A History of DRACULA in Pop Culture

Dracula on Screen

Released in 1922, F.W. Murnau’s silent Nosferatu was not the first adaptation of Dracula. It was preceded by a stage adaptation, written and directed by Bram Stoker himself, which actually predated the novel’s release by several days — its sole performance was at the Lyceum on May 18, 1897, and Lyceum owner Henry Irving apparently deemed it “dreadful.” Nosferatu was also preceded by an official adaptation in 1921, titled Dracula’s Death. Made in Austria by writer-director Károly Lajthay, it did not follow the plot of the book; the film is considered lost.

Nosferatu is the oldest surviving adaptation of Dracula, but it shouldn’t be; the unauthorized movie, which changed Dracula’s name to Count Orlok, was the target of a copyright lawsuit from the Stoker estate, who won. All copies were ordered destroyed, but a few copies survived, and it is now in the public domain.

Universal and Hammer

Until the late 20th century, the two most recognizable versions of Count Dracula were performed by Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee.

Lugosi played the role on stage and revisited it in the first of the Universal Studios monster movies, 1931’s Dracula. (A Spanish-language version of Dracula was filmed simultaneously on the same sets and released in Mexico; it is worth watching!) Nearly every characteristic of Dracula’s speech and mannerisms that we now consider canon comes from Lugosi’s performance. The Hungarian-born actor made choices he couldn’t possibly have known would resonate 91 years later, but resonate they do. Universal made several sequels and some crossovers with Frankenstein and other monsters in their stable, not to mention a famed meeting with Abbot and Costello.

Lee played the role in the Hammer Films adaptation (1958) and its sequels, with his dear friend Peter Cushing taking the part of Van Helsing. The series ran for 14 years, ending with Dracula A.D. 1972, a strange fever dream set in (then) modern times.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Although other Dracula adaptations were successes in their time (including the 1979 version directed by John Badham, starring Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier, and scored by John Williams), Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula is perhaps the most long-lasting popularity-wise, after the 1931. It’s a strange adaptation that claims to be faithful to the book (it’s literally got Stoker’s name in the title!) but borrows the connection to Vlad Tepes — by then debunked — from a 1972 film book as well as borrowing the “immortal beloved” reincarnation storyline from 1932’s The Mummy. It’s utterly baffling, not very good as a story (though excellent technically), and one of my favorite movies.

Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream

I am not the right person to write about Blaxploitation films, but Blacula absolutely needs to be mentioned here! The 1972 film was among the top box office hits of the year and spawned an immediate sequel. The story follows an African prince, Mamuwalde, who visits Count Dracula looking for help suppressing the slave trade and is instead turned into a vampire by the evil fiend, who locks him in a coffin. Two hundred years later, Blacula’s coffin is shipped to Los Angeles for…reasons, and opened. Shenanigans ensue.

Other Film & Television Adaptations

Perhaps emboldened by the more absurd facets of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (but most likely influenced more by its box office), 1995 brought parody to the Count in the form of Dracula: Dead and Loving It. It could be argued that Sesame Street beat Mel Brooks to the punch by 23 years with Count Von Count, but in fact there have perhaps always been Dracula parodies. A few examples include Blood of Dracula, produced by the writer-director of I Was A Teenage Werewolf and following the same basic plot; Andy Warhol’s Batman Dracula, which is exactly what it sounds like and was not authorized by DC; and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, also exactly what it sounds like. 

In recent years, the only notable adaptations are sequels and reimaginings — which is fine! My favorite is probably the wacky Dracula 2000, set in modern day, which creates a backstory featuring Judas Iscariot. The last decade has brought us two TV versions, one American and one a miniseries that was a British-American co-production. A feature, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, based on the ship’s log in the novel, is in production.

Dracula has also shown up as a character in non-adaptation/parody movies and TV series. For example, he was in the season 5 premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Buffy vs. Dracula,” despite the Dracula mythos not matching the Buffy mythos at all. He is also a character in The Monster Squad, appears on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, is on episodes of The Simpsons and Aqua Team Hunger Force, and has famous daughters in both Hotel Transylvania and Monster High (a Mattel series of toys that spawned several animated movies).

Castlevania

The 1980s video game series, also known as Akumajō Dracula, is set in Dracula’s castle and was wildly popular, spawning dozens of sequels and spin-offs, comics, mobile games, a Saturday morning cartoon, and a recent Netflix series.