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Complicated or Stilted?

Jenn and I have reached the end of our month exploring texts on Countess Elizabeth (or Erzsebet) Báthory. The 17th century noble woman was accused of torturing and murdering young girls, but over time her crimes have taken on a life of their own. Listen to our primer on the historical figure.

Did she really bathe in a bathtub of blood? Did she really kill 650 people? Did she consort with a witch?

The answer is probably no. And after inflammatory texts like Hammer’s Countess Dracula (listen) or Eli Roth’s sensational modern day take in Hostel: Part II (listen), it’s interesting to see writer/director/star Julie Delpy‘s more grounded take.

In 2009’s The Countess, Delpy plays Erzsebet Báthory, a stern, determined widow who doesn’t take flack from men. After being propositioned by a suitor she deems unworthy of her stature (William Hurt...

Jenn and I are spending the month of May discussing Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the most notorious (and purportedly prolific) female serial killer in history. As Jenn explained in last week’s primer, however, the story has taken on the aura of myth and legend, to the point that it’s unclear what is fact and what is fiction.

For our second week of coverage, Bloody FM’s Murder Made Fiction checks out the 1971 Hammer Horror film, Countess Dracula, directed by Peter Sasdy. While the film, which stars Ingrid Pitt as The Countess, definitely contains elements of truth – including the setting and her noble position – it also features a fair amount of creative license, including an arbitrary name change, a young male lover (Sandor Elès), and an annoying daughter Ilona (Lesley-Anne Down) who exists solely to facilitate the film’s climax.

Set in the world of 17th-century Hungary, Countess Dracula tells...

Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed is widely regarded as one of the world’s most prolific serial killers. A Hungarian noblewoman born in 1560, she’s said to have murdered more than 650 young women while bathing in the blood of her unfortunate victims. As punishment for these grisly crimes, Elizabeth was walled up in the tower of her own castle and isolated until her death in 1614. Since then, her story has become the stuff of legend, spinning in strange and supernatural directions.

But what elements of her life can we actually prove? Was Elizabeth Bathory a sadistic murderer? Was she an immortal vampire akin to Dracula himself or an innocent woman targeted by men who wanted her land? Like most true crime stories, the truth lies somewhere in between.

In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s Murder Made Fiction, Jenn walks Joe through the sordid details of this gothic story,...

Nosferatu (2024), directed by Robert Eggers, reimagines the legendary 1922 silent film classic. It brings a fresh yet eerie perspective to the iconic vampire myth. Known for his mastery of atmospheric horror and historical authenticity, Eggers creates a chilling retelling of Count Orlok’s tale. The film captures the same haunting tension and visual storytelling seen in his previous works like The Witch and The Lighthouse. The cinematography, by Dop Jarin Blaschke, echoes the ominous lighting and stark shadows of the original. It adds a unique modern twist. With a mesmerizing performance by Bill Skarsgård as the terrifying vampire, Nosferatu (2024) captures the original’s haunting aura while expanding its thematic depth. If you were drawn to its eerie atmosphere and dark, immortal themes, these 7 classic vampire movies will be a perfect follow-up.

1. Nosferatu (1922) | F.W. Murnau

If you admire the atmospheric world of Nosferatu (2024), Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) is essential viewing. This silent film...

Father Time comes for us all in different degrees. Now one sees countless ads for wrinkle creams, hair colouring, replacements or surgeries linked to boosting confidence. The most offensive is getting children as young as twelve to use skin rejuvenation products. Anubys Lopez’s film Aged (2023) takes a huge page of countless films where glands are harvested and injected more strongly. The film uses motifs of Countess Dracula (1971) and Cocoon (1985) to bring terror to the onset of gray hairs and fading memories. More importantly, it is what family members would do to make sure the clock is forcibly turned back.

Aged (2023) is oddly constructed and misdirected in places with some poor direction missing key plot moments. Bright scenes of rural landscapes and a meeting in an antiseptic stilted coffee shop with Charles Bloom (Dave McClain), meeting with Veronica Grey (Morgan Boss-Maltais) to interview as a caregiver for his ailing mother.

Ahead of the UK premiere of graphic and disturbing supernatural horror film The Well at FrightFest Glasgow 2024, director Federico Zampaglione talks about returning to hardcore horror, working with the late, great Giovanni Lombardo Radice and emerging from the shadow of Italian masters of the genre.

So, Federico, The Well has its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival, as part of the popular FrightFest event. Are you excited?

Frightfest is the place where everything started in 2009 and it’s one of the best festivals in the world. I can’t wait to show The Well to the UK fans.

What inspired you to make the movie?

Wanting to get back on the horror horse! I deeply love this genre, because it speaks to the human soul, investigates our unknown fears and gets lost in deep darkness whilst clinging to a blade of light. The Well pushes at the most extreme emotions,...

The classic horror flick The Wicker Man has gotten the 4K treatment.

Lionsgate has announced that The Wicker Man is getting a special SteelBook in 4K Ultra HD, along with Blu-ray and Digital. The SteelBook is set to be released on Oct. 17, 2023. Ahead of the release, Lionsgate has also unveiled the artwork for the SteelBook.

Related: Andy Serkis Announces The Wicker Man TV Series

The film is directed by Robin Hardy (The Fantasist) and follows Police Sergeant Howie as he investigates Lord Summerisle and his secretive pagan society. Anthony Shaffer wrote the script. The film also stars Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Lindsay Kemp, and Russell Waters.

In The Wicker Man, per Lionsgate's synopsis, "When a young girl mysteriously vanishes, Police Sergeant Howie (Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But the seemingly quiet community is not as it appears, as the detective uncovers a secretive...

Cult Horror Masterpiece, The Wicker Man, Arrives on a SteelBook in 4K Ultra HD October 17: "The cult horror masterpiece, The Wicker Man, arrives on a SteelBook® in 4K Ultra HD™ (+ Blu-ray™ + Digital) on October 17th from Lionsgate. Directed by Robin Hardy (The Fantasist), the film follows Police Sergeant Howie, as he investigates Lord Summerisle and his secretive pagan society. The Wicker Man will be available for the suggested retail price of $27.99."

