Christopher Lee graced the screens with his performances as menacing villains in several notable projects. The late actor delighted his fans when his career saw a resurgence after appearing as Saruman in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Following that he also appeared as the villainous Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones (2002).
Christopher Lee as Count Dooku
Lee’s performance as Count Dooku was one of the rarest positive elements in the much-criticized Prequel Trilogy. But the late actor did not seem to have a very good experience during the filming. Additionally, despite a good performance, a certain section of fans believe that Count Dooku is the most underutilized Star Wars villain.
Did the late Christopher Lee hate his time on Star Wars? Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II
George Lucas waited for a long time for...
Christopher Lee as Count Dooku
Lee’s performance as Count Dooku was one of the rarest positive elements in the much-criticized Prequel Trilogy. But the late actor did not seem to have a very good experience during the filming. Additionally, despite a good performance, a certain section of fans believe that Count Dooku is the most underutilized Star Wars villain.
Did the late Christopher Lee hate his time on Star Wars? Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II
George Lucas waited for a long time for...
- 4/29/2024
- by Subham Mandal
- FandomWire
Four decades after her feature debut in 1983’s BMX Bandits, Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Nicole Kidman is set to receive a history-making honor: the AFI Life Achievement Award, which for the first time in 49 years will go to an Australian performer. But the (American-born) Kidman considers herself a part of world cinema, having worked with such renowned filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut), Jane Campion (The Portrait of a Lady), Park Chan-wook (Stoker), Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled), Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) and Jonathan Glazer (Birth). The actress and producer reflects on how the honor represents both a robust career and a life well traveled.
You’ve received many awards throughout your career. What is so special about this honor?
The list of honorees that have come before me. I’m floored, actually, because there are so few, and there are no Australians. I was overwhelmed by it.
Do...
You’ve received many awards throughout your career. What is so special about this honor?
The list of honorees that have come before me. I’m floored, actually, because there are so few, and there are no Australians. I was overwhelmed by it.
Do...
- 4/26/2024
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Francis Ford Coppola is an iconic and veteran director who became famous for directing The Godfather franchise which ruled the 70s, 80s, and the 90s. With three superhit films to his name and having experience with world-renowned actors, Coppola shouldn’t have too much problem working with a studio right?
Wrong. As per recent reports, Francis Ford Coppola has been working on a movie for the past 40 years, and with the budget with which the film has been created, no studio is ready to join hands with Francis Ford Coppola!
Francis Ford Coppola | Source: Wikimedia Commons
No One Is Ready To Buy Francis Ford Coppola’s Film!
With 40 years in the making, Ford Coppola’s magnum opus, called Megalopolis is one of the grandest movies that the director has ever envisioned. During production and development, the film suffered through several challenges both physical and indirect and yet, it stood the test of time.
Wrong. As per recent reports, Francis Ford Coppola has been working on a movie for the past 40 years, and with the budget with which the film has been created, no studio is ready to join hands with Francis Ford Coppola!
Francis Ford Coppola | Source: Wikimedia Commons
No One Is Ready To Buy Francis Ford Coppola’s Film!
With 40 years in the making, Ford Coppola’s magnum opus, called Megalopolis is one of the grandest movies that the director has ever envisioned. During production and development, the film suffered through several challenges both physical and indirect and yet, it stood the test of time.
- 4/19/2024
- by Visarg Acharya
- FandomWire
Lionsgate Television and Park Chan-wook are partnering on an English-language adaptation of the South Korean auteur’s revenge thriller Oldboy.
Park and producing partner Syd Lim are attached to produce the series. Lionsgate Television executives Courtney Mock and Tara Joshi are overseeing the project.
The news comes days after the debut last weekend of Park’s HBO series The Sympathizer.
Oldboy became the first South Korean film to win the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004 and the modern classic was re-released last year to mark its 20th anniversary.
Adapted from the Japanese manga of the same name, the feature follows...
Park and producing partner Syd Lim are attached to produce the series. Lionsgate Television executives Courtney Mock and Tara Joshi are overseeing the project.
The news comes days after the debut last weekend of Park’s HBO series The Sympathizer.
Oldboy became the first South Korean film to win the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004 and the modern classic was re-released last year to mark its 20th anniversary.
Adapted from the Japanese manga of the same name, the feature follows...
- 4/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
Ballerina vampire movie "Abigail" might be set in the Boston area, but it was filmed almost entirely on location in Dublin — once the home of "Dracula" author Bram Stoker. During a visit to the set of "Abigail" last year, I also visited the 300-year-old library frequented by Stoker, whose signature can still be seen in the visitor's book. Though the figure of the vampire existed in folklore before "Dracula," Stoker's version of the creature became the blueprint for the modern vampire in pop culture. Notably, the quirk of vampires having no reflection originated with Stoker's novel.
Dracula is also one of the original Universal Monsters, so when Universal returned to the vampire pool for "Abigail," star Melissa Barrera felt it was only appropriate to include a little nod to Stoker's novel. Though each member of the heist crew hired to kidnap little Abigail has a "rat pack" name to conceal...
Dracula is also one of the original Universal Monsters, so when Universal returned to the vampire pool for "Abigail," star Melissa Barrera felt it was only appropriate to include a little nod to Stoker's novel. Though each member of the heist crew hired to kidnap little Abigail has a "rat pack" name to conceal...
- 4/5/2024
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
Cineastes the world over know about the scandal surrounding F.W. Murnau's horror classic "Nosferatu." It's clearly an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula," but Murnau infamously didn't obtain the rights to adapt Stoker's book into a screenplay. He changed the names of the characters -- most notably Count Dracula was changed into Count Orlock -- but that didn't stop Stoker's estate from suing Prana Film, the production company. Every copy of "Nosferatu" was ordered to be destroyed. Thanks to shiftlessness in this task, however, several prints survived, and audiences can enjoy and be terrified by "Nosferatu" to this day. For my money, it's one of the scariest movies ever made. ("The Lighthouse" director Robert Eggers is currently remaking it.)
In Rolf Giesen's 2019 book "The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy," the premiere of "Nosferatu" is described in detail, and Prana...
In Rolf Giesen's 2019 book "The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy," the premiere of "Nosferatu" is described in detail, and Prana...
- 3/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Dracula will never die — at least as long as Hollywood has anything to say about it. According to Variety, director Luc Besson is helming a new "Dracula" film starring Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") and Caleb Landry Jones (who last starred in Besson's "Dogman).
Besson's "Dracula" joins a crowded pack. 2023 saw the release of "Renfield," an action-comedy featuring Nicolas Cage as Dracula but focusing on Nicholas Hoult as the Count's undead assistant. Another film, released only a few months later, stuck more closely to the Lord of Vampires' horror roots: "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" adapted the chapter of Bram Stoker's original novel where Dracula sails to London in a coffin and murders the ship's crew. That film's Dracula (Javier Botet) was a batlike demon, a far cry from the affable Cage.
Coming up soon is "Abigail," a reimagining of Universal Pictures' 1936 film "Dracula's Daughter." And on Christmas...
