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DOOO IT... DRACULA!

Dracula: Film vs. Novel

After finishing Dracula, the novel, I decided to watch Dracula: Dead and Loving it, the parody with Leslie Nielson. As I started it up on Netflix, I remembered the trailer and was expecting it to be completely independent of the novel with no similarities other than it is a story about a vampire named Count Dracula. Although the famous horror story was instantly turned into a comedy that had me "loling" from start to finish, it did i pretty good job setting the mood for a horror story. In the background at times a organ type instrument would play those "traditional scary tunes" that people normally think about when hearing about a horror story. In addition there would be a thin layer of smoke on the ground.

The movie also did a good job showing the physical features of vampires such as, pale skin, (described, in the novel, when Harker first met the Count), absence during the day (seen throughout the novel), absence of a reflection (shown, in the novel, when Dracula creeps up on Harker while shaving), and even the ability to climb up and down the sides of buildings.

There were many plot parallels throughout the movie. One parallel was the scene where three gorgeous female vampires come to Harker's room and attempt to seduce him for his blood before Dracula stops them. In the movie for some reason, Harker is not the character that travels to the counts castle, but instead it is Renfield. Other parallels consist of the scene where Van Helsing and the others watch over Lucy's tomb. Again, the only differences are the characters in the scene and their role. More generally speaking, the main difference between the novel and the film is the "usage" of characters and their roles.

One thing that disappointed me was the exclusion of the "strange" scene where Van Helsing and the others come across Mina sipping from a wound on Dracula's chest. I wanted this to be included hoping that if I saw it visually, I would be easier to grasp the situation and understand what was going, in addition to its purpose in the novel.

Unlike the novel, at all, where I stated that the plot seemed stretched out and prolonged, the movie seemed extremely rushed. The movie had the potential to be that much better if it were mad longer and with a slower pace. Some scenes to me felt like they were over before they even started. On that note, much was cut out from the movie such as the scenes in the beginning when Harker was a "prisoner" of Dracula.

No More Mr. Dracula

As Dracula comes to an end for our group I am truly speechless. Not once, during any portion of the novel, was the story any bit horrifying. I expected more from the novel. Dracula to me seemed like it was more of an action/adventure story rather than a horror story when Van Helsing and the rest were in pursue of Dracula in order to bring his unholiness to an end.

Even though the book in a way disappointed me, I still found the story very interesting from the point where Lucy becomes one of the victims of the Count. At times the story felt like it was stretched, however, I found it still rather difficult to put the book down. In other words when the characters where looking for "x" they arrived to only discover a portion of it was somewhere else or not there at all. I found this annoying because it felt like the author was prolonging the "grand finale". For example, when they are tracking Dracula's fifty coffins, they arrive at Carfax to see that 21 are missing and are located in London (12 divided among two houses in London and 9 in Piccadilly). Later they discover that there are only 8 in Piccadilly. This "stretching" occurs again when they try to cut off Dracula in his route to his last coffin.

One scene that I found extremely strange was the one where Van Helsing and the others force their way into the Harkers' room to find Jonathan unconscious and Mina sipping from a wound on Dracula's chest. At first I thought I misread what was written, but then when I realized that I made no mistake, I could not respond in any way but "WTF?!?!?!"

Overall the novel was quite entertaining with a few "flaws" and should definitely be considered if one is exploring the horror genre (especially since it is free on Amazon Kindle).

Dracula Post "Introductory Matters"

After the events of chapter one, the novel becomes strikingly interesting with the introduction of Count Dracula. For the next three chapters, Harker documents his encounters in the Count's castle from arrival to departure. So far in the novel I found this part the most thrilling with the plot forcing me to read more. At first, Harker's mind was filled with fear, but the Count's warm welcome made it easier for him. However, as Harker noticed the Count's physiognomy his fear began to return. The author made all of the attributes of a vampire fairly visible in these chapters, such as no reflection, absence during the day, and fear of a crucifix in addition to the basic visual features (sharp teeth, pale, red eyes). Harker kept mentioning the absence of mirrors until one day, while he was shaving, he was approached by Dracula and after the events that took place, he noticed that he could not see the Count in the mirror. Dracula responded by throwing the mirror out the window. Another interesting part, but strange part, was the part with the three beautiful female vampires. Harker disobeyed the Counts orders to never fall asleep anywhere but his own room and (either while awake or asleep) as a result was approached by three female vampires who seduced him. As they were about to "kiss" him on the neck Dracula arrived and chased them away by giving them a smothered baby.

There is more to Harker's "adventures" within the castle, however, following chapter four the story becomes rather boring with the introduction of more characters who will document what happens from their point of view for the time being since Harker has disappeared from the picture. The next few chapters are basically used for characterization with nothing really interesting except for the account of what happened on the ship that arrived that was seen by both Mina and Mr. Swales. The book later becomes interesting, in my opinion, once again when Dracula returns to the plot. Lucy disappears from her bed one night, and when Mina finds her, she sees a tall figure with red eyes leaning over Lucy in the churchyard.

Dracula at a Different Angle

This clip is for those people who prefer a good laugh as opposed to a good adaptation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7Dogj5c9pg

does anybody know what is typically found in the war genre of books? o.O

I'm reading "Song of the Dragon" by Tracy Hickman for my study of Fantasy. This is the first novel that I've read with such intense battle scenes, and i don't know if its different from battle found in a traditional war novel. There are different species of beings fighting in this book but I'm interested in the fundamentals of a war novel. in this book the narration is third person with insight into the protagonists mind. There is also a rank system that differs from a traditional one. is rank one of the things ever present in a war book? if so is creating a new system key in making this novel fantasy? Do war novels work in a similar fashion to vampire novels(i.e. vampires have evolved from Bram Stoker's "Dracula" to the objects of lust found in "Twilight")? Does war have to reinvented each time its taken as a subject for writing? Is it the reinventing that makes the book memorable? I'm not looking for answers to each of my questions i just thought i'd throw them out there. i'd greatly appreciate any insight.

Starting Dracula

As our group jumped into the genre of horror, the first book that we decided to read was Dracula, by Bram Stoker. The novel is formatted in the form of a diary in which, at times, there is a sense that the "fourth wall" is being broken. The entries are broken up by dates and the main idea, for the most part, is easily understood. However, just because the reader can infer what the narrator is trying say, that does not mean that the story is written in ones "everyday language". I personally find the arrangement of words or structure of the sentences quite strange. In other words, the way the story is spoken is not how one would expect it to be said in the 21st century.

The novel has yet to show its horrific nature since the entire first chapter addressed introductory matters. The first chapter introduced the reader with the narrative point of view (first person), parts of the setting, and lastly, what occurred during the narrator's travels to the castle of Dracula (where he was, what he was doing, what was he thinking).

1992 Dracula Trailer

If you are reading Dracula, you might want to consider watching this when you are done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw2-ZMhxTUs

Why movie vampires always break all the vampire rules

In the following article, Christopher Beam of Slate magazine examines one of the more interesting (and infuriating) rules of vampire stories.

Why movie vampires always break all the vampire rules