HALLOWEEN REVIEW OF THE DAY: Dracula (1931)

Starting today until Halloween I will review either horror, Halloween-related, ghost and goblins-related, etc. movies I recall seeing in the past during the rest of October. It is only fitting since it is the month of Halloween ! So let's dive in to the first Halloween Review of the Day review Dracula, the famous vampire film released in 1931 by Universal and starring Count Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi. The one thing that makes this film stand out is of curse Lugosi's performance. I know there is not really anything new to be said what has not been said before about this film or Lugsoi's performance, but man is this guy powerful. From his verbal to his facial to just his gesture expressions, this man is Dracula! He is subtle, quiet, in the shadows, but at the same time full of intimidation, pride, charisma, and awesome frightfulness. Truly one of the most famous roles ever that an actor was so fully immersed in, that you did not just see an actor acting on screen, no you see the character, flesh and blood, right there in front of your eyes. A lot of the scenery and settings in the film are also amazing to look out. The gothic portrayal of them adds a darker tone to the overall film and eerie feeling of fear whenever you see Dracula, look at his castle, and even with scenes with his brides. I have to admit a lot of the scenes where Dracula is not that present is are a little uninteresting but during scenes where they at least mention heavily about Dracula gives the audience the same feelings and chills whenever he is on screen. Just his stare gets to you, the face says everything you need to know about Dracula and why he is not a force to be mess with. Bela Lugosi's performance, the character of Dracula, and overall pacing of this classic horror tale is more than worth it and it is truly sets up a gothic world that you will surprisingly would love to visit over and over again! Grade: E