Dan Curts, no stranger to horror when 1974 would roll around, would team up with Jack Palance once again to bring Dracula to the small screen and much like their first project together, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde would present one of the definitive takes on the property.

When it comes to the Lord of Vampires, one would not necessarily think of Jack Palance as the embodiment of evil and yet, given that same thought when thinking of him as Mr. Hyde, it would come as no surprise that the man was able to pull it off. That may be putting it lightly as Palance would be utterly menacing as the Count. With his stature, bearing, facial expressions and the quiet imposition his figure made simply being present, Palance was more than the right choice. It can be said that most actors who would take up the role would be successful to a greater or lesser extent, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Paul Naschy and even Luke Evans to name just a few but Palance was in a different class, simply for the fact that it was so unexpected. Curtis was also no stranger to vampires having introduced the world to Dark Shadows and though Barnabas Collins is a great vampire, Palance’s Dracula is altogether different and sets himself apart from his brethren with an almost understated and nuanced performance. This Dracula might be a monster but he was once a human himself and that part of him comes rushing back when he encounters a photograph of Lucy Westenra thanks to a very unlucky Jonathan Harker. It is interesting to see these two sides of the character play out and how the small flame of humanity is finally extinguished when Lucy is put to the stake, releasing the Impaler from anything that might have held him back.

Like Dark Shadows, this version of Dracula had a wonderfully gothic atmosphere draped about its performers, Curtis knowing the material well and giving it exactly what was needed. Be it the dark and dreary castle that lies in tatters or the air of a young London just coming into its own where hope for the future still exists, all of it has a malodorous air about it as evil is on the wind. One can almost feel the weight of Dracula in every scene whether he is actually in it or not, so effective is Curtis’ direction and it makes it both tense and suspenseful. Much like the previous pairing of Curtis and Palance, this film also features little in the way of blood, the horror coming more from Palance himself, Dracula’s brides and the settings throughout. One can say that a good horror movie does not have to have blood and gore or similar trappings to make for an effective outing as proven here.

Additionally starring Fiona Lewis as Lucy, Penelope Horner as Mina, Nigel Davenport as Van Helsing and Murray Brown as Jonathan Harker, the picture was not short on talent. Each would play their parts quite well and the film would be less without them, but it was around Palance that each one would orbit and without him, the movie might have worked but it would definitely have been a different beast altogether. Harker is given a fairly sizable sequence while the ride over on the Demeter is skipped over. Most of the film’s running time is spent in London and it is here that the audience gets to know the Lord of Vampires a little better, yet it all circles back around, back to his castle where it ends for both the Count and the movie. If there was one small nitpick about Dan Curtis’ Dracula that could be found, it was the way the Count was dispatched as it could have been a little more ‘cinematic’, but such as it is, it is a minor quibble.  As far as retellings of Dracula go, this is a film that should make it onto everyone’s list.

4 out of 5