Besson's "Dracula" joins a crowded pack. 2023 saw the release of "Renfield," an action-comedy featuring Nicolas Cage as Dracula but focusing on Nicholas Hoult as the Count's undead assistant. Another film, released only a few months later, stuck more closely to the Lord of Vampires' horror roots: "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" adapted the chapter of Bram Stoker's original novel where Dracula sails to London in a coffin and murders the ship's crew. That film's Dracula (Javier Botet) was a batlike demon, a far cry from the affable Cage.
Coming up soon is "Abigail," a reimagining of Universal Pictures' 1936 film "Dracula's Daughter." And on Christmas...
- 2/17/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Luc Besson has found his next project with a Dracula origin story, teaming with Caleb Landry-Jones, who starred in his last film, Dogman, and Christoph Waltz.
The big-budgeted film will be a retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic Gothic tale with Landry-Jones set to play the Transylvania Count-turned0vampire. Many directors have done their take on the infamous villain, including famously Francis Ford Coppola with 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Written in the 1890s, Dracula follows a nobleman who loses his wife and in his grief and cursing of God is transformed into a vampire. While the original Stoker story travels on the doomed ship the Demeter and into England, following multiple protagonists, Besson’s take will focus on the beginning of Dracula’s life and his relationship with wife.
Besson’s EuropaCorp is producing. Kinology is handling sale of the film out of EFM.
Besson last directed Dogman, which...
The big-budgeted film will be a retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic Gothic tale with Landry-Jones set to play the Transylvania Count-turned0vampire. Many directors have done their take on the infamous villain, including famously Francis Ford Coppola with 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Written in the 1890s, Dracula follows a nobleman who loses his wife and in his grief and cursing of God is transformed into a vampire. While the original Stoker story travels on the doomed ship the Demeter and into England, following multiple protagonists, Besson’s take will focus on the beginning of Dracula’s life and his relationship with wife.
Besson’s EuropaCorp is producing. Kinology is handling sale of the film out of EFM.
Besson last directed Dogman, which...
- 2/17/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After Parasite took the world by storm, news emerged that Bong Joon Ho would embark on a Korean animation with the production company 4th Creative Party, who have worked on visual effects for The Host, Snowpiercer, Okja, Oldboy, Stoker, and The Handmaiden. The fully CGI animation was reported to be a deep-sea adventure, featuring creatures and humans, specifically following an invertebrate deep-sea fish who believes he’s suffering from spinal disk herniation. However, with the director jumping to Mickey 17 it’s been radio silence on the project––until now.
Korean news outlets are reporting the film is continuing production and will be the most expensive Korean film ever made, with a budget of 70 billion won, roughly $52.6 million in Usd. Backed and distributed by Cj Enm in Korea, they are reportedly in discussions with Sony Pictures to release the film worldwide.
In another intriguing update, the outlet is reporting Mickey...
Korean news outlets are reporting the film is continuing production and will be the most expensive Korean film ever made, with a budget of 70 billion won, roughly $52.6 million in Usd. Backed and distributed by Cj Enm in Korea, they are reportedly in discussions with Sony Pictures to release the film worldwide.
In another intriguing update, the outlet is reporting Mickey...
- 2/13/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Love is stronger than death… even than life.”
Twenty-five years before Bram Stoker revolutionized the world of horror with his iconic novel Dracula, another sensual vampire was drifting into the moonlit bedchambers of society’s upper crust. First appearing in a 1871 edition of the literary magazine The Dark Blue, Carmilla, a.k.a. Mircalla, Countess Karnstein, preys upon unsuspecting young women in the crumbling castles of the Austrian countryside. Despite never gaining the ubiquity of Stoker’s dark antagonist, Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic novella Carmilla is one of the world’s first examples of vampiric literature and helped to establish the archetype of the lesbian vampire. Belgian director Harry Kümel combines this foundational text with the true story of Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory to create another sinister seductress in his 1971 erotic horror film Daughters of Darkness.
Newlyweds Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) are still enjoying the...
Twenty-five years before Bram Stoker revolutionized the world of horror with his iconic novel Dracula, another sensual vampire was drifting into the moonlit bedchambers of society’s upper crust. First appearing in a 1871 edition of the literary magazine The Dark Blue, Carmilla, a.k.a. Mircalla, Countess Karnstein, preys upon unsuspecting young women in the crumbling castles of the Austrian countryside. Despite never gaining the ubiquity of Stoker’s dark antagonist, Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic novella Carmilla is one of the world’s first examples of vampiric literature and helped to establish the archetype of the lesbian vampire. Belgian director Harry Kümel combines this foundational text with the true story of Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory to create another sinister seductress in his 1971 erotic horror film Daughters of Darkness.
Newlyweds Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) are still enjoying the...
- 1/11/2024
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
While the industry as a whole felt more downs than ups this year, horror films continued to be a consistent attraction overall. While the studio hits were not quite as splashy as they were 2022, the year saw the birth of new franchises (M3GAN, The Pope’s Exorcist, Talk to Me, Thanksgiving), the revitalization of the reliable favorites (Evil Dead Rise, Insidious: The Red Door, The Nun II), and reminded us just how essential writers, actors, and the all the creatives both in front of the camera and behind it are to making any of this not only work, but sell.
As for the big horror trend this year, controversy was thy name. While there were a few entries critics and audiences were able to rally around, most of them drew conflicting opinions — which this list is surely proof of.
Skinamarink, The Outwaters, Cocaine Bear, Beau is Afraid, A Knock at the Cabin,...
As for the big horror trend this year, controversy was thy name. While there were a few entries critics and audiences were able to rally around, most of them drew conflicting opinions — which this list is surely proof of.
Skinamarink, The Outwaters, Cocaine Bear, Beau is Afraid, A Knock at the Cabin,...
- 12/21/2023
- by Richard Newby
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Darklit Press, the up-and-coming indie horror publisher founded by Andrew Robert, has signed with Independent Artist Group for film and TV representation.
Darklit works with authors of horror, suspense, and dark fiction from around the world. One of its goals is to identify and develop manuscripts from emerging genre authors.
Launched only in 2022, Robert’s aim was to provide a platform and editorial support for marginalized and underrepresented authors in the category. A growing readership has embraced the company’s prolific output. Darklit authors have been recognized by horror fiction awards bodies, including the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, Lambda Literary, and Splatterpunk awards.
Among the authors on the roster are are Stoker Award nominee Ross Jeffery, Splatterpunk nominee Steve Stred, Aurealis Award nominee Zachary Ashford, author and editor Caitlin Marceau, and Tyler Jones, who recently was recognized on the annual Esquire’s Best Horror Books list in 2022. Authors Yolanda Stefsos,...
Darklit works with authors of horror, suspense, and dark fiction from around the world. One of its goals is to identify and develop manuscripts from emerging genre authors.
Launched only in 2022, Robert’s aim was to provide a platform and editorial support for marginalized and underrepresented authors in the category. A growing readership has embraced the company’s prolific output. Darklit authors have been recognized by horror fiction awards bodies, including the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, Lambda Literary, and Splatterpunk awards.
Among the authors on the roster are are Stoker Award nominee Ross Jeffery, Splatterpunk nominee Steve Stred, Aurealis Award nominee Zachary Ashford, author and editor Caitlin Marceau, and Tyler Jones, who recently was recognized on the annual Esquire’s Best Horror Books list in 2022. Authors Yolanda Stefsos,...