Official Synopsis

When a young girl mysteriously vanishes, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But the seemingly quiet community is not as it appears, as the detective uncovers a secretive pagan society led by the strange Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee). While the townsfolk tempt and threaten him with bizarre rituals and wanton lust, Howie must race to discover the truth behind the girl's disappearance before his clash with Lord Summerisle builds...

Sacrificing oneself for love is a too cute and too familiar interaction thrown in movies like strawberry jam. It is simple, ordinary, and expected. Romance in horror films, however, is chaotic, bloody, and revolting. Horror and eroticism are an unexpected sweetness, so go ahead and serve that with your morning toast. Monsters have indulged in romance with mortals as we have seen in The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) to more recent movies like The Shape of Water (2017). It’s a classic story about a beautiful woman and a hideous beast, but even cinema changed the familiar storyline.

The 1970s opened an endless coffin of vampire films about love, sexuality, and the survival of the fittest. Open relationships, casual sex, gender fluid romances, and bloodthirsty villains painted the theater towns crimson red. The decade brought light to cultural issues that never seemed to be reflected on the mirrors of prior vampire films.

Hammer Horror: Four Gothic Horror Films

Blu ray – All Region

Imprint

1971-72

Starring Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, Eric Porter

Cinematography by Kenneth Talbot, Dick Bush

Directed by Peter Sasdy, John Hough, Robert Young

In December of 1959, Hammer Studios released a bit of Yuletide cheer called The Stranglers from Bombay, a censor-baiting melodrama highlighted by severed limbs and Marie Devereux’s cleavage. The studio would spend the next decade expanding upon those themes and wore the inevitable X Certificates like badges of honor. But as an ancient reprobate said, “Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough” and by the seventies the bad boys of Bray seemed positively sedate. Though the power to shock had waned, Hammer was still a thriving business—there were two Dracula films produced in 1970 alone. Still, no one could blame them for shaking things up—Anthony Hinds, the studio’s guiding light,...

Resident Evil Village, Capcom’s newest vision of horror, unleashed its villain, Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, onto the world in January, and the internet has hardly been the same since. Before we’d even seen anything substantial from the new game, the nine-foot “Tall Vampire Lady” was already the sequel’s most popular character, the subject of countless memes and even a few…salacious mods and videos.

With the release of the game this month, Dimitrescu’s star is shining even brighter. We just can’t stop talking about our Lady. And when you hear who the developers at Capcom turned to for inspiration when creating this character, you get the sense that she was always destined for infamy, designed specifically to go viral.

One major influence, according art director Tomonori Takano, was the Japanese internet urban legend Hasshaku-sama (or “hachishakusama”), an eight-foot-tall evil spirit in a wide-brimmed hat who lures...

It’s safe to say that the world is a bit weird right now. Much to some people’s surprise, horror movies can often be a way for fans to make sense of things and confront their fears in a safe space. Streaming service Shudder offers a large array of horror movies, TV shows, and even podcasts covering the full spectrum of the macabre. But how do you know where to start?

We’ve put together a guide to some of the best films the service has to offer. The Shudder catalogue is always growing and changing so we’ll keep this updated – head back for the latest additions and new suggestions.

(All entries are available in both UK and US unless stated otherwise!)

Hammer The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Only Available In The US

After literally decades in which the classic Hammer Films library of horror titles was often difficult to see,...

When I was a kid, I somehow inherited an 8mm film projector and managed to convince my mom to buy me a handful of movies on the format. Now when I say “movies,” I mean these little spools of 8mm celluloid that basically took various motion pictures and condensed them down to silent 10-minute highlight reels, mostly in black and white.

They were in many ways the earliest precursor of home video, and one of the films I convinced my mom to purchase was Hammer Films’ Taste the Blood of Dracula. While the format really prevented me from making much sense of the narrative, certain imagery–Dracula’s face emerging from beneath a cracking caul of dust, two beautiful young women driving a stake into the heart of an older gentleman, a younger man drinking a cup of blood and choking as it poured out of his mouth–stayed firmly with me.

Mubi's retrospective The Many Sins of Walerian Borowczyk is showing February 12 - June 18, 2017 in the United States and in many other countries around the world.If you were making a period movie in the classic era, it need not noticeably be any more or less unreal than a conventional contemporary film: in both cases, almost everything would be shot in the studio and every prop or costume would be made specially or brought in from a prop store. Nothing would be real.By the sixties and seventies, this approach was becoming extinct and a new generation were making films on location, with natural light, natural actors, natural clothing. For a period movie, this meant finding locations that were largely unchanged since the period in question, and bringing to them appropriate props and costumes. A filmmaker might be tempted to focus more closely on these details in order to bring to...

The Horror Channel has an Easter treat for fans of Hammer films, as their UK-only Hammer-thon will air March 26th and 27th. Also in this round-up: release details for The Ones Below, a trailer for The Cleansing Hour short film, eight preview pages from Monster World #3, and information on The Last American Horror Show.

UK Horror Channel’s Hammer-Thon: Press Release: “Hammer film fans are in for a treat….Horror Channel is to screen an Easter Hammer-thon with back-to-back Hammer classics.

Some of Hammer’s most popular films, including The Revenge Of Frankenstein, The Devil Rides Out and The Brides Of Dracula will be broadcast across the weekend from 3pm – 10pm on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th March.

Plus, Horror Channel will be presenting ‘Hammer Thursdays’ from Thurs 7 April for six weeks. This will be a Hammer movie at 9pm followed by a double-bill of Hammer House Of Horror at 10.50pm.

Curious about all those Region B Hammer Blu-rays from overseas, the ones requiring a region-free player? As a public service, Savant has solicited an expert opinion (you'll have to take my word for that) of a film restoration/transfer specialist who is also an informed fan of the filmic output of the little horror studio at Bray. I know, real Hammer fans buy first and worry about quality later, but this little guide might be of help to the rest of us budget-conscious collectors.

