Dracula: The Night Around Us offers a fresh spin on a familiar tale
- Brian Fanelli
- 5 minutes ago
- 3 min read
At this point, there have been so many iterations of Bram Stoker's late 19th Century novel Dracula that it's rare to encounter a film that enlivens the story and makes it feel fresh. However, the indie horror film, Dracula: The Night Around Us, generally succeeds in both sticking to key themes of the classic novel, while making the story feel compelling.
Directed and written by Chris Schwab, Dracula: The Night Around Us stars Eric Toms as Dr. John Seward. In this version of Dracula, he functions both as the Jonathan Harker character, who not only comes under Dracula's spell in the book, but also tries to save his wife, Mina, from the monster. Additionally, he's one of the central narrators in the text. Further, Seward is an actual character in the novel, who oversees an insane asylum. Combining both the Harker and Seward characters, with a touch of Dr. Van Helsing, this movie's central protagonist is a doctor at an insane asylum, and that's where he meets the Count's loyal servant, Renfield (Spencer Weitzel). This particular unsettling rendition of Renfield is one of the film's highlights. Like other versions, he eats bugs and expresses intense devotion to his master, but there's simply something about Weitzel's unhinged performance that makes it so memorable. Early in the film, there's a scene where he claws Seward's neck, drawing blood that he laps up from the floor. It really underscores his depravity.
Renfield continually promises Seward that Dracula is coming, but the movie uses him sparingly, and it's all the better for it. Viewers do encounter the Count's various fanged brides, who assault people in shadowy alleyways, but Drac's appearances are rare. When he is shown, played by Brenton Jones, he looks like a charred body with pointed ears, rat-like claws, and gnarly teeth. It's clear Max Schreck's Count Orlok from Nosferatu was an influence in terms of the make-up and look of the monster, but even though the Count has limited screen time, he's ever present, be it in Renfield's intense devotion or the nightmares that plague Seward. He casts a long shadow over the movie.
Two of the novel's other central characters, Mina and Lucy, who are best friends in the book, are present in the film, but mother and daughter in this case. Raelan Mackiewicz plays Lucy, while Marlene Mc'Cohen stars as Mina. Seward encounters them because they're his neighbors, and he catches the young Lucy sleepwalking, just like the novel. She and her mom are in the crosshairs of old Drac, and the way he stalks them and even slips into Lucy's bedroom is quite harrowing and hair-raising. It's one of the most potent and chilling sequences in the film.
There's also something to be said for the movie's very urban setting. It's unclear where the movie occurs, but since everyone has a North American accident, it's likely a major city in the U.S. or Canada, unlike the novel's London and Transylvania dual locations. Setting Dracula in the present-day works. For instance, his brides are easily able to pick up victims at bars, luring them to seddy sections of the city to feed. There's also a great sequence late in the film in which Seward hunts the monster in subway tunnels. Even the shots of overpasses and bridges feel creepy, as if Dracula or his brides lurk under them, waiting for the next victim.
If the film has any faults, it's that it's a bit too short and truncates a lot of the novel, even combining several characters into one, especially in the case of Seward. I wanted this movie to have a bit more time to breathe. That said, the film builds to a shocking and bloody ending that veers away from the novel's conclusion but fits with the film's version of Seward and the impact the Count's influence eventually has on him. Overall, with an indie touch, Dracula: The Night Around Us takes a fresh bite of a classic tale and makes it feel relevant again.
Dracula: The Night Around Us recently screened at Tubi FrightFest.
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