- 12/14/2023
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Check out these special Amazon Cyber Monday deals. Now, these are good for this week only, so make sure to buy them as soon as you can! Remember, some of these deals may be ongoing while others are limited, so strike while the iron is hot!
One disclaimer: Deals as good as these can be fickle, so there’s no telling if and when a money-saving opportunity might end or if the price may change. So if you want something – snap that shit up quick! Don’t wait, only to have Festivus roll around and discover you’ve nothing to give or the price suddenly changed and you no longer have the bread. And remember that if you want to support JoBlo.com, please make all your purchases by initially clicking through our links, since that’s beneficial for us. So click away, buy what you like, and happy Holiday hunting!
One disclaimer: Deals as good as these can be fickle, so there’s no telling if and when a money-saving opportunity might end or if the price may change. So if you want something – snap that shit up quick! Don’t wait, only to have Festivus roll around and discover you’ve nothing to give or the price suddenly changed and you no longer have the bread. And remember that if you want to support JoBlo.com, please make all your purchases by initially clicking through our links, since that’s beneficial for us. So click away, buy what you like, and happy Holiday hunting!
- 11/27/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
Who on earth would want to release a horror movie in November?! That’s like showing up to Thanksgiving dinner on a full stomach or going for a jog after a marathon. Surely, studios don’t purposefully plan to release their movie during the four weeks After the entire world is consumed with the dead, dying, maimed and dismembered, right? The calendar says spooky season is over (although you and I know differently) and as the grumpy neighbor in Halloween II says, the general audience has “been trick or treated to death” by October’s end.
On the contrary, November Horror has had some shockingly great runs over the years. And maybe there’s a method to the madness. If horror fans are lucky, October is packed tighter than a Black Friday sale at Target during a live in store Taylor Swift performance. Why not wait a couple of weeks...
On the contrary, November Horror has had some shockingly great runs over the years. And maybe there’s a method to the madness. If horror fans are lucky, October is packed tighter than a Black Friday sale at Target during a live in store Taylor Swift performance. Why not wait a couple of weeks...
- 11/10/2023
- by Mike Holtz
- bloody-disgusting.com
There have been many adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula over the past century, but in Dracula—Book 1: The Impaler, Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones flesh out the iconic bloodsucker's story like never before, and with the new graphic novel (the first in a series) now on Kickstarter, we caught up with Wagner and Jones in a Q&a feature to discuss what readers can expect from their unique take on Stoker's legendary character!
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions for us, and congratulations on your new graphic novel Dracula—Book 1: The Impaler, which is now on Kickstarter! We’ve seen many adaptations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula over the years, but you have both taken a truly unique approach to the iconic bloodsucker in this graphic novel, including his connection with Satan. How important was it for you to bring your own version...
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions for us, and congratulations on your new graphic novel Dracula—Book 1: The Impaler, which is now on Kickstarter! We’ve seen many adaptations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula over the years, but you have both taken a truly unique approach to the iconic bloodsucker in this graphic novel, including his connection with Satan. How important was it for you to bring your own version...
- 10/25/2023
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
A tiresome film about an immortal villain who kidnaps a maiden, which treats its plucky heroine poorly and the viewer even worse
I’m not sure how desperate a day with the kids would need to get to make this animated adventure from Russia an appealing option. It’s possible that standing in a 76-minute downpour would be more fun (and cheaper). Or being locked in a broom cupboard with a toddler tantrumming about the wrong colour icing on a cupcake. This is a family movie that is spectacularly boring, animated on the cheap, and dubbed into English by bored-sounding actors.
The story revolves around Drybone, a man who long ago became immortal. He’s meant to be a fiend but speaks like an apathetic It helpdesk engineer at five-minutes-to-clock-off. For centuries, Drybone has been searching for a bride, assisted by his two bat sidekicks, Bram and Stoker. (Minor irritation:...
I’m not sure how desperate a day with the kids would need to get to make this animated adventure from Russia an appealing option. It’s possible that standing in a 76-minute downpour would be more fun (and cheaper). Or being locked in a broom cupboard with a toddler tantrumming about the wrong colour icing on a cupcake. This is a family movie that is spectacularly boring, animated on the cheap, and dubbed into English by bored-sounding actors.
The story revolves around Drybone, a man who long ago became immortal. He’s meant to be a fiend but speaks like an apathetic It helpdesk engineer at five-minutes-to-clock-off. For centuries, Drybone has been searching for a bride, assisted by his two bat sidekicks, Bram and Stoker. (Minor irritation:...
- 10/23/2023
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Oldboy 4K Uhd from Neon
Oldboy is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD set on December 12 via Neon and Decal Releasing. The 2003 South Korean revenge thriller has been restored in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision.
Park Chan-wook (Stoker) directs from a script by Lim Jun-hyung and Hwang Jo-yun, based on the manga written by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi. Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, and Kang Hye-jung star.
The releases features a 68-page casebound book with three new essays by film critics Stephanie Zacharek, David Sims, and Phoebe Chen along with six gift-wrapped collector’s cards.
It carries over 18 hours (!) of special features, including three audio commentaries...
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Oldboy 4K Uhd from Neon
Oldboy is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD set on December 12 via Neon and Decal Releasing. The 2003 South Korean revenge thriller has been restored in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision.
Park Chan-wook (Stoker) directs from a script by Lim Jun-hyung and Hwang Jo-yun, based on the manga written by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi. Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, and Kang Hye-jung star.
The releases features a 68-page casebound book with three new essays by film critics Stephanie Zacharek, David Sims, and Phoebe Chen along with six gift-wrapped collector’s cards.
It carries over 18 hours (!) of special features, including three audio commentaries...
- 10/20/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Dracula, one of the most popular horror creations in literature, continues to stoke the insatiable desire of fans over a century since he first flew out of the pages of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.
The vampire lord’s bloody adventures have graced not just books but comics, films, TV shows, and other media. But few have looked under the cape to see how the undead man became the fearsome legend that entranced readers.
Now, just in time for Halloween, two veteran comic creators have teamed up to tell the story of how Dracula became Dracula.
Matt Wagner, the indie creator behind Mage and Grendel, and also known for his Batman work, and artist Kelly Jones, whose macabre stylings evoke horror artist Bernie Wrightson, are crowdfunding a graphic novel trilogy exploring the lore of the vampire king. The books will be 112-page gothic epics, with the first one titled Dracula – Book 1: The Impaler.
The vampire lord’s bloody adventures have graced not just books but comics, films, TV shows, and other media. But few have looked under the cape to see how the undead man became the fearsome legend that entranced readers.
Now, just in time for Halloween, two veteran comic creators have teamed up to tell the story of how Dracula became Dracula.
Matt Wagner, the indie creator behind Mage and Grendel, and also known for his Batman work, and artist Kelly Jones, whose macabre stylings evoke horror artist Bernie Wrightson, are crowdfunding a graphic novel trilogy exploring the lore of the vampire king. The books will be 112-page gothic epics, with the first one titled Dracula – Book 1: The Impaler.
- 10/13/2023
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Tis the season for all streaming platforms to embrace horror on a massive scale, making the options endless for your Halloween watchlists. So much so that we’re breaking down this month’s streaming highlights by platform, beginning with Hulu’s Huluween slate of programming.