A 'Guest' article Written by a trusted Savant correspondent.

(Note: I receive plenty of emails asking for advice about the quality of Region B Blu-rays, most of which I don't see. I have access to industry people qualified to compare and judge the discs, but they stay off the record, because their employers forbid them to go online with their opinions. They must sometimes simmer in...

One of the darkest female figures in European history, 16th century Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, is the subject of a CBS drama series project from Battlestar Galactica alum David Eick and producer Joel Silver. Bathory, produced by Lionsgate TV and Silver Pictures, tells the story of woman nicknamed the Blood Countess and Countess Dracula. Considered the world’s most prolific serial killer, Báthory is believed to have tortured and murdered more than 600 girls. She…...

Award-winning indie filmmakers Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein (Magnetic, Ten) have launched their latest Kickstarter to fun their third feature, Blood of the Tribades. Described as a Hammer- and Jean Rollin-inspired, '70s lesbian vampire film, Cacciola and Epstein namecheck the majestic Countess Dracula, Twins of Evil, Vampyros Lesbos, and The Shiver of the Vampires as influences. Not content to simply be a vampire lesbian film, the story also focuses in on a socio-political statement. From the film's description: "A vampire named Bathor turned an entire village to vampires, stuck around long enough to teach them to survive, and then promised to return 2,000 years after conquering the rest of the continent. The only problem with this plan is that the vampires, although immortal, have only a...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Doctor Who, Star Trek and more: what happened when sci-fi, horror & fantasy heroes have popped up on British daytime TV over the years…

Pre-YouTube, fandom was a hard-earned thing. It took research, dedication and enough patience to hover over the family video player’s ‘record’ button for an entire episode of TV-am in anticipation of six minutes with Sylvester McCoy. Six minutes in which the Seventh Doctor would be polled if he was a cat or dog person and then asked to taste a lemon roulade.

Scarcity bred desire in those days, so we took what we could get from our heroes of yore, even if that meant watching Hammer Horror legend Ingrid Pitt make a chocolate mousse, or the aforementioned McCoy attempt to answer fan questions above the hubbub of a Nottingham swimming pool complex. The collision of geek icons and UK daytime magazine shows was sometimes illuminating, sometimes excruciating,...

Iconic Hammer actresses Martine Beswick, Veronica Carlson and Caroline Munro. (All photos copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)

Retro-active: The Best From Cinema Retro's Archives

(The following article was originally run in November, 2014)  

By Adrian Smith 

With around sixty special guests in attendance, the Westminster Central Hall on Saturday the 7th of November was packed to its domed roof with excited Hammer film fans.

Familiar faces including Caroline Munro, Valerie Leon, Madeline Smith and Martine Beswick were providing some glamour, but the organisers managed to make the event extra-memorable by securing the presence of Edina Ronay, George Cole, Freddie Jones and others who had not signed autographs at a fan event before. At times queues to meet them ran out of the building and down the street! Other rare UK appearances were made from Veronica Carlson and Linda Hayden, flown in from the Us to meet their fans. It was...

Welcome back everyone for the final day of Daily Dead’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide! Because it’s been an exceptional year for genre fans, we’re focusing today on recapping more books and films that would make for great gifts this holiday season and are perfect for all fans. We’ve also got another great find from over on Etsy and we’re celebrating a new subscription service from the fine folks over at Waxworks Records.

And be sure to check out today’s final Holiday Horrors trivia question below for your shot at winning some awesome merchandise from our fine sponsors at HorrorDecor.net, Scream Factory and Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Thanks so much for following along with our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide and I hope you guys had as much fun reading the series as I had putting it together!

Vendor Spotlight: Waxwork Records

Waxwork Records specializes in releasing horror,...

“The British Film” collection was launched by Network Distributing in April 2013 as part of a five-year plan to release over 450 vintage British films through a deal with Studiocanal. Many of the films have never been available to own and will benefit from new transfers. We’ve already reviewed a couple of their previous releases, the Hammer horror pairing of Countess Dracula and Twins of Evil – and now we take a look at two more interesting British horrors of the 1970s…

The Shout

Stars: Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt, Robert Stephens, Tim Curry | Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski

Synopsis: During a cricket match at an insane asylum between the inmates and the local villagers, Crossley and Graves keep themselves entertained by telling stories. Crossley tells of how he came to possess supernatural powers enabling him to kill with a single shout and although his companion dismisses the tale as an insane fantasy,...

That a little studio located in the English countryside consistently put out high quality films on a very limited budget is one of the great stories in filmmaking history. Hammer Films was the most successful independent film company ever, producing comedy, drama, mysteries, and war movies before finding their niche in horror. Hammer became a name synonymous with horror, a name that still means something today.

They took their horror stories from English literature set in Europe in the 19th century and their carefully designed and constructed sets created an atmosphere that made the time and place as much a part of the film as the story. After securing remake rights from Universal for their catalog of classics from the 1930s and 1940s, Hammer became the leading producer of horror films. Hammer’s philosophy was straightforward: always be entertaining, have plenty of sex appeal, and lots of violence and blood.

Hammer have had something of a renaissance on Blu-ray recently, with StudioCanal releasing a number of classic titles in new hi-def editions. And now, released as part of Network’s ‘The British Film’ collection, comes two of Hammer’s “sexier” films of the 70s: the infamous Twins of Evil, starring Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson; and Countess Dracula, which features a career-defining performance from Ingrid Pitt in the titular role.

Despite being made during Hammer early-70s fallow period, where the studio was running out of stories, out of budget and were being left behind by more “extreme” horror films and exploitation movies emanating from the Us (after all this was just after the release of Night of the Living Dead which ultimately changed the face of the genre forever), both Twins of Evil and Countess Dracula are beloved by fans of the studio, and with good reason.

