Happy Goat Horror

Dark bleatings, my toothy tribe! Alex Davis – a good friend to the goats and what we consider a horror oracle, is here to tell us a bit about this year’s UK Dracula Film Festival and delight us with his Top 5 Strangest Dracula Adaptations!

DRACULA THE STRANGE
More than 125 years on since its publication, Bram Stoker’s iconic creation of Dracula remains a firm fixture in horror – not to mention wider culture. And this year sees the first running of the UK Dracula Film Festival, taking place in Derby over the weekend of 20th-22nd September.

And why Derby, you may ask? The city can claim its own unique link to Dracula, with this year marking the centenary of the stage premiere that took place at the city’s Grand Theatre back in 1924. What is particularly significant about it is that the stage version is fundamentally the Dracula we know best – caped, urbane and sophisticated, more human and less monster than the titular lead of the Stoker novel.

Adaptation and new spins are a key part of what has made and kept Dracula so popular, so in this blog we’ll be exploring five of the strangest versions of Dracula over the years. Whether it’s the movie itself at large, the depiction or the actor in the lead, here are five unusual turns for the world’ most famous vampire…

David Niven, Old Dracula/Vampira (1974)

The image of Dracula as a physically strong and menacing presence is typically what we call to mind, but in Old Dracula the role is taken on by veteran acting legend David Niven. Niven is an Oscar winner, someone who has depicted James Bond and was a regular fixture on screens from the 1930s on – which makes this movie even more of a strange choice. Dracula here is forced to give tours of his castle to keep himself afloat, and seeks to find victims with a particular blood group to bring back his bride Vampira. This one is probably remembered for the infamous sight of Niven
in ‘blackface’, which makes the wisdom of the decision to take on this part even more dubious.

Udo Kier, Blood for Dracula (1974)

While this movie carried Andy Warhol’s name – which as you can imagine brought a good bit of attention to it – his involvement was fairly minimal in the project. But there’s a thematic sense there in Udo Kier’s depiction of Dracula. He’s a character who is also weak and sickly – unlike the typically powerful vampire we might expect – and finds himself drinking the blood of four ‘virgins’ to survive, though two are not quite befitting of that title. It’s strange, erotic and exotic – and worth your time as a more unusual version here. I’d have loved to see Kier play a more traditional version,
but c’est la vie…

George Hamilton, Love at First Bite (1979)

A well-known – and typically very tanned – face on television and film for the better part of 60 years, George Hamilton took on the role of the Count in this curious little romantic offering from the last 1970s. It brings Dracula into that time period and sees him falling in love with a modern woman and living it up in an exciting time in New York City. It certainly has its likeable moments, but it’s another actor who feels like a very unlikely choice for the role.

Leslie Nielsen, Dracula, Dead and Loving It (1995)

I’ve long had a soft spot for Leslie Nielsen since watching old episodes of Police Squad with my granddad, and have even seen the usual slapstick actor give some good dramatic performances here and there. But here he is back in full comedy mode, and when he has the material to work with he’s one of the funniest actors ever. However this one – like fellow Nielsen-led horror spoof Repossessed – feels rather one-note and lacks the cleverness of moves like The Naked Gun and Airplane. And who would ever have pictured someone who so often played a loveable buffoon in the role of Dracula?

Langley Kirkwood, Dracula 3000 (2004)

More remarkable for the film around him than the individual performance itself, Dracula 3000 proves the old adage that all horror franchises eventually wind up in space. Series like Hellraiser, Leprechaun and Friday the 13 th all took the action way beyond Earth eventually, so I suppose it makes sense someone would do it with Dracula. The bizarre concept of Dracula as all but a slasher villain bumping off humans on board a spaceship doesn’t come off on the screen any better than it
sounds, but if you wanted to tick off the ‘Dracula in space’ box on your vampire bingo card then this one delivers it…

You can see plenty more adaptations of Dracula at the UK Dracula Film Festival, with some classic version, some cult classic and some comedy gems! Visit:

https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/season-festival/ukdracula/

to find out more.