Horror october #29
Oct. 29th, 2017 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beer_good_foamyMark of the Vampire is one of those classics I've always dismissed unseen as another Dracula knockoff, but after listening to recent episodes of the brilliant podcast You Must Remember This (which is currently doing a history of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi) I figured I should give it a shot.
And it is, in fact, less of a Dracula knockoff than a sort of semi-postmodern deconstruction of Dracula (or would be if it weren't from 1935). You know the story; cranky old professor tries to convince sceptics that the superstitious villagers are right, that the mysterious deaths and entrallments happening are because of the tuxedo-clad nobleman played by Bela Lugosi ... except the film makers have thought a bit more about it, and not only worked more at the special effects, but also have a twist coming that's actually kind of clever, or at least ambitious, horror meta. It's not as good a movie as Dracula is, and certainly nowhere near as scary, but a worthwhile comment on it.
And it is, in fact, less of a Dracula knockoff than a sort of semi-postmodern deconstruction of Dracula (or would be if it weren't from 1935). You know the story; cranky old professor tries to convince sceptics that the superstitious villagers are right, that the mysterious deaths and entrallments happening are because of the tuxedo-clad nobleman played by Bela Lugosi ... except the film makers have thought a bit more about it, and not only worked more at the special effects, but also have a twist coming that's actually kind of clever, or at least ambitious, horror meta. It's not as good a movie as Dracula is, and certainly nowhere near as scary, but a worthwhile comment on it.
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Date: 2017-11-01 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-01 09:12 pm (UTC)