Twins of Evil

Stars: Peter Cushing,...

The arrival of The Expendables 3 leads James to the conclusion that, when it comes to being an action hero, age is just a number...

"All I have produced before the age of 70 is not worth taking into account. At 73 I have learned a little... a little about the real structure of nature, of animals, plants, trees, birds, fishes and insects. In consequence when I am 80, I shall have made still more progress. At 90 I shall penetrate the mystery of things; at 100 I shall certainly have reached a marvellous stage; and when I am 110, everything I do, be it a dot or a line, will be alive." - Hokusai, the Japanese artist who painted the famous 'Great Wave off Kanagawa' and kept on creating astounding art until his death at the age of 88.

"I'm too old for this shit." - Roger Murtaugh, the Lapd homicide detective played by Danny Glover...

I’ve seen at least a dozen Hammer Horror films, both old and new. As far as the classics go, I’d say I’ve seen more of them for the first time thanks to companies like Synapse, that constantly release them to Blu-ray. Such is the case for Countess Dracula. This was a first time viewing for me, so it was good to be able to sit down with Synapse’s new Blu-ray release of the film. The story, you’ll recognize immediately. Old countess, feasts on the blood of young virgins in order to regain her youthful outer appearance. It is a story that has been told to death, but nobody does it quite like Hammer. I recognize the appeal of a film like Countess Dracula, and I did enjoy watching it, but things like these are sometimes films I can only see myself watching once. I’m a patient man,...

Director: Peter Sasdy > Review Chris Sawin. Hammer Horror is notorious for being delectably campy and over the top with cheese so thick it could pave a driveway. If that's your definition of a horror classic, then "Countess Dracula" absolutely lives up to expectations. The insensitive Elizabeth Nadasdy (Ingrid Pitt) is thrown into a bitter state after the passing of her late husband. During the funeral arrangements, Elizabeth is drawn to Lt. Imre Toth (Sandor Eles), a young soldier who is also the son of a man who fought with her husband in the war. But her wrinkly, old age stands in the way of Elizabeth and her happiness. The Countess soon discovers that she can turn back the hands of time by bathing in the blood of young women. Women around the village go missing and are then discovered murdered just so Countess Elizabeth can feel young again and bask...

Hey everyone! Starting this week, Daily Dead is going to be bringing you a weekly DVD & Blu-ray release recap so that you guys and gals can better keep up on all the great home horror entertainment coming at you each and every week. Considering the amount of titles being announced these days, we figured this would be a handy reminder of just some of the awesome movies you can to add to your own DVD and Blu-ray collections.

Here’s a rundown on what’s coming your way this week including a ton of amazing classic titles in hi-def from Universal Studios, a handful of Godzilla sequels being released on Blu-ray, and more.

Spotlight Titles:

Rear Window (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & Digital HD with UltraViolet)

None of Hitchcock’s films has ever given a clearer view of his genius for suspense than Rear Window. When professional photographer J.B.

Synapse Films & Horrornews join forces for a great new giveaway – Countess Dracula Blu-ray / DVD combo pack ! All you need to do is email joyhorror@horrornews.net and put Countess Dracula in the subject line. In the body of the email, enter your full name and complete mailing address. United States Only. Winners will be picked at random in the upcoming weeks.

Countess Dracula Rises!

The beautiful Ingrid Pitt (The … Continue reading →

Horrornews.net...

Synapse Films has a new release heading our way in May that fans of classic 70's horror are sure to want to take note of. Hammer's dark and underrated Countess Dracula, starring the voluptuous Ingrid Pitt, will be available in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on May 6th.

The film was directed by Peter Sasdy and co-stars Nigel Green, Lesley-Anne Down, Sandor Elès, Patience Collier, and Maurice Denham.

Synopsis:

The beautiful Ingrid Pitt (The Wicker Man, Where Eagles Dare) stars as Elisabeth Nádasdy, an aging Hungarian Countess who discovers she can reverse her aging by bathing in the blood of young women.

While in her youthful state, the Countess falls for the handsome Lt. Imre Toth (Elès) and impersonates her own daughter (Down) to win his affections. Soon girls in the village go missing… kidnapped and murdered by the Countess and her steward, Julie (Collier), to satiate her horrifying bloodlust.

Synapse Films reps inform Shock that 1971's Countess Dracula, starring Ingrid Pitt, is arriving in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on May 6th. Pitt stars as Elisabeth Nádasdy, an aging Hungarian Countess who discovers she can reverse her aging by bathing in the blood of young women. While in her youthful state, the Countess falls for the handsome Lt. Imre Toth (Sandor Elès), and impersonates her own daughter to win his affections.

The post Synapse to Release Ingrid Pitt’s Countess Dracula on Blu-ray appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

It's not uncommon for movie and TV stars to make the jump from the screen to the printed page; many well-known actors have capitalized on their name recognition to help boost their profiles as emerging authors. Notable examples include Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings), who found success with his self-published poetry; James Franco (This is the End) recently rolled out a well-received short story collection entitled Palo Alto; and Ethan Hawke (Sinister, The Purge) has won acclaim for the novels The Hottest State and Ash Wednesday. While we don't hear nearly enough about actors from the world of horror and sci-fi making a successful transition to those same genres in print, it's not as rare a phenomenon as you might think. Let's examine the literary legacies of three notable horror stars who carved out thrilling new careers as horror writers... Thomas Tryon Genre Role: I Married a Monster from Outer Space...

We’ve known for a while that Synapse Films was going to bring Countess Dracula to Blu-ray and now an official release date has been announced. We also have details on a petition for Warner Bros. to bring their Hammer titles to Blu-ray. Thanks to DVD Drive-In, we know that Synapse Films will release Countess Dracula as a Blu-ray / DVD combo on May 6th:

“The beautiful Ingrid Pitt (The Vampire Lovers) stars as Elisabeth Nádasdy, an aging Hungarian Countess who discovers she can reverse her aging by bathing in the blood of young women. While in her youthful state, the Countess falls for the handsome Imre Toth (Sandor Elès), and impersonates her own daughter to win his actions. Soon, girls in the village go missing… kidnapped and murdered by the Countess and her steward, Julie (Patience Collier) to satiate her horrifying bloodlust. Can Elisabeth live a life of deception...

