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Turning our fangs toward a classic tale of old told in a new, more colorful way, this week on the Rotten Horror Picture Show we’re heading back to 1958 to unearth the origins of Hammer Horror, with Terence Fisher’s The Horror of Dracula! Or, if you live in England, simply, Dracula!
From Wikipedia:
Dracula is a 1958 British gothic horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel of the same name. The first in the series of Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the film also features Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, along with Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, and John Van Eyssen. In the United States, the film was retitled Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the U.S. original by Universal Pictures, 1931’s Dracula.
Production began at Bray Studios on 17 November 1957 with an investment of £81,000. As Count Dracula, Lee fixed the image of the fanged vampire in popular culture. Christopher Frayling writes, “Dracula introduced fangs, red contact lenses, décolletage, ready-prepared wooden stakes and – in the celebrated credits sequence – blood being spattered from off-screen over the Count’s coffin.” Lee also introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character, with Tim Stanley stating, “Lee’s sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud”
Join Clay and Amanda as they crack open the coffin on Dracula’s feet, Dracula’s “oh shit!” face, expository street urchins, a full wardrobe of absolutely amazing coats, and a discussion of Amanda’s apparent face blindness towards gaunt, white, english guys from the 50’s.
So sharpen your stakes, hang some garlic, get your parlor snacks in order and hunt the undead in fictional Bavaria with us…if you dare!