Horrorfest 2018 Presents: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1974, Dan Curtis)

Dan Curtis’ 1974 Dracula made for TV movie is really good despite not coming from Hammer Studios. Jack Palance was pretty solid in the title role, embodying the Count as a primal force of nature. Richard Matherson wrote the screenplay, and Dark Shadows creator Curtis directed, which is a good pairing for a TV film. Dracula is fairly well shot, although the rest of the cast fails to match Palance. Also the story is largely familiar, even though Curtis adds the twist of Dracula and Vlad the Impaler being one and the same, a bit that Francis Ford Coppolla used later for his own Dracula film.

Palance really does take over this film, and some of the shots are rather impressive. Dracula shoving people aside as if they are rag dolls was a cool part, as was some eerie beach shots. Even though this pales in comparison to the best of Hammer’s vampire films, I liked its style. I also miss TV movies, as they were usually major events that used to be featured weekly on television. A relic of a long gone age, much like Dracula himself.