Sarah Dobbs Jun 21, 2017

As news arrives that Sherlock's creators are working on a Dracula adaptation, here are 10 screen versions of Bram Stoker's character...

Dracula is one of the classic monster stories. It’s the quintessential vampire tale; most of our ideas about what a vampire is, what a vampire does, and what a vampire can be killed by come from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. And while elements of the story have been woven into countless other vampire-themed books, films, and TV shows, it’s Dracula that we keep coming back to, over and over. Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are in talks about reviving the character once again for a BBC miniseries, but before that arrives, let’s take a look back at ten other versions of the world’s most famous vampire…

See related Kevin Feige on Black Panther, female superhero movie Thor: Ragnarok - Thor's roommate won't be in it Nosferatu (1922)

Who plays Dracula? Max Schreck.

What’s the story? It’s a pretty faithful, if pared down, version of the Dracula story: a clerk is sent out to meet a mysterious client in a spooky castle, realises he’s a monster, and tries to flee, only for his own wife to fall victim to the vampire’s spell. It’s silent, black and white, and gorgeous.

What makes it special? What’s kind of amazing about this film is that it almost didn’t survive. The production didn’t have the approval of Bram Stoker’s estate, and despite changing a few details – the vampire here is known as Count Orlok, not Dracula, and the other names and locations have also been altered – it’s close enough that when the Stokers sued, a court ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed.

Luckily for us, one survived. It’s incredibly creepy, all weird angles and lurking shadows, and Schrek plays the vampire as a proper monster. There’s nothing seductive about him, he’s just terrifying. Even now. Especially now, maybe, now that we’re jaded and cynical about special effects and CGI. Because this film looks scarier than anything created on a computer, and it’s all real.

Dracula (1931)

Who plays Dracula? Bela Lugosi.

What’s the story? Based on a popular stage adaptation of Dracula, this is another mostly faithful adaptation, though the characters have been shuffled a bit. Here, it’s Renfield, not Jonathan, who goes out to meet Dracula in his castle in Transylvania. Jonathan and Lucy get shunted off to the side of the story, with Mina taking centre stage, while Dr Seward, head of the lunatic asylum, is recast as her father. Lugosi is a much sexier Count than Schreck, and the subtext about Mina’s sexual awakening is, er, pretty much text here.

What makes it special? Oh, everything. It’s beautiful to look at, for one thing. It’s got a bit of a sense of humour, though not enough to stop it from being insanely creepy. Lugosi makes the role completely his own; when people think of Count Dracula, this is the version most of them imagine. Interestingly, this version also does a lot more with Renfield’s story than the original novel, and Dwight Frye is fantastic in that role. Even if you think you’ve seen too many Dracula parodies to enjoy Lugosi’s rendition of the Count, this film is worth watching for Dwight Frye alone.

Dracula (1958)

Who plays Dracula? Christopher Lee.

What’s the story? It’s Dracula, but slightly wonky. It starts with Jonathan Harker setting off to visit Castle Dracula – but this time, he knows what he’s in for, and is planning to kill the Count. He fails, leaving Van Helsing to take up the hunt. Most of the characters have been shuffled around: Jonathan is engaged to Lucy, who’s Arthur’s sister, and Arthur is married to Mina. It’s not obvious why that reshuffle had to happen, because it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference to how things play out. It’s still Mina who has to fight to extricate herself from Dracula’s clutches in the end.

What makes it special? Dracula was one of the first Hammer Horror films, and it was massively successful. It spawned eight sequels, including The Brides of Dracula, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, and Taste The Blood of Dracula, and it basically shaped the horror genre for a good couple of decades. But what’s special about it today is the cast. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are always good value, and here, as the evil Count and the scholarly vampire hunter determined to kill him off, they’re brilliant.

Count von Count, Sesame Street (1972)

Who plays Dracula? Originally Jerry Nelson, and now Matt Vogel.

What’s the story? Okay, this is kind of a cheat. Count von Count isn’t actually called Dracula, but he’s so clearly modelled on Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of the great vampire that I couldn’t just leave him out. The character appears to be based on the idea that vampires are obsessed with counting – folklore from all over the world has it that if a vampire encounters a pile of rice or other grains, they won’t be able to do anything until they’ve counted it all. The Count loves to, er, count.

What makes it special? The fact that Sesame Street included a vampire character is kind of amazing, and the fact that he speaks in a parody of Lugosi’s accent, and wears that cape, well, it’s just sort of brilliant. The earliest incarnations of the Count were a bit spooky, but apparently kids found his maniacal laughing and tendency to zap people who interfered with his counting a bit scary, so he was made cuter and goofier. He’s basically the most adorable incarnation of Dracula you’ll ever find.

Blacula (1972)

Who plays Dracula? Charles Macaulay.

What’s the story? This film is about one of Dracula’s protégés, rather than Dracula himself. After an African prince approaches Dracula for help dealing with the slave trade, he gets bitten and sealed in a coffin for centuries. Popping out in the 1970s, Mamuwalde – dubbed “Blacula” by the Count – sets about trying to win the heart of a woman he believes to be the reincarnation of his dead wife.

What makes it special? Isn’t the idea of a blaxploitation take on Dracula special enough for you? William H. Marshall plays the first ever black vampire in this movie, and since there haven’t been all that many since, that’s still pretty notable. The fashion is glorious, and the music is wonderful too. The plot is, well, kind of flimsy, and pretty slow, and it actually verges on being kind of boring, but there’s something pretty cool about it nonetheless.

Blood for Dracula (1974)

Who plays Dracula? Udo Kier.