Hulu brings the Halloween season programming in spades this October, their “Huluween” lineup this year featuring a ton of recent releases and cult favorites. Beyond film, look for seasonal treats like the upcoming “Goosebumps” television series, arriving on October 13, and the animated gateway horror series “Fright Krewe,” which is now streaming.
Whether you’re in the mood for scares suitable for the whole family or seasonal treats that deliver on scares, here are 10 horror movies you won’t want to miss on Hulu in October 2023.
The Empty Man
Written and directed by David Prior, adapted for the screen from a graphic novel of the same name,...
Hulu brings the Halloween season programming in spades this October, their “Huluween” lineup this year featuring a ton of recent releases and cult favorites. Beyond film, look for seasonal treats like the upcoming “Goosebumps” television series, arriving on October 13, and the animated gateway horror series “Fright Krewe,” which is now streaming.
Whether you’re in the mood for scares suitable for the whole family or seasonal treats that deliver on scares, here are 10 horror movies you won’t want to miss on Hulu in October 2023.
The Empty Man
Written and directed by David Prior, adapted for the screen from a graphic novel of the same name,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Having earned five Academy Awards during his illustrious career as a writer and director, it would be difficult for anyone — especially serious movie critics — to acknowledge Francis Ford Coppola as anything less than a legend. Coppola, whose filmography includes the Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, has spoken to us several times over the years. Somewhat surprisingly, he admitted, he’s spent a lot more time thinking about the critics who have attacked his movies than the critics who have praised his movies, and he can only hope that time will change their minds. (Click on the media bar below to hear Francis Ford Coppola) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/coppola_Films_later.mp3 The Godfather films are currently streaming on Paramount+ and available on DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K, and most digital platforms. Coppola’s other films are available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and most digital platforms.
The...
The...
- 9/29/2023
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
The ’70s shocked you, the ’80s gored you . . . now the ’90s come in for the kill!
The Criterion Channel has announced this year’s Halloween spectacular, which “celebrates an era that saw terror undergo unsettling new transformations.”
The team previews, “In the ’90s, horror movies got bigger budgets, became playfully self-aware, and even won some Oscars—but they’re just as nasty as what came before.
“Featuring cult heroes like John Carpenter (In the Mouth of Madness) and Abel Ferrara (The Addiction) plunging the dark depths of their uncompromising visions, established auteurs like Francis Ford Coppola (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) taking on the genre, and new voices like Ernest R. Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) and Antonia Bird (Ravenous) offering fresh perspectives on familiar tropes, this selection curated by Clyde Folley offers a hair-raising tour through an oft-overlooked decade in horror that’s ripe for rediscovery.”
The full...
The Criterion Channel has announced this year’s Halloween spectacular, which “celebrates an era that saw terror undergo unsettling new transformations.”
The team previews, “In the ’90s, horror movies got bigger budgets, became playfully self-aware, and even won some Oscars—but they’re just as nasty as what came before.
“Featuring cult heroes like John Carpenter (In the Mouth of Madness) and Abel Ferrara (The Addiction) plunging the dark depths of their uncompromising visions, established auteurs like Francis Ford Coppola (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) taking on the genre, and new voices like Ernest R. Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) and Antonia Bird (Ravenous) offering fresh perspectives on familiar tropes, this selection curated by Clyde Folley offers a hair-raising tour through an oft-overlooked decade in horror that’s ripe for rediscovery.”
The full...
- 9/22/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
St(r)oker.
We closed out August with a look at the horror elements in the non-horror film Shiva Baby and the trans empowerment of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers. Now, we’re looking at Park Chan-wook‘s English-language debut (which was written by queer screenwriter and actor Wentworth Miller): 2013’s Stoker.
Stoker sees India (Mia Wasikowska) grieving after the death of her father (Dermot Mulroney). She is given no solace, not even from her unstable mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman), until her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), whom she never knew existed, comes to live at their family home. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
Episode 245:...
We closed out August with a look at the horror elements in the non-horror film Shiva Baby and the trans empowerment of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers. Now, we’re looking at Park Chan-wook‘s English-language debut (which was written by queer screenwriter and actor Wentworth Miller): 2013’s Stoker.
Stoker sees India (Mia Wasikowska) grieving after the death of her father (Dermot Mulroney). She is given no solace, not even from her unstable mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman), until her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), whom she never knew existed, comes to live at their family home. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
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Episode 245:...
- 9/5/2023
- by Trace Thurman
- bloody-disgusting.com
The following contains major spoilers for The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
If the horror genre has a grandfather, it’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. First published in 1897, the epistolary novel follows a group of English socialites who cross paths with a centuries-old vampire traversing the continent in search of fresh victims. From Francis Ford Coppola and Werner Herzog to Stephen King and Mel Brooks, it seems nearly every horror creator has reimagined the legendary text. After more than two centuries and countless variations, you’d think there’d be nothing left on these literary bones.
Enter The Last Voyage of the Demeter: André Øvredal’s take on Stoker’s seventh chapter. A short, but pivotal episode in the vampire’s saga, this adaptation fleshes out the log of a doomed vessel and unearths an entirely new tale from the ashes of an old story.
Dracula begins in Transylvania.
If the horror genre has a grandfather, it’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. First published in 1897, the epistolary novel follows a group of English socialites who cross paths with a centuries-old vampire traversing the continent in search of fresh victims. From Francis Ford Coppola and Werner Herzog to Stephen King and Mel Brooks, it seems nearly every horror creator has reimagined the legendary text. After more than two centuries and countless variations, you’d think there’d be nothing left on these literary bones.
Enter The Last Voyage of the Demeter: André Øvredal’s take on Stoker’s seventh chapter. A short, but pivotal episode in the vampire’s saga, this adaptation fleshes out the log of a doomed vessel and unearths an entirely new tale from the ashes of an old story.
Dracula begins in Transylvania.
- 8/22/2023
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on The Steve Allen Show and sang to a basset hound. Allen was visibly delighted by the situation, but Elvis didn’t seem as keen. He was stiff and uncomfortable, but, as a people pleaser, he agreed to the spectacle. He would later go on to describe it as the most embarrassing moment of his career.
Elvis Presley sang to a dog on ‘The Steve Allen Show’
Ahead of Elvis’ performance on The Steve Allen Show, Elvis met Sherlock, a basset hound wearing a bow tie and top hat. In a rehearsal, Sherlock ignored him entirely, and Allen encouraged him to “get to know” her.
Elvis Presley and Sherlock | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
During the actual performance, Elvis took the stage in a suit and began to sing, likely to no one’s surprise, “Hound Dog” to Sherlock. According to Graceland,...
Elvis Presley sang to a dog on ‘The Steve Allen Show’
Ahead of Elvis’ performance on The Steve Allen Show, Elvis met Sherlock, a basset hound wearing a bow tie and top hat. In a rehearsal, Sherlock ignored him entirely, and Allen encouraged him to “get to know” her.
Elvis Presley and Sherlock | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
During the actual performance, Elvis took the stage in a suit and began to sing, likely to no one’s surprise, “Hound Dog” to Sherlock. According to Graceland,...
