Republic
Home Video | Review by Dan Taylor
One
would expect that infamous director/misogynist
Jess Franco would have one hell of a time
with the Dracula legend, taking full advantage
of the erotic and overtly sexual content
of the tale. Surprise, surprise! Franco's
1969 feature starring Christopher Lee as
the Count, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, and
Klaus Kinski as Renfield is a slow, chilling
and fairly faithful rendering of Stoker's
novel, sans the guts and breasts
that have been trademarks of his over-analyzed
career.
Those
viewers familiar with the original novel
(itself influenced by Dr. Polidari's short
story, "The Vampyre") will notice
a number of familiar elements throughout
the story. Those expecting a rip-off of
the 1931 Universal feature with Lee and
others overdoing their roles will be thoroughly
surprised.
Opening
in 1897 Transylvania (actually Barcelona),
we meet young Jonathan Harker (Fred Williams)
as he travels by train to meet up with a
new client...as he speaks with a fellow
passenger, my body tensed, simply anticipating
the inevitable. "I'm going there to
visit one of our clients. Maybe you know
him? Count Dracula." Aiggggghhhhhh!
THE FRANCO POWER-ZOOM FROM HELL makes it's
first of many appearances.
As expected,
the villagers act towards Jonathan with
typical Old World superstition, and he must
take a carriage to Drac's castle. Once there,
the Count greets him by saying, "Welcome
to my home. Enter freely and of your own
will." Needless to say, our intrepid
hero finds neither this nor Drac's lack
of reflection peculiar. (In Donald F. Glut's
1975 work entitled The Dracula Book,
he devotes a few pages to EL CONDE DRACULA.
On page 255 he also alludes to this scene,
saying, "At the castle, the credulity
of the Dracula character is tested in one
scene where he stands with Harker before
a full-length mirror and does not reflect.
It is not explained why the Count, first,
would possess such a mirror, and second,
why he would so obviously stand before it."
Damn good point!)
Much to
my surprise, Franco succeeds in spades at
creating a fair amount of atmosphere...at
least for a Franco film. This shocked me
because most of the director's work that
I've had the privilege of viewing has fallen
into the realm of woman-in-prison flicks
or his borderline inhuman version of JACK
THE RIPPER. Specifically,
the chills hit hard when the three female
vampires eye up Harker, only to have their
attention diverted by the cries of an infant
Dracula has acquired for them, and in the
scene where the vamped-out Lucy takes a
child from the park (only to end up on a
milk canister I guess).
However,
while Franco's direction thoroughly shocked
me, it is the performance by Kinski as Renfield
that is most odd. Those expecting a snivelling
Renfield crawling at the Count's feet will
be amazed. In a role where he could conceivably
act as looned-out as he wishes (after all,
he is playing a bug-eating whacko) Kinski
brings an odd restraint that is missing
from many of his other roles. And it works!!!
Yes, we sympathize with him, especially
when the origin of his insanity is revealed.
An incredible and moving performance, accomplished
without any dialogue at all.
Despite
a weak victory over Lee's Dracula, and some
jumpy scenes, Franco's EL CONDE DRACULA
is a moody and successful adaptation, one
that Glut refers to as being "of extreme
importance in the history of the Dracula
film."