What’s the story? A sickly Dracula is starving to death due to the lack of available virgins in Romania, so he travels to Italy in search of a bride. Unfortunately, the family of impoverished aristocrats he ends up staying with employs a rather rapey handyman, and there may not be any virgins left for him.

What makes it special? Produced by Andy Warhol, this is definitely one of the strangest takes on the Dracula story. Many of the established tropes are present – Dracula doesn’t have a reflection, and can’t stand garlic - but rather than being powerful and seductive, Kier’s Count is almost pitiable. He spends much of the film in a wheelchair, which is an oddly creepy image, and he’s kind of… whiny. It’s hard to know where your sympathies should lie, and it’s fun to see a mother actively throwing her daughters at Dracula rather than trying to save them from him. The accents are occasionally baffling (especially Joe Dallesandro’s Brooklyn drawl) but maybe that’s all part of the joke.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Who plays Dracula? Gary Oldman.

What’s the story? Back in the fifteenth century, Dracula’s wife kills herself after being told her husband has been killed in battle. Knowing suicide is a sin, Dracula figures she’s damned, and turns against God himself, becoming a vampire. After skulking in his castle for centuries, he decides to move to London, where he meets Mina Harker – a woman who looks exactly like his dead wife. The rest of the Dracula story is intact, but with a side of overly dramatic tragic romance.

What makes it special? It’s one of the most faithful adaptations around, in terms of how much of the book it conveys to the screen. Characters are shown writing letters and diary entries, as per the book, and Lucy’s three suitors are all present and correct, which is rare.

Unfortunately, some of the performances are pretty terrible (Keanu Reeves is an easy target, but he’s truly awful here, and Cary Elwes is in full smirk mode). There are so many famous people crammed in that it gets distracting, and the set design is too stagey to be effective. But it gets points for keeping all the characters in their places.

‘Buffy vs Dracula’, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2000)

Who plays Dracula? Rudolf Martin.

What’s the story? To kick off the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy went up against the most famous vampire of all time. Yup, they actually wrote Dracula into an episode of Buffy. There’s no real messing with the character, apart from dropping him into modern day California, and he uses pretty much all of his tricks: he turns into a bat, he dissolves into mist, he uses mind control to turn Xander into a slavering minion, and he seduces Sunnydale’s women, including Buffy herself.

What makes it special? There’s something about crossovers that’s always oddly irresistible. Fitting the Scooby Gang into the Dracula story is fun because of the cognitive dissonance it causes: they’re all-American teenagers, and he’s a character from a gothic Victorian novel, so there’s no reason they should ever encounter one another, and the fallout is genuinely funny. (Spike’s indignation is a particular highlight.) There’s also a serious side to the story, as Dracula tells Buffy she’s a creature of darkness, but that’s something that really developed over the rest of the series. This episode is mostly just fun.

Dracula 2000 (2000)

Who plays Dracula? Gerard Butler.

What’s the story? Despite Van Helsing’s best efforts, someone has let Dracula out of his prison, and he’s determined to track down the one woman who might be able to stand up to him. (Who just happens to be Van Helsing’s daughter.) Bringing Van Helsing and Dracula into a modern day setting requires a bit of sleight of hand, but it just about works, and the film has an ace up its sleeve: an explanation for Dracula’s true identity that finally explains why he’s so averse to silver and crucifixes.

What makes it special? It kind of shouldn’t be, because it’s so silly. It’s got that self-aware, slightly camp late-90s horror thing going on, and it’s never actually scary. But it is a lot of fun, with some sharp dialogue (“I don’t drink… coffee”) and loads of geek-friendly faces popping up, including Jonny Lee Miller, Nathan Fillion, and Jeri Ryan.

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Who plays Dracula? Dominic Purcell

What’s the story? Dracula, or “Drake”, is an ancient vampire summoned by modern day vampires looking for an upgrade. Blade has been killing off too many of them, and they want to walk in daylight, which apparently Drake’s blood will let them do. Drake is a bit of a rubbish Dracula, as they go; he’s just a really old vampire, and none of the usual Dracula plot elements are present.

What makes it special? Let’s be clear about this, Blade Trinity is a pretty terrible film. It has two redeeming features, though: Ryan Reynolds and Parker Posey are fantastic, and every scene they have together is wonderful; and it includes a scene in which Drake wanders into a vampire-themed shop and terrorises the snarky goth assistants. Those things just about make it worth watching, but for Dracula super-fans, it hasn’t got much to offer. Purcell’s Dracula is apparently meant to be charismatic, but he just comes off dull and thuggish.

Other notable onscreen Draculas: Countess Dracula (Ingrid Pitt stars as Elizabeth Bathory, so not really Dracula at all, except in the title); Count Duckula (an 80s cartoon about a vampiric duck); Count Dracula (a low budget horror from 1979, directed by Jess Franco and starring Christopher Lee despite not being part of Lee’s Hammer Dracula franchise); Dracula: Dead And Loving It (Mel Brooks’s daft spoof); Dracula Ad 1972 (a reteaming of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing that brings Dracula into the 70s); Dracula Sucks (a hardcore porn adaptation); and Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D (which isn’t out yet, and will almost certainly be terrible.)

This feature was originally posted in October 2013.

We already knew that The Dead 2: India would have its world premiere as the opening film of FrightFest 2013 and now the full lineup has been revealed, including Curse of Chucky, You’re Next, and Frankenstein’s Army:

“2013 has already been a banner year for Film4 FrightFest. What with our sell-out American Mary UK tour and FrightFest Glasgow reaching stunning new capacity heights as the Scottish rendezvous for shock-loving high society, our August Bank Holiday main event in London had better deliver the goods…

So are you ready for an spine-chilling avalanche of Indian zombies, Israeli oldboys, horrific home invasions, vengeance-crazed Vikings, ghostly serial killers, vicious videotapes, liquidised corpses, Swedish mesmerists, mutant armies, Argentine undead, psycho vs. psychos, dead men in black, murderous wagers, crazed Mormons, hellish car journeys, grief tourists, conspiracy theories, human experiments, Barcelona panic, premature burials, Betamax memories, Irish telekinesis, swamp slashing, devil dolls, found footage fears,...

