movie review: Dracula (1931)

I don't normally watch black and white films or classic cinema. But, I love all forms of the horror genre. I love all things spooky. The notoriety of Dracula is timeless, iconic, and archetypal. Bela Legosi as Count Dracula is actually brilliant and well portrayed. 

I always find classic cinema technology to be so fascinating. Also, extremely hilarious. My favorite part of the whole film is Dracula's bat form. It is never in the same frame as Dracula, but floats in windows in the most cringey fashion. 

I really only appreciated two actors in this film. Bela Legosi as Count Dracula and Dwight Frye as Renfield. Legosi's Hungarian nationality made for a great performance and that's seemingly the entire appeal of the movie. The movie was most exciting while he was on screen. I also loved Frye's character; a crazy eyed self proclaimed slave to Dracula. I found myself cheering for Dracula and questioning Van Helsing's "willpower". 

This movie helped to spearhead the horror genre in Hollywood cinema during a time of unease and great transition. I try to do a lot of research (aka, read the Wikipedia page) for movies while or after I watch the movie. I may even go as far to read the book. It all started with Bram Stoker in the late 1800's. Even during its time, Dracula was a mainstream success. The fascination with the occult, horror, and mystery will never die.