THE DANMAN CAN

" Perhaps you had better start from the beginning. " It's funny to think that 1957's  The Curse Of Frankenstein ,  Hammer 's first color horror film , first in their  Frankenstein  series, and the film that helped establish their horror legacy, was considered  very  gory in its day and received an X rating when originally released.  TCOF  is a strong update of the  1931 Universal version  ( review ), with plenty of gothic flavor, wonderfully moody and meticulous lighting, beautiful cinematography and costumes, and excellent performances from  Peter Cushing  (as the further and further unhinged titular character) and  Christopher Lee  (as The Creature ). Terence Fisher Films Ranked

After the success of The Curse Of Frankenstein  (my review here ) in 1957,  Hammer  mainstay  Terence Fisher  returned to direct another update of a  1931 Universal  Monster film with 1958's  Dracula (aka  Horror Of Dracula ).  Christopher Lee 's first outing as the titular character cemented the image of the Count as we know it, taking what was established by Bela Lugosi in Tod Browning 's film and upping the blood and eroticism. As with TCOF , there's lots of gothic goodness here, and even more sumptuous lighting and cinematography.  Peter Cushing  is magnetic as  Van Helsing  and the finale where the two leads duke it out is fantastic and action-packed. It's probably blasphemy to some but my favorite screen adaptation of  Bram Stoker 's  1897 novel  remains  Francis Ford Coppola 's  Dracula  (1992) ( review ). Nosferatu (1922) ( review ) and Nosferatu The Vampyre   (1979)...

It's funny to think that 1957's  The Curse Of Frankenstein ,  Hammer 's first color horror film, first in their Frankenstein series, and the film that helped establish their horror legacy, was considered very gory in its day and received an X rating when originally released. TCOF  is a strong update of the 1931 Universal version , with plenty of gothic flavor, wonderfully moody and meticulous lighting, and excellent performances from Peter Cushing  (as the further and further unhinged titular character) and Christopher Lee  (as The Creature).