Debbie Rochon is an incredible ambassador for the horror genre and one of the most recognizable faces in the world of indies. Rochon has made an incredible career in horror and is once again being recognized for her accomplishments!

Rochon is the inaugural Ingrid Pitt Memorial Award winner, an accolade named for horror star Ingrid Pitt, who worked in over 30 films. She co-starred with Sir Christopher Lee in The Wicker Man (1973) and The House that Dripped Blood (1970). She also starred in Hammer's Countess Dracula and with horror legend Peter Cushing in Hammer's The Vampire Lovers. She passed away too soon in 2011. The Ingrid Pitt Memorial Award is presented in conjunction with The Estate of Ingrid Pitt, filmmaker/producer Kevin Sean Michaels and event coordinator Stacy Pippi Hammon.

Debbie Rochon is the perfect honoree for this award. Congrats, D-Ro!

From the Press Release

The very first Ingrid Pitt Memorial Award represents...

By Michael Juvinall, More Horror.com

Another Hammer Film has been rescued from the vaults and is making its way to Blu-ray courtesy of the fine folks over at Scream Factory, the horror film division of distributor Shout Factory. They have announced that The Vampire Lovers (1970) is headed to Blu-ray sometime in 2013.

The film is directed by Roy Ward Baker (Scars of Dracula, And Now the Screaming Starts!) and stars Peter Cushing (Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein), Ingrid Pitt (Countess Dracula, The House that Dripped Blood), Kate O'Mara (The Horror of Frankenstein), and Madeline Smith (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell).

The independent distributors are yet to reveal the technical specs and supplemental features that will be included on this release.

Buxom vamps and bloodthirsty beauties abound in this horror thriller showcasing the netherworld's most voluptuous vampire! Traveling the countryside searching for victims, Carmilla quenches her thirst for blood with...

It’s the month of October. It’s Halloween. No, not the day itself, but tis the season. That means we need to focus on some truly excellent 80’s horror surrounding our beloved holiday. Sure we could give the rehash job to Halloween and its subsequent sequels, but that’s not entirely in spirit of the game although I can assure you that I’m working on something that focuses on the Carpenter magnum opus. Today we’re going to focus on some horror flicks that are about Halloween, but aren’t John Carpenter’s Halloween. Let’s talk about The Day After Halloween, Trick or Treats, Lady in White in our first It Came From 1980X triple feature offering. Each of these movies incorporates something of the Halloween spirit and only one of them actually gets any street cred for being an honest to goodness creep out. There’s...

Two years after the death of scream queen Ingrid Pitt, the Scandinavian beauty who bewitched audiences in such horror classics as The House that Dripped Blood, The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula, a new generation of fans are honouring her memory.

From the Press Release:

Attend the first annual Ingrid Pitt's Queen of Horror Festival in Old Town Hastings, UK, October 26th-28th, 2012.

Ms. Pitt's versatile career spanned from being an author, appearing as the subject of an Oscar-nominated cartoon (Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest ), and narrating tracks for black metal rockers Cradle of Filth. Her iconic status has attracted numerous followers, including the legendary writer James Herbert and actor Johnny Deep.

The festival is a weekend of horror fun in a style that's lacking in the UK horror scene, including such horrors as a Scream Queen competition with the winner heading to New York, masked ball, Ingrid Pitt films with Q&A's,...

This is a reminder for our readers in the Pennsylvania area, that we’ll be attending attending Drive-In Super Monster-Rama this weekend in N. Vandergrift, Pa. Started by George Reis of DVD Drive-In, the event is a 2 night showing of vintage horror films on a huge drive-in screen.

Make sure to send us an email or Tweet if you’re heading to the event on either night, as well have a variety of horror movies to give away while supplies last. Here’s this weekend’s line-up:

“On Friday, September 7, the features will be Theatre Of Blood, Horror House (restored version), Equinox and Son Of Blob.

On Saturday, September 8, the features will be Twins Of Evil (uncut British version), Countess Dracula (uncut British version), Raw Meat and Psychomania (The Death Wheelers).”

Tickets are $10 per person, per night and we will be there for both days, giving away prizes and hanging...

Drive-In Super Monster-Rama is one of my favorite horror events of the year. Since first attending in 2008, I’ve looked forward to the interesting mix of classic and obscure horror films on the big screen, and this year’s Super Monster-Rama starts on Friday night.

The event is the brainchild of DVD Drive-In’s George Reis, who talked about his reasons for starting the drive-in marathon. He also told me what we can expect from this weekend’s line-up of trailers and classic films.

First off, I wanted to congratulate you on winning the “DVD Reviewer of the Year” Rondo Award. For our readers who are unfamiliar with DVD Drive-In, can you tell our readers how it all started?

George Reis: I started DVD Drive-In in 2000 because I wanted to write about cult horror movies that were being released on DVD. At that time, it seemed like a lot...

We’re back with another weekend edition of the Indie Spotlight. Today’s feature includes a new horror comic release from Monsterverse, a Cthulhu video game, a new Hershell Gordon Lewis book, and the latest indie horror movie news sent our way:

Flesh and Blood Volume 2: “Vampires! A Werewolf! And Baron Frankenstein collide in the second book of the award-winning graphic novel series from Monsterverse! Superbly written by Robert Tinnell. Illustrated with eerie elegance by Neil Vokes! Colored with a master’s passion by Matt Webb.

If you thought the first volume rocked the world of horror comic books and graphic novels, you will not be able to put down the second book which has more dark intrigue, heart-stopping action, epic adventure, sensual eroticism and shocking twists than ever before!

Plus two back-up features! Operation: Satan by Tinnell and artist Bob Hall and the new Frankenstein by Tinnell and Adrian Salmon.

