Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht

Some of the best things about this version: Basically all the actors, Bruno Nicolai's score, and the fact that this Dracula appeared as Stoker describes him, which is a first.

Unfortunately, what I've heard about the production is that they changed producers in mid-shooting and he cut the budget back, so what could've been a fairly faithful rendition of the book now looks cheap and like the low-budget film it eventually became. This is no reflection of Jess Franco.

Despite some relatively poor production values, this film has the requisite quality of "creepiness" that any good Dracula film really should have. Kinski is fine. This is also Christopher Lee's most accurate performance as the Count. Too bad the editing is so jumpy. It's almost like watching a documentary, or an antique silent film (but with sound). If they had just invested a little more money, this could have become "the" authentic film adaptation of the novel. As it stands, it is only for real devotees of the genre.

this is an unjustly obscured, great horror film that does more justice to the novel than any of the Hammer versions but maintains their atmosphere perfectly and outdoes "the horror of dracula" by far. christopher lee looks just like the description of the Count in stoker's novel, and far from being 'funny' or 'cheap' as some of the other reviewers here have called it (did they watch the same movie, or what?), you don't doubt it's reality for a moment. the soundtrack is really eerie and appropriate to some of the truly horrifying scenes, such as the poor woman screaming outside the castle at dracula to give her baby back, and the surrealistic scene in which jonathan harker leaps out the castle's window. kinski is superb and utterly convincing (and i'm usually not all that impressed by him) as renfield, and it is really creepy to watch his behavior at times. (especially when he eats bugs and smears the friggin blood on the rubber walls. ick!) in fact, i could find very little wrong with this movie at all, and any true horror fan will revere it. not just a must watch, a must own.

Everyone looking for the usual Jess Franco sex horror will be , and has been, let down by this movie. I myself have been kind of meh about it over the years. But a recent late night rewatch put it in a new light. Sure it's slow and a bit static but Franco captures a sense of dread that most Dracula movies can't manage. No wonder Lee said this was his favorite portrayal of the count. Plus that Nicolai music is incredible. Not perfect but it has something strong going for it.

It is sad that this film is so often overlooked...it's really a gem. Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula here is probably his best ever (at least in terms of following Stoker's book) as an aging vampire who progressively gets younger (20 years before Coppola's version). In addition, Klaus Kinski is brilliant as the insane Renfield. Lee's Dracula is given more of a human side that is missing in the Hammer films, where he usually barely speaks at all. There are some weak spots, but overall quite good, and a must for Lee fans really gives a different perspective of the Hammer legend.