INTRODUCTION: I donât think I need to remind my audience how much I love Bram Stokerâs Dracula. Here is the review on the novel for you. So naturally, I came across Netflixâs Dracula âseriesâ and well, Iâm perplexed as to who exactly greenlit this and why. Itâs not really a series. 3 one hour and thirty minute episodes arenât really a series. It could have been two six hour movies and it might have got somewhere. I do not like the liberties they took with the novel, but it isnât all bad. So is it worth watching?
CHARACTERS: All of the original players are there with some new friends as well. Trigger warning for those who hate woke culture, one character from the book is gender swapped and the other is color swapped. The new characters are interesting, such as the Doctor from India. The otherâs had some potential if given more screen time but ultimately, it doesnât work. Harker is worse than in the novel, his fiancĂ© Mina is all but forgotten about, the queer nun is very intriguing and Dracula is very fun mix of the old Hammer style with homages to other Draculaâs as well.
ACTING: Even the bit players are phenomenal. Dracula and Van Helsing are the only two really memorable performances, but the others are no slouches, you wonât come away from this like one would an 80âs slasher, with remembering how bad the bit actors are. All of them are excellent at what they do and deserve to be there with all the stars.
SFX: Pretty damn good! You can tell this was done on a very good budget, but slightly more money couldnât have hurt.
TENSION: Virtually nonexistent. You get three jump scares and nothing more for âhorrorâ in this, except for maybe some visuals, which isnât enough to make you scared. It needed to be better.
DIALOGUE: Excellent! Nothing cringe worthy, unless you are a stickler for historical accuracy. Very excellent quotable in this as well, outside of the iconic lines from the novel.
CONCLUSION: So while I hate the fact they changed the source material to âfreshenâ this up and ultimately failed at that, they still kind of crafted a semi interesting âshowâ. It lacks suspense and intrigue, but makes up for some of it with homages to old shows and movies. Buffy the Vampire Slayer gets a reference in episode three with the way one vampire is dispensed. This is a movie that didnât need to happen, but yet it did. It was as if the idea was born from a drunk watching of Dracula: dead and loving it and said âwhat if someone did that in a serious tone.â This is most noticeable when Renfeild, now Draculaâs lawyer, goes on about Vampire rights. The last part of season one takes place in the future, which sucks, because youâre introduced to all new characters whom are related to the old source characters and different from the first three hours of character development you got, so you donât care for the resolution at all. It is as if they wrote themselves into a corner and didnât know how to get out without such trite writing. Still, it has it has its moments and isnât a complete let down. I donât quite understand how they will take this to another season. Much like the Haunting of Hill House, it isnât the worse thing, but it sure as hell is well below the mark.
3 out of 5 stars.
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