Titan Books has released a number of Sherlock Holmes books over the years and their latest novel, Sherlock Holmes: The Army of Doctor Moreau, mixes the famous detective with the H.G. Wells classic. The novel was written by Guy Adams and I had a chance to ask him about creating new fiction for such an iconic character, his development process, working for Hammer, and what we can expect from him in the near future:

Thank you for taking the time to talk with Daily Dead. Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your recent work as an author?

Guy Adams: No problem at all! Thanks for taking an interest. I’ve been working full-time as a writer for six years now and I’ve been lucky to keep busy. At the moment I’m finishing the first in a series of original novels that Titan will be publishing from next year.

The very first Queen of Horror Memorial Festival honoring the memory of Ingrid Pitt is happening in October 2012 in Hastings, UK (I don't really know where that is!)!

A blend of Hammer-inspired decor, activities such as make-up FX contests, and short story and film competitions will take place over the course of just a few days, all in the memory of the amazing actress and personality that was Ingrid Pitt.

The festival is run by Ingrid's niece, Isabella Podsiadlo, so it's a nice family affair.

Pitt starred in classic Hammer horror films like Countess Dracula, Vampire Lovers, The House That Dripped Blood, and The Wicker Man and is my favorite Hammer actress.

I'll most likely do a follow-up to this when guests are announced. Just very very excited!

When a friend’s little daughter became upset recently watching the beauteous Butter­cup in the fun 1987 mock fairy tale The Princess Bride do little to help the hero slay the Rodent of Unusual Size, I realized we’d crossed a bridge: Damsels in distress can no longer be rescued by handsome men, at least until they’ve proved they can rescue themselves. Snow White and the Huntsman, the latest adaptation of one of the Brothers Grimm’s most beloved fairy tales, is not your father’s Snow White — and, more to the point, not your Uncle Walt’s. Nightmarishly brutal, set against wintry landscapes and medieval battlements, and rife with hopeless, starving peasants, it’s practically a full-bore horror picture, reminiscent of Game of Thrones, Joan of Arc, and Countess Dracula — the one where the title character, inspired by Elizabeth Bathory, stays youthful by bathing in the blood of young women.

So, here we go again, the classic Grimm’s fairy tale take two. Earlier this year we saw the release of Mirror, Mirror, a farcical adaptation of the Snow White story starring Lily Collins as the heroine and Julia Roberts as a very campy, oh-so-wicked stepmother queen. Well with this version, Snow White And The Huntsman, all of the forced whimsy and slapstick is jettisoned in favor of dark, dark horror elements and much sword and axe welding mayhem. This is almost ” Snow White the Barbarian “. But is this the approach to make this centuries old bedtime story fresh and involving for modern-day movie audiences?

Now this can’t be a straight retelling of the Grimm tale or the Disney animated classic, of course. The film makers feel compelled to put their own spin on Snow and the gang. This version begins where many tellings do not. We meet our heroine’s mother.

Famed horror artist Dan Brereton provided the monster action for the cover of Volume 2 of Flesh and Blood, the acclaimed horror graphic novel series from Monsterverse, and of course we have a look at it right here!

From the Press Release:

Vampires, a werewolf, and Baron Frankenstein collide in the second book of the award-winning graphic novel series from Monsterverse, Flesh and Blood. Superbly written by Robert Tinnell and illustrated with eerie elegance by Neil Vokes, Book Two is colored with a master's passion by Matt Webb. If you thought the first volume rocked the world of horror comic books and graphic novels, you will not be able to put down the second book, which has more dark intrigue, heart-stopping action, epic adventure, sensual eroticism, and shocking twists than ever before!

It also includes two back-up features - Operation: Satan by Tinnell and artist Bob Hall and the new Frankenstein by Tinnell and Adrian Salmon.

Early evidence suggests the sumptuous Snow White and the Huntsman will at least look better than its Julia Roberts-fronted rival

Film-makers who begin their careers in commercial advertising do not always emerge as dead-eyed journeymen when they arrive in Hollywood. Ridley Scott conjured up Blade Runner and Alien from the ashes of some much-loved 1970s ads for Hovis bread, and I'm something of an apologist for Zack Snyder, at least when he's in Watchmen mode and not hawking spectacularly ill-advised video game porn in the vein of last year's Sucker Punch.

Rupert Sanders is the latest director to emerge from ad-land, and I can't help feeling that the British film-maker's forthcoming take on Snow White has retained a whiff of festive perfume commercial that you might think was a hangover from his old job. Perhaps it's the presence of Charlize Theron as the evil Queen Ravenna, or, more likely,...

Last week we gave you a heads up that UK manufacturer of kick-ass threads Disturbia Clothing has created a line of Hammer Films themed shirts. We were all over it but only had one design to share with you. Knowing our fans would want to see more, more, more, the good folks of Disturbia have shared three new designs with us!

We had already gotten a look at the really unique Frankenstein design in our previous article. Scroll down for another look at Frank plus the first peek at shirts featuring The Mummy, Werewolf and Countess Dracula designs.

Check out more at the Disturbia Clothing website.

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In honor of CBS Films' upcoming release of The Woman in Black in Us theaters tomorrow, February 3rd, Dread Central recently had the opportunity to chat with two producers on the latest out of the Hammer horror stable, Simon Oakes and Nigel Sinclair.

Both Oakes and Sinclair were integral to the relaunch of Hammer Films in 2010. In 2007 Oakes (Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media Group) and Marc Schipper (Exclusive Media COO) led the acquisition and recapitalization of Hammer, and Oakes now serves as its President and CEO. Sinclair, the Co-Chairman and CEO of Exclusive Media, came on board Hammer as a non-executive director in 2007 after his other production studio, Spitfire, locked in a first-look development and production pact with the newly revived British horror studio at the same time.

During our interview with Sinclair and Oakes, Dread chatted with the pair about Hammer's legacy of horror, their thoughts on The Woman in Black...