''Dracula'' is a television

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

's 1897 novel, ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', produced by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

for WGBH Boston and

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

in 2006. It was directed by

Bill Eagles Bill Eagles is a British film and television director. He is best known for directing the 2000 film '' Beautiful Creatures'' starring Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz. As a television director, he moved to Los Angeles in 2003 and worked for 10 year ...

and written by Stewart Harcourt.

Plot

In 1899, Arthur Holmwood is diagnosed with

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

soon after becoming engaged to

Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. She is the 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family and is Mina Harker, Mina Murray's best friend. Early in the story, Lucy gets proposed to by three suitors, A ...

. Knowing that the disease would kill both him and his fiancée, he contacts an

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

group called the Brotherhood, which is being led by a man named Singleton. Singleton claims that they know someone who can cure him of the disease, but for a price. Lucy's best friend is Mina Murray, who is engaged to

Jonathan Harker Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. An English solicitor, his journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Ca ...

, a solicitor. Arthur hires his firm to sell several properties to a Count Dracula in Transylvania. Soon after his departure, his employer is murdered, and all documents about the transaction go missing. Singleton calmly confesses the deed, telling Arthur the "young man" will never return from Transylvania. In

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, Jonathan meets

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

, a 900-year-old vampire. Dracula murders Harker, assumes a youthful appearance after drinking his blood, and is soon en route to England aboard the ''Demeter''. The ''Demeter'' eventually reaches

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

but struggles to dock during a storm. The beached ship is revealed to be empty the next morning, save for the deceased captain and some empty crates. Mina senses that something has happened to Jonathan, and Lucy invites her to stay with Lucy and Arthur in Whitby. Mina's worries are confirmed when she discovers that Jonathan was supposed to have been aboard the ship. Arthur is becoming cold and distant, and Lucy expresses anxiety over their marriage not yet being consummated. Later on, she encounters Dracula, who consoles her. He introduces himself to Lucy, who invites him for dinner. Arthur, enraged to find Dracula in his home, finds himself powerless as Lucy suddenly falls victim to the vampire. Arthur's old friend, Dr. Seward, is suspicious when Arthur refuses to take Lucy to the hospital. He then forces Seward at gunpoint to give her a blood transfusion from his own arm. However, Lucy dies the next morning, and Seward is convinced that Arthur is responsible for her sudden death. He investigates and finds the Chelsea home of the Brotherhood, where Singleton and others have been murdered. In the basement, surrounded by crosses made of twigs, he finds Professor

Abraham Van Helsing Professor Abraham Van Helsing () is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula'' written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the ...

, living like an animal, who insists they must free him at once. Van Helsing explains that he was employed as a folklorist by the Brotherhood to investigate vampires. He eventually found Dracula and was released with a message to the Brotherhood: he would come to them if invited, but only if provided with property. Frightened by Van Helsing's ordeal with Dracula, they sent Jonathan instead and imprisoned Van Helsing. Seward attempts to explain this to Mina, but she is skeptical. Seward confronts a grief-stricken and remorseful Arthur, who explains that his syphilis prevented him from consummating his marriage. He arranged for Dracula to come to England, hoping that he would cure him of the disease. The three go after a now

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...

Lucy while Dracula pursues Mina, who soon realises Seward was telling the truth when Dracula attempts to bite her. However, Arthur is forced to destroy his wife when she attempts to bite him and Seward. Dracula senses this, allowing Mina to escape. Seward, Arthur, and Van Helsing meet her at her home, where they agree to go after Dracula, just before dawn, where he will be at his weakest. They arrive at Dracula's crypt, where Dracula appears and attacks Mina. Arthur sacrifices himself to Dracula to buy Mina an escape. Van Helsing distracts Dracula with a cross, giving Seward the chance to stake him from behind. Mina has moved on and starts a new life with Seward sometime later. After Mina and Seward bid farewell to Van Helsing, who is leaving for Holland, a decrepit Dracula appears and watches the couple as they walk down the street, apparently having survived Seward's attack.

Cast

* Marc Warren as

* Tom Burke as Dr. John Seward *

Stephanie Leonidas Stephanie Leonidas (born 14 February 1984) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the fantasy film '' MirrorMask'' (2005), the Syfy series '' Defiance'' (2013–2015), and the Crackle crime series '' Snatch'' (2017� ...

as Mina Murray *

Sophia Myles Sophia Myles () is an English actress. She is best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in Thunderbirds (2004 film), ''Thunderbirds'' (2004), Isolde in ''Tristan & Isolde (film), Tristan & Isolde'' (2006), Darcy in ''Transfo ...

Rafe Spall Rafe Joseph Spall ( ; born 10 March 1983) is an English actor. Spall has appeared in films including '' Kidulthood'' (2006), '' A Good Year'' (2006), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), '' One Day'' (2011), ''Anonymous'' (2011), ''Prometheus'' (2012), '' Lif ...

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller ...

as Lord Holmwood *

Donald Sumpter Donald Sumpter (born 13 February 1943) is a British actor who has appeared in film and television since the mid-1960s. His credits include three appearances in ''Doctor Who'' (1968, 1972, 2015), '' The Black Panther'' (1977), ''Bleak House'' (19 ...

as Mr. Singleton *

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenheimer'' (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his pe ...

Additional cast members include Benedick Blythe as Lord Godalming, James Greene as Dr. Blore, Ian Redford as Hawkins, Tanveer Ghani as Cotford, and Rupert Holliday-Evans as DI Burton.

Reception

Critical reaction to the film was mixed. MaryAnn Johanson of ''FlickFilosopher.com'' called the film "fresh and erudite" and "a valuable new angle on an old story". ''The SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review'' wrote that "the film does finally gain some sizzle when it comes to the scenes of Marc Warren’s Dracula seducing Sophia Myles’s Lucy but added that "Warren occasionally creates a dark magnetism, but mostly looks too cute and boyish to fill a role as big as Dracula". Felix Vasquez Jr. of ''Cinema Crazed'' said, "Your best bet for your fanged fix would be to sit down and watch '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'', instead, and for the hell of it, '' Horror of Dracula'', and Universal's ''

'', because they’re worthy variations. This isn't. ... It's not awful, but it's still rather anemic".

Release

Prior to release trailers were released featuring

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's song

Warszawa Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greate ...

. It was first aired on 28 December 2006 in the United Kingdom. It premiered in the USA on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

as part of the WGBH series ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

'' on 11 February 2007. It premiered in Ireland on 27 December 2021 on

Virgin Media Three Virgin Media Three, also called Virgin Three, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Television. The channel was first launched by Northern Irish broadcaster UTV Media on 1 January 2015 as UTV Ireland; it primari ...

References

External links