- 8/20/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The new horror film “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” was dubbed “Dracula on a Boat” by social media users, and the twist on the chapter from Bram Stoker’s iconic horror novel definitely did deliver on the premise of the age-old vampire feasting on the crew of an unlucky ship.
Introducing a monster of any kind — alien, werewolf, zombies — to a vehicle that can’t stop and can’t let anyone off is a tried-and-true horror formula. Here are some of the movies where the combo of “creature” + “claustrophobic form of transportation” worked and some where it ran aground.
New Line Cinema
13. Snakes on a Plane
The ultimate in high-concept movies had a mad-as-hell Samuel L. Jackson battling, that’s right, snakes on a plane. The venomous reptiles are unleashed on a Hawaiian flight to keep a witness from testifying at a murder trial. And to have Jackson deliver...
Introducing a monster of any kind — alien, werewolf, zombies — to a vehicle that can’t stop and can’t let anyone off is a tried-and-true horror formula. Here are some of the movies where the combo of “creature” + “claustrophobic form of transportation” worked and some where it ran aground.
New Line Cinema
13. Snakes on a Plane
The ultimate in high-concept movies had a mad-as-hell Samuel L. Jackson battling, that’s right, snakes on a plane. The venomous reptiles are unleashed on a Hawaiian flight to keep a witness from testifying at a murder trial. And to have Jackson deliver...
- 8/15/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which spotlights the doomed ship in Bram Stoker’s oft-adapted 1897 novel, is the second Dracula film released in 2023 after “Renfield.” Both take generous liberties with the source material, which brings up the question: Out of the 200-some films about the famous Count, which ones are the most faithful?
Here’s our ranking of some of the most popular, and a few lesser-known, Dracula adaptations.
Universal
8. Renfield (2023)
Pretty much the only thing this horror comedy has in common with the novel is Nicholas Hoult as the bug-eating title character and a delightfully campy Nicolas Cage as his bloodthirsty boss. The movie brings them both into the 21st century, makes Renfield an ass-kicking hero and swaps out Lucy and Mina for Awkwafina’s incorruptible cop.
Miramax
7. Dracula 2000 (2000)
The film begins with a shot of the wrecked Demeter and footprints in the sand as Dracula heads to town.
Here’s our ranking of some of the most popular, and a few lesser-known, Dracula adaptations.
Universal
8. Renfield (2023)
Pretty much the only thing this horror comedy has in common with the novel is Nicholas Hoult as the bug-eating title character and a delightfully campy Nicolas Cage as his bloodthirsty boss. The movie brings them both into the 21st century, makes Renfield an ass-kicking hero and swaps out Lucy and Mina for Awkwafina’s incorruptible cop.
Miramax
7. Dracula 2000 (2000)
The film begins with a shot of the wrecked Demeter and footprints in the sand as Dracula heads to town.
- 8/12/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
This weekend's major new release in theaters is "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," which has finally made its way to the big screen after spending literal decades stuck in development hell. Unfortunately, it feels a little bit like Universal Pictures isn't giving the big horror flick the push one might expect for a Dracula movie with an A-list cast. But a couple of cinematic icons in the form of Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro are out here spreading the gospel, as they've both had very nice things to say about the film.
King, one of the most prolific authors of our time whose works have inspired movies like "It" and this year's "The Boogeyman," took to Twitter recently to share his thoughts on director André Øvredal's latest. King admitted his skepticism, but the film ended up winning him over. "I was doubtful about 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter,...
King, one of the most prolific authors of our time whose works have inspired movies like "It" and this year's "The Boogeyman," took to Twitter recently to share his thoughts on director André Øvredal's latest. King admitted his skepticism, but the film ended up winning him over. "I was doubtful about 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter,...
- 8/12/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
This article contains major spoilers for "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" (and also for the 126-year-old novel "Dracula.")
"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" opens on a very familiar sight to those who've read (or are even vaguely familiar with) Bram Stoker's original novel: a foundering ship run aground on an English beach in the middle of a fierce rainstorm, without a single living soul left on board. As concerned onlookers descend upon the wreck, the very atmosphere fills with dread and fear once more and more rescuers realize that something very wrong has happened here. The discovery of the captain's log only confirms these suspicions, documenting an innocuous enough voyage that started out like any other ... before ending in abject tragedy and death. As someone reads through each journal entry, we flashback to the last voyage of the Demeter to pinpoint exactly where the journey went awry.
"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" opens on a very familiar sight to those who've read (or are even vaguely familiar with) Bram Stoker's original novel: a foundering ship run aground on an English beach in the middle of a fierce rainstorm, without a single living soul left on board. As concerned onlookers descend upon the wreck, the very atmosphere fills with dread and fear once more and more rescuers realize that something very wrong has happened here. The discovery of the captain's log only confirms these suspicions, documenting an innocuous enough voyage that started out like any other ... before ending in abject tragedy and death. As someone reads through each journal entry, we flashback to the last voyage of the Demeter to pinpoint exactly where the journey went awry.
- 8/12/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter may be based on one chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but the film has had many chapters in its 25-year development saga.
Co-screenwriter Bragi Schut Jr.’s original script dates back to the late ‘90s, as he felt that Stoker’s “The Captain’s Log” chapter could warrant the Alien-on-a-merchant-ship treatment, with Dracula taking the place of a Xenomorph. In the two-plus decades that followed, creative teams changed several times, and names like David Slade, Neil Marshall, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Ben Kingsley and Viggo Mortensen came and went.
Guillermo del Toro was also once attached to the project, and when his schedule became an issue, he quickly recommended Øvredal as his replacement. Del Toro had just produced Øvredal’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), so the two filmmakers had some early discussions about the project before setting sail.
Co-screenwriter Bragi Schut Jr.’s original script dates back to the late ‘90s, as he felt that Stoker’s “The Captain’s Log” chapter could warrant the Alien-on-a-merchant-ship treatment, with Dracula taking the place of a Xenomorph. In the two-plus decades that followed, creative teams changed several times, and names like David Slade, Neil Marshall, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Ben Kingsley and Viggo Mortensen came and went.
Guillermo del Toro was also once attached to the project, and when his schedule became an issue, he quickly recommended Øvredal as his replacement. Del Toro had just produced Øvredal’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), so the two filmmakers had some early discussions about the project before setting sail.
- 8/11/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Javier Botet as Nosferatu in ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ (Photo © 2023 Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment)
Numerous horror movies have been produced about the iconic vampire Dracula created by Bram Stoker, dating back to the silent film era with F.W. Murnau’s 1922 movie, Nosferatu. The latest entry in the Dracula story comes from filmmaker André Øvredal and focuses solely on one chapter of the Stoker novel The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
The film begins in 1897 on the shores of Whitby, England, with the shipwreck of the Demeter. A voice-over from the ship’s captain reading from his log warns that if the evil from the ship makes it ashore, may heaven help those it finds.
Upon investigation, the local police found no survivors on board.
A flashback shows the events four weeks prior in Transylvania. Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and his first mate, Mr. Wojchek (David Dastmalchian), look...
