By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 minute ago

If we’re being honest, the quintessential problem with most vampire movies is that filmmakers don’t understand these captivating creatures, and they deliver a film that focuses on nothing but blood and gore. Vampires, however, are meant to be the embodiment of seductive evil, and their onscreen appearances should oscillate between terrifying and mesmerizing. Perhaps the one director who truly understands this is legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, whose sexy, iconic ‘90s masterpiece Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) is now streaming on Netflix.

The plot of Bram Stoker’s Dracula should be pretty familiar to any horror fan worth their fangs: it all begins when a young solicitor is given the job of finding a new home for the mysterious Count Dracula. But the bloodsucking fiend sets his sights on the young man’s fiancée, believing her to be the reincarnation of his own, long-deceased wife. The fiend’s obsession with her threatens to tear these young lovers apart, and his subsequent rampage may take all of London along with their relationship.

A Cast Of Hollywood’s Leading Lights

The cast of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is stacked with big names, including ‘80s icons Winona Ryder (best known for Little Women) and Keanu Reeves (best known for The Matrix). The film also stars Anthony Hopkins (best known for The Silence of the Lambs) and Cary Elwes (best known for The Princess Bride). In a truly inspired twist, the movie even features musical legend Tom Waits as Renfield, Dracula’s memorably maniacal servant.

But nobody is acting harder here than Gary Oldman (best known for The Dark Knight), who effectively plays several different incarnations of Count Dracula. We see him as a younger man forsaking God to become the embodiment of evil, and we see him as an older ghoul who needs to leech off the life force of others. We even see him as a dapper stud stalking the streets of 19th-century London, effortlessly reminding everyone of just how seductive evil can truly be.

It Was A Monster Smash

The outsized budget of $40 million showed just how serious Francis Ford Coppola was about creating a horror movie like nothing Hollywood had seen before. Fortunately, the film more than paid for itself: Bram Stoker’s Dracula ended up taking home $225.9 million, making it a truly monstrous hit. On top of its commercial success, Coppola’s success also managed to impress the critics, which is even more notable when you consider how much professional reviewers typically hate the spooky genre (at least, until “elevated” horror gave them a palatable excuse for highly ranking such films).

When Bram Stoker’s Dracula came out, it quickly sank its teeth into movie reviewers clamoring for a new take on the vampire genre. It has a 69 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the singular performances from Gary Oldman and other talented performers. More broadly, they also commended director Francis Ford Coppola for rescuing these iconic characters from campy, dusty interpretations by modernizing the aging Dracula tale and making it sleeker, sexier, and more stylish than ever before.

An Oscar-Winning Fright

Like its titular villain sweeping through London, Bram Stoker’s Dracula swept the Academy Awards, ultimately taking home three different Oscars. This included the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing, Best Makeup, and Best Costume Design. It was also nominated for Best Art Direction, but it lost out on that particular award to Howards End. 

To this day, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a singular cinematic achievement, one that never quite settles into a single genre. Sure, it functions perfectly well as a horror movie, and these lavish, scary visuals are sure to haunt you to the end of your days. But the movie also works as an unpredictably monstrous romance, one that is sure to have you sympathizing with its titular vampire long before the credits roll.

Speaking of lavish visuals, Francis Ford Coppola infuses almost every scene with over-the-top aesthetics that will leave you asking, “how did he do that?” again and again. From quiet scenes of a speeding train to the loud grandeur of the count unleashed, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the most visually sumptuous horror movie you are ever likely to see. Even if you start zoning out (hey, the Keanu Reeves dialogue will do that to you!), it’s undeniably difficult to tear your eyes away from a film that looks this freakin’ good. 

Dracula: Dead And Loving It

It’s not the best vampire film ever made; that honor still belongs to the 1931 Dracula, in which Bella Lugosi ushered horror fans into an unforgettable age of monsters. But Bram Stoker’s Dracula is definitely the most iconic film featuring everyone’s favorite bloodsucker, and it provides unforgettable chills and undeniable thrills from beginning to end. If nothing else, Coppola deserves credit for updating and elevating a genre that long felt like it had a stake in its heart. 

Will you agree that Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a bloody good time, or would you like to see this stylish, supernatural romp burn up in the sunlight? You won’t know until you find your remote (you left it next to the stake, remember?) and stream it for yourself on Netflix. Even if you’re not all that scared of Gary Oldman’s Dracula, you may find yourself chilled to the bone by the scariest part of the entire movie: Keanu Reeves’ accent!