Bram Stoker's Dracula - Yeah, pretty good

Despite the fact that I love horror, love vampires and like to think I can appreciate a stellar cast, I never really did 'get' 1992's 'Bram Stoker's Dracula.' Yeah, I thought it was pretty good and own a copy, but for a film that's so loved by so many, I just thought I should enjoy it more than I do.

It's a decent interpretation of the book (so I've been told!), but I must confess to never actually reading the original source text.  It's extremely well directed and the acting is top notch (or at least so much of the acting is good we can most likely overlook Keanu Reeves' British accent!).  It's the timeless tale of Dracula and how - in the opening montage - he's semi tricked into renouncing God after the love of his life takes her own life when she thinks he died in battle.  Therefore, Drac decides to take his vengeance out on the rest of the world by becoming an immoral vampire. 

I know a few people who criticised the film on its release said that it was more of a 'love story' than the horror movie that they were expecting.  The 'love aspect' doesn't really bother me as it's a strong part of the characters' motivation and was quite original (for the time!).  I guess now with so many other vampire films and TV shows out there which use a form of 'love triangle' this may all seem a little tired by now.

I've watched the film plenty of times since its release and, despite me not loving it like the rest, I do think that it's Gary Oldman's performance as the titular vampire which really does keep me coming back.  He takes on various monstrous incarnations of evil and, not only is the make-up and effects excellent, it's his ability to actually even make us feel a little sorry for the villain.  There are plenty of other big names on the cast list (we'll ignore Keanu Reeves for now - bless him) and the other real stand-out is Anthony Hopkins, who seems to be enjoying hamming up his portrayal of legendary vampire hunter 'Van Helsing.'

I know vampire media is everywhere these days, but few are as well acted and shot as 'Bram Stoker's Dracula.' It's definitely up there with the definitive examples of the genre, even if I do only watch it every few years.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that