Numerous horror movies have been produced about the iconic vampire Dracula created by Bram Stoker, dating back to the silent film era with F.W. Murnau’s 1922 movie, Nosferatu. The latest entry in the Dracula story comes from filmmaker André Øvredal and focuses solely on one chapter of the Stoker novel The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
The film begins in 1897 on the shores of Whitby, England, with the shipwreck of the Demeter. A voice-over from the ship’s captain reading from his log warns that if the evil from the ship makes it ashore, may heaven help those it finds.
Upon investigation, the local police found no survivors on board.
A flashback shows the events four weeks prior in Transylvania. Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and his first mate, Mr. Wojchek (David Dastmalchian), look...
- 8/11/2023
- by Kevin Finnerty
- Showbiz Junkies
What do you think of when you think of Dracula? (Assuming you think about him at all; I know I do.) The vampire Count likely conjures up images of a tux and a cape; a suave, seductive presence who woos virginal women before sinking his fangs into their necks. But here's the thing: the debonair Drac is almost entirely an invention of the movies. In Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula is not a sexy guy who shows up at dinner parties dressed to the nines. He's a malevolent monster lurking in the shadows.
In fact, Dracula himself is barely in the novel that bears his name. After the first several chapters, in which an aged Dracula meets and imprisons Jonathan Harker in his castle, the vampire takes a powder and recedes into the background. Stoker's book is an epistolary novel, which means it's made up of diary entries, letters,...
In fact, Dracula himself is barely in the novel that bears his name. After the first several chapters, in which an aged Dracula meets and imprisons Jonathan Harker in his castle, the vampire takes a powder and recedes into the background. Stoker's book is an epistolary novel, which means it's made up of diary entries, letters,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Ok, class, get out your copies of Dracula and open them to Chapter Seven. Now, skim past the newspaper clipping from the Dailygraph that Mina Murray has pasted into her journal, the one about the storm off the coast of Whitby, and go directly to the part listed as “Log of the ‘Demeter.” You’ll see that Bram Stoker has replicated what appears to be a captain’s diary, detailing the curious goings-on of a voyage from the Bulgarian town of Varna to London; it’s one of the more...
- 8/11/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
The Last Voyage Of The DemeterPhoto: Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment
This is going to be a bizarre claim, but the seventh chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula—specifically the section colloquially referred to as “The Captain’s Log”—might be one of the best found-footage horror stories ever … it...
This is going to be a bizarre claim, but the seventh chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula—specifically the section colloquially referred to as “The Captain’s Log”—might be one of the best found-footage horror stories ever … it...
- 8/11/2023
- by Sam Barsanti
- avclub.com
Tell me if you've heard this one before.
A vampire hunter, a doctor, a rich guy, an American cowboy, an in-over-his-head solicitor, and a hypnotized woman with a psychic connection to history's greatest monster pursue Dracula across Europe. If that sounds like a pretty great movie -- a proper "men on a mission" adventure film with a horror tinge -- you'd be right. It sounds rad as hell. And it's the best part of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," one of the greatest horror novels ever written. After a couple hundred pages of being preyed upon, the cast of human characters take the fight back to the legendary vampire and have him on the run. And a magnificent chase (By boat! By train! By horseback!) ensues. Did I mention that Mina Harker, she of the above-mentioned psychic connection, guides the team using visions wrought out of her by hypnosis? It's thrilling stuff,...
A vampire hunter, a doctor, a rich guy, an American cowboy, an in-over-his-head solicitor, and a hypnotized woman with a psychic connection to history's greatest monster pursue Dracula across Europe. If that sounds like a pretty great movie -- a proper "men on a mission" adventure film with a horror tinge -- you'd be right. It sounds rad as hell. And it's the best part of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," one of the greatest horror novels ever written. After a couple hundred pages of being preyed upon, the cast of human characters take the fight back to the legendary vampire and have him on the run. And a magnificent chase (By boat! By train! By horseback!) ensues. Did I mention that Mina Harker, she of the above-mentioned psychic connection, guides the team using visions wrought out of her by hypnosis? It's thrilling stuff,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Jacob Hall
- Slash Film
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being reviewed here wouldn't exist. This article also contains spoilers for "The Last Voyage of the Demeter."
When Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published her novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" in 1818, she kicked off genre fiction as we still know it to this day. She also captured the zeitgeist of that time period in regard to humanity's scientific study and technical progress, observing a relationship between the known and unknown where infinite possibilities lay, possibilities that carry with them a mixed sensation of wonder and fear.
79 years later, Bram Stoker captured a bit of that same vibe again, with his horror novel "Dracula." Taking a collection of various myths and folklore that had persevered through the ages and combining them with the deeds (embellished or not) of...
When Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published her novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" in 1818, she kicked off genre fiction as we still know it to this day. She also captured the zeitgeist of that time period in regard to humanity's scientific study and technical progress, observing a relationship between the known and unknown where infinite possibilities lay, possibilities that carry with them a mixed sensation of wonder and fear.
79 years later, Bram Stoker captured a bit of that same vibe again, with his horror novel "Dracula." Taking a collection of various myths and folklore that had persevered through the ages and combining them with the deeds (embellished or not) of...
- 8/11/2023
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Keeping its focus limited to “The Captain’s Log” chapter of Dracula, in which the eponymous vampire of Bram Stoker’s classic novel travels aboard a cargo ship from Romania to England, The Last Voyage of the Demeter continues Hollywood’s obsession with mining every piece of I.P. for potential gold. Though the film primarily sticks to the narrative framework laid out by Stoker, the perverse eroticism that typifies Dracula’s nocturnal violence in the novel and in most on-screen depictions has been effectively snuffed out.
Relegating Dracula mostly to the hull of the Demeter, André Øvredal’s film spends most of its running time observing the ship’s crew coming to the realization that a force of evil is on board with them. It all begins with the gruesome death of the Demeter’s livestock and the discovery of a sickly stowaway, Anna (Aisling Franciosi), with bite marks on her neck,...
Relegating Dracula mostly to the hull of the Demeter, André Øvredal’s film spends most of its running time observing the ship’s crew coming to the realization that a force of evil is on board with them. It all begins with the gruesome death of the Demeter’s livestock and the discovery of a sickly stowaway, Anna (Aisling Franciosi), with bite marks on her neck,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
After seven seasons of playing the legendary sea captain Ser Davos Seaworth on Game of Thrones, as well as appearing as the infamously luckless captain of the Demeter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Irish thespian Liam Cunningham has a confession to make. He doesn’t like boats.
Don’t misunderstand him. Cunningham’s got buddies with boats. Some of his best friends, in fact, captain their own sea vessels. But Cunningham? He gets seasick. When he goes boating with pals he even has to psych himself up because he’s “always expecting to be nauseous soon.” And as he confides with a raconteur’s twinkle, “I like boats best when they’re nailed to a wall.”
Perhaps, then, this is what might make him the perfect choice for playing a guy like Captain Eliot in André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter: Here is a fellow who...
Don’t misunderstand him. Cunningham’s got buddies with boats. Some of his best friends, in fact, captain their own sea vessels. But Cunningham? He gets seasick. When he goes boating with pals he even has to psych himself up because he’s “always expecting to be nauseous soon.” And as he confides with a raconteur’s twinkle, “I like boats best when they’re nailed to a wall.”
Perhaps, then, this is what might make him the perfect choice for playing a guy like Captain Eliot in André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter: Here is a fellow who...
