from the whole Dracula mythos, courtesy of controlled direction from Tod Browning, Dracula is always a darkly bewitching film to indulge in. Opening with the spooky bit from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake , a highly dramatic and romanticised mood is instantly evoked. This adaptation opts to open with Renfield, not Jonathan Harker, travelling to Transylvania on business with the mysterious Count Dracula. Now seeming like rudimentary cliché, he stops off briefly at a local inn and is warned of the dastardly Count and his dubious ways. Quashing the local’s protests to turn back and ignoring their hushed whispers of ‘the Nosferatu’, he continues on his way and meets with a sinister carriage...

Bram Stoker In light of the fact that Dracula is this year's Dublin: One City, One Book's selected text, I thought it appropriate to delve into the background of the novel's author: Bram Stoker. Born in Dublin in November 1847, Stoker was a sickly child and bedridden for much of his formative years. As a young man he attended Trinity College in Dublin and excelled in athletics as well as academic studies and was friends with Oscar Wilde. He graduated in 1868 with a degree in mathematics and began working as a civil servant in Dublin Castle. This experience inspired him to write his first book, the rather riveting sounding Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland . This thrilling epic took the form of a handbook of legal administration and was published in 1878. At this stage, Dracula was but a mere twinkle in Stoker’s eye, and the budding writer busied himself with some freelance journalism and theatre criticism. Stoker eventually met and married Florence Bal...

Now in its fourth year, Dublin: One City, One Book is a project set up to encourage the population of Dublin to read the same book during the month of April each year. The project was instigated to help promote awareness of great home-grown literature and make it more accessible, in a city that has spawned one of the greatest literary heritages in the world. This year’s selected text is Bram Stoker’s full blooded Gothic horror classic Dracula , a book that has seized the imagination of countless readers in a vice-like grip throughout the decades, and been adapted for cinema, stage and television more times than Count Dracula has supped blood. All manner of fiendish Dracula -inspired events will be taking place throughout Dublin city during the month. If you find yourself in the vicinity and feel so inclined - why not check out a few... Click here for more information.