Top Five Draculas
There might not be another monster with more depictions throughout cinema history. Here are a few that stand out.
In our Horror Oscars bonus episode, Mike and I discussed our favorite film Count Draculas. His is George Hamilton in 1979’s horror comedy Love at First Bite—a fun and surprising choice for sure, but I love it. He said that this was the first Dracula he ever saw, so it holds a special place in his heart. I mentioned that my first, coincidentally from the same year, was Frank Langella in John Badham’s version of the story. The performance doesn’t stand out in my memory like Hamilton’s—a tan vampire!—but quite a few other depictions of the Prince of Darkness do. Here are my top five film versions, in no particular order.
Nicolas Cage in Renfield (2023)
Must I elaborate on this one? It’s Nic Cage as Dracula! He went deep into German Expressionism for his role as Ronny Cammareri in Moonstruck, so I have no doubt he revisited that well to portray The Count. He plays second fiddle to the title character, his assistant Renfield, in this stylized comedy—a film more about laughs than scares. But a story told from the point of view of Dracula’s put-upon servant is a fun twist that keeps the film interesting. Cage brings his full Cageness, for sure, but he appears to have deep reverence for the character. There are even instances where he’s superimposed into scenes from Tod Browning’s 1931 version of Dracula, and it’s like he belongs there.
Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
As modern Draculas go, there’s no beating Oldman’s rendition in this Francis Ford Coppola film. The story follows him through many eras of his life, from a heartbroken young man to an old, decrepit vampire—and sometimes even a wolf. The film is beautifully made and the performances around Oldman are, for the most part, exquisite. But it’s his depiction of the count as a character seeking redemption rather than feeding bloodlust that makes his iteration compelling. Oldman’s Dracula has complexity and emotion other Draculas lack, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Also, Cary Elwes says Oldman slept in a coffin, living separately from the rest of the cast during filming, to get into character. With quirky antics like that you know he was going to nail it.
Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)
When most people think of Dracula, this is the one they think of. With his mesmerizing stare and arched, beckoning clawed fingers, Lugosi’s performance as the Prince of Darkness—both in this film and in the stage version from the 1920s—made the character iconic and would become the touchstone for almost everything after. Sadly, the actor’s performance was almost too good and he was typecast as a horror performer for the rest of his life. Even so, what Lugosi did in Tod Browning’s film is legendary. Lugosi’s influence on cinema is still visible, nearly 100 years later.
Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922)
If Bela Lugosi is the father of horror, Max Schreck is the grandfather; his performance as Count Orlock in F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu laid the horror film foundation. The movie is silent and relies heavily on German Expressionist sets for drama and Schreck’s masterful emoting and gesticulations for terror. But he does this while wearing makeup that portrays him as grotesque, not aristocratic—an interesting distinction between this role and its descendants. More time has passed since this film was made than it has for any of the others on my list, and yet it’s still as solid a watch.
Udo Kier in Blood for Dracula (1974)
In this follow-up to Flesh for Frankenstein, director Paul Morrissey revisits the classic horror genre (with Andy Warhol producing) in a unique spin on Bram Stoker’s novel. In it, Dracula, weak from running out of virgins in Romania, makes his way to Italy, where strict adherence to religion all but ensures success…or so he thinks. The film is pure camp, but cult favorite Udo Kier plays the vampire with conviction and sells both the comedic and dramatic elements—tones the story vacillates between the whole time.
Find out where to stream all of these performances at JustWatch.com.