- 8/10/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” hit shelves in 1897, and in that time there have been so many iterations of the famous vampire that to watch them all would take a lifetime. And yet filmmakers continuously try to find new ways in to a story so well-worn it’s leather. Such is the case with André Øvredal’s “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which touts itself as Dracula’s origin story (which it really isn’t if you read the beginning and middle of Stoker’s book).
Surrounding just 10 pages of Stoker’s novel, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” follows the crew of the titular boat who, upon arriving in Dracula’s homeland are immediately warned off by an Eastern European harbinger of doom that hints at an old-school horror movie as opposed to a movie that understands we already know Dracula like the back of our hand.
The crew,...
Surrounding just 10 pages of Stoker’s novel, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” follows the crew of the titular boat who, upon arriving in Dracula’s homeland are immediately warned off by an Eastern European harbinger of doom that hints at an old-school horror movie as opposed to a movie that understands we already know Dracula like the back of our hand.
The crew,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
There’s a reason that Dracula has endured as a figure of fascination for horror filmmakers for more than a century. Bram Stoker’s vampire creation proves endlessly malleable, subject to all sorts of depictions from actors as far afield as Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, Gary Oldman and, most recently, Nicolas Cage. The role is catnip, especially since the Count can be as sexy as he is menacing, as seductive as he is deadly.
That is, until his portrayal in André Ovredal’s Gothic horror film based on a single chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Stoker’s 1897 classic novel. As portrayed by Javier Botet, this is a vampire who seems more a feral wild creature than anything resembling a figure who could reasonably pass among human society. He’s one of the viscerally scariest Draculas ever seen onscreen, but he’s also one of the dullest.
That is, until his portrayal in André Ovredal’s Gothic horror film based on a single chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Stoker’s 1897 classic novel. As portrayed by Javier Botet, this is a vampire who seems more a feral wild creature than anything resembling a figure who could reasonably pass among human society. He’s one of the viscerally scariest Draculas ever seen onscreen, but he’s also one of the dullest.
- 8/10/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Reflecting on the making of his debut feature Shivers, David Cronenberg once remarked that he figured his vision for an ultra-modern horror film exploring current anxieties would be commercially unviable due to the genre being primarily associated with the gothic castle settings of the Universal and Hammer pictures of the sort. Well, now in an age where the genre is nothing if not modern explorations of the age of smartphones, Trump’s presidency, generational trauma, pandemic-inspired doomerism, etc., the gothic seems highly unique. So one partly wants to welcome André Øvredal’s maybe-out-of-touch The Last Voyage of the Demeter, based on a lone chapter from Bram Stoker’s vampire urtext, yet there’s a modern anxiety at play here too: the ubiquity of intellectual property.
Of course, this is the second Dracula movie released by Universal this year (after Renfield), with the vampire reskinned from caped romantic anti-hero to Nosferatu-esque gargoyle,...
Of course, this is the second Dracula movie released by Universal this year (after Renfield), with the vampire reskinned from caped romantic anti-hero to Nosferatu-esque gargoyle,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Ethan Vestby
- The Film Stage
Dracula has been dead and loving it for over 125 years. The blood-sucking count has been adapted to screen in every conceivable way, and he shows no signs of stopping. Earlier this year we got the legendary vampire in the form of Nicolas Cage in "Renfield." He's been Bela Lugosi, and Christopher Lee, and Frank Langella, and Udo Kier, and Gary Oldman, and — well, I could go on and on, until the sun comes up and turns me into dust. Bram Stoker's vampire captures our imagination; he's sleek, seductive, and deadly. He can woo and kill in equal measure. We love Dracula, don't we folks? That said, with so many Dracula movies out there, what else is there to do with the material? I mean, can anything come close to the dizzying, sophisticated highs of "Dracula 2000"?
"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" takes a somewhat novel approach. Rather than adapt Stoker's entire epistolary novel,...
"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" takes a somewhat novel approach. Rather than adapt Stoker's entire epistolary novel,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
André Øvredal’s “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is technically adapted from the chapter from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” in which the famous vampire ships himself to England while feasting on the crew, but this drab and generic piece of mid-August schlock might as well be based on a napkin where someone once wrote: “What if ‘Alien,’ but on big wooden boat?”
The truth of the matter is that screenwriter Bragi Schut Jr. has been tinkering with the idea since his time working at a Hollywood model shop in the early 1990s, but his baby must have gotten lost at sea while treading water in development hell over the last several decades, because the derelict Ship of Theseus that’s drifting into theaters this weekend doesn’t reveal any trace of real passion or serious thought. It’s a movie about people who slowly come to realize over the...
The truth of the matter is that screenwriter Bragi Schut Jr. has been tinkering with the idea since his time working at a Hollywood model shop in the early 1990s, but his baby must have gotten lost at sea while treading water in development hell over the last several decades, because the derelict Ship of Theseus that’s drifting into theaters this weekend doesn’t reveal any trace of real passion or serious thought. It’s a movie about people who slowly come to realize over the...
- 8/10/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
"I wanted this to be the scariest depiction of Dracula... ever." Universal has revealed a new 2-minute promo featurette for André Øvredal's long-awaited horror movie The Last Voyage of the Demeter, arriving in theaters in a few weeks. We've still only posted one trailer for this before, even though it opens soon (after being delayed by a year already) and looks super gnarly. Inspired by one chapter in Bram Stoker's Dracula, the story is set aboard the Russian schooner Demeter, chartered to carry private cargo – unmarked wooden crates – from Carpathia to London. The film stars Corey Hawkins as Clemens, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, with Jon Jon Briones, Stefan Kapicic, and Nikolai Nikolaeff. Everything Øvredal says in his video sounds great, this seems right up is alley. He also confirms it definitely is Alien – but on a ship with Drac. Spanish actor Javier Botet stars as Dracula / Nosferatu,...
- 7/31/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Stars: Hannaj Bang Bendz, Dean Marshall, Sean Cronin, Mark Topping, Ayvianna Snow, Carl Wharton, Jasmine Sumner | Written and Directed by Steve Lawson
Amidst a busy filmography, Wrath of Dracula marks the third 2023 released feature for writer/director Steve Lawson – including the interesting Ripper’s Revenge. Inspired by Bram Stoker’s iconic 1897 novel, the story begins with Mina Harker (Hannaj Bang Bendz) receiving a letter from her husband, Jonathan Harker (Dean Marshall), about how he’s a prisoner at Castle Dracula. She travels to Transylvania intending to help her beloved, where she discovers a decimated village fearful of the mysterious Count Dracula (Sean Cronin), and the man determined to hunt the Count, Van Helsing (Mark Topping).
Considering how often vampires are brought to the screen, particularly when adapting Stoker’s novel, it becomes difficult to find a way to make these new takes stand apart within a crowded field. Despite putting the...
Amidst a busy filmography, Wrath of Dracula marks the third 2023 released feature for writer/director Steve Lawson – including the interesting Ripper’s Revenge. Inspired by Bram Stoker’s iconic 1897 novel, the story begins with Mina Harker (Hannaj Bang Bendz) receiving a letter from her husband, Jonathan Harker (Dean Marshall), about how he’s a prisoner at Castle Dracula. She travels to Transylvania intending to help her beloved, where she discovers a decimated village fearful of the mysterious Count Dracula (Sean Cronin), and the man determined to hunt the Count, Van Helsing (Mark Topping).
Considering how often vampires are brought to the screen, particularly when adapting Stoker’s novel, it becomes difficult to find a way to make these new takes stand apart within a crowded field. Despite putting the...
- 7/20/2023
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
Some movie monsters have become so ubiquitous in popular culture that they feel more like omnipresent myths than characters from specific stories. Ask any young child and they’ll probably recognize Frankenstein and Dracula without ever having touched a Stoker or Shelley novel, with these characters inhabiting our collective imagination through what can only be described as cultural osmosis. This natural process obviously goes against the corporate interests of studios like Universal, and that’s why the company continues to invest millions of dollars into licensing deals in order to keep their monster movies in the spotlight as the “definitive” versions of these stories.
While it’s only fair that creators should get to monetize their hard work, corporations turning creativity into a business has resulted in a media landscape that favors brands instead of ideas. I was recently reminded of this weaponization of intellectual property when I watched the...
While it’s only fair that creators should get to monetize their hard work, corporations turning creativity into a business has resulted in a media landscape that favors brands instead of ideas. I was recently reminded of this weaponization of intellectual property when I watched the...
- 6/16/2023
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
A mysterious Netflix movie has popped up on our radar courtesy of this week’s official MPA listings. It’s titled The Count, and at this time we don’t know a single thing about the project.
Actually, that’s not quite true. What we do know about Netflix’s The Count is that it was just handed an “R” rating, and the MPA listing strongly suggests it’s a horror movie.
Netflix film The Count has been rated “R” for…
“Strong violence and gore, some graphic nudity, rape, language and sexual content.”
With “strong violence and gore,” it seems fairly safe to assume that we’re dealing with a horror project here, but again we must note that this week’s MPA listing is the first time we’ve heard a single peep about this mysterious movie. And we’ve done a good bit of digging this week, which...
Actually, that’s not quite true. What we do know about Netflix’s The Count is that it was just handed an “R” rating, and the MPA listing strongly suggests it’s a horror movie.
Netflix film The Count has been rated “R” for…
“Strong violence and gore, some graphic nudity, rape, language and sexual content.”
With “strong violence and gore,” it seems fairly safe to assume that we’re dealing with a horror project here, but again we must note that this week’s MPA listing is the first time we’ve heard a single peep about this mysterious movie. And we’ve done a good bit of digging this week, which...
- 6/9/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Renfield, the character, is believed to have taken his name from the street in Glasgow. It was named by one Archibald Campbell, after his estate. That's a toponym, the -field pretty obvious, but 'ren-' is from either the Scots Gaelic or the Welsh, meaning point (as in teeth) or cape (as in fabulous).
Stoker's novel is one of the most filmed works, one of the first adapted to film, one of the first to be part of a copyright dispute. He had a background in theatre, and the Pavilion still stands. There are cinemas too, or at least the bones of one and the intermittently nearly bankrupt tower of another. It was in one of these that I was finally able to catch Renfield in a late night screening.
Which was, variously, perfect. This isn't a serious film, indeed it is in places very silly indeed, but it is fun.
Stoker's novel is one of the most filmed works, one of the first adapted to film, one of the first to be part of a copyright dispute. He had a background in theatre, and the Pavilion still stands. There are cinemas too, or at least the bones of one and the intermittently nearly bankrupt tower of another. It was in one of these that I was finally able to catch Renfield in a late night screening.
Which was, variously, perfect. This isn't a serious film, indeed it is in places very silly indeed, but it is fun.
- 6/2/2023
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Nosferatu, released in 1922, is a silent German Expressionist film that is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential horror movies in cinema history. Adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, the film was directed by F. W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as the titular vampire, Count Orlok. Although the film faced legal disputes for copyright infringement, Nosferatu’s unique visual style and chilling atmosphere continue to inspire filmmakers and audiences alike.
Nosferatu The Origins of Nosferatu
When director F. W. Murnau set out to make a film adaptation of Dracula, he encountered a significant obstacle: the Stoker estate refused to grant him the rights to the story. Undeterred, Murnau and screenwriter Henrik Galeen decided to create their version of the tale, altering character names and details while retaining the overall plot. Thus, Count Dracula transformed into Count Orlok, and the story of Nosferatu was born.
The Plot...
Nosferatu The Origins of Nosferatu
When director F. W. Murnau set out to make a film adaptation of Dracula, he encountered a significant obstacle: the Stoker estate refused to grant him the rights to the story. Undeterred, Murnau and screenwriter Henrik Galeen decided to create their version of the tale, altering character names and details while retaining the overall plot. Thus, Count Dracula transformed into Count Orlok, and the story of Nosferatu was born.
The Plot...
- 5/1/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
By the middle of the 1950s, gothic horror was dead. Modern-set films dealing with nuclear war, radioactive fallout, and the Red Scare filled American theaters with giant bugs and body snatchers. England’s Hammer Studios was no different, releasing successful films like The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and X the Unknown (1956), which were firmly rooted in these science fiction-based fears. In 1957, however, they took a gamble and single-handedly resurrected the gothic monster movie with The Curse of Frankenstein, which became an international hit. The following year they outdid themselves by resurrecting the King of Vampires. Horror of Dracula (simply titled Dracula in England) completely redefined the character, and indeed the entire vampire subgenre, for a generation, and its influence would echo through the decades to come.
By 1958, Tod Browning’s Dracula, with Bela Lugosi in the starring role, had become deeply ingrained in popular culture. The 1957 debut of Shock Theater, the package...
By 1958, Tod Browning’s Dracula, with Bela Lugosi in the starring role, had become deeply ingrained in popular culture. The 1957 debut of Shock Theater, the package...
- 4/27/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
I saw "Renfield" this weekend — but based on the box office returns, I'm one of the few who did. I understand why, since I didn't enjoy the experience. Why is the movie an action-comedy instead of a horror-comedy? Why is it set in the modern day, especially when the opening teases a "Young Frankenstein" style homage to classic, black-and-white Universal Horror?
To read more about the failings of "Renfield," I'd point to /Film's own review courtesy of Chris Evangelista. And if you want a better action-heavy, modern-day twist on Dracula, I recommend Kouta Hirano's manga "Hellsing" and its anime adaptations ("Hellsing: Ultimate").
Published from 1997 to 2008, the Dracula of "Hellsing" is unrecognizable. He now goes by Alucard, for one, and while still a creature of the night, he hunts his own kind, not ingenues or estate lawyers. Why? Because Alucard serves at the behest of Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing,...
To read more about the failings of "Renfield," I'd point to /Film's own review courtesy of Chris Evangelista. And if you want a better action-heavy, modern-day twist on Dracula, I recommend Kouta Hirano's manga "Hellsing" and its anime adaptations ("Hellsing: Ultimate").
Published from 1997 to 2008, the Dracula of "Hellsing" is unrecognizable. He now goes by Alucard, for one, and while still a creature of the night, he hunts his own kind, not ingenues or estate lawyers. Why? Because Alucard serves at the behest of Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing,...
- 4/16/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
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