Faith Murri

It really wanted to say something but got lost along the way. I appreciated the nods to the source material (and I caught the Polidori's The Vampyre reference) though most of the included characters were barely characters at all; strangely, it was the original side characters that I grew attached to, while the main cast remained emotionless husks. As for the titular character, he felt like a murderous Lucifer, which is fine, and I generally liked his characterization, but again, I lacked any emotional investment in his character, whether that means I wanted him dead or wanted him to win. I really didn't care at all. It was a decently clever execution of a half-adaptation, half-reimagining, but what it lacked was consistency and purpose. The characters seem to speak more to hear themselves than to make a point, especially Dracula himself. The themes came mostly out of nowhere, due to the poor pacing and awkward cinematography. Plot? Don't know her. And don't even get me started on the freaking Chucky baby. For a horror, it wasn't scary whatsoever. I'm a complete wimp and I was cringing the entire time. I honestly don't know whether this is a mad work of genius too profound for us mere mortals, or a pretentious mess. That said, I really liked Jonathan Harker.

I first watched this movie after reading the book almost 2 years ago, around the time the movie became available online. I loved the book, and I remember loving the movie in similar, but different, ways. So when I reread the book, I decided to rewatch the movie as well. I was incredibly surprised, then, to find that I didn't like it at all. The cinematography was fine, though it had an indie feel that gave this the feeling of The Hunger Games, rather than what I believe it intended. The score was repetitive and somewhat anxiety-inducing; sometimes working for the benefit of the film, sometimes not. The dialogue was awkward and lacked nuance. The acting sometimes felt like the actors were either trying to remember their lines or were simply too tired to give it their all. The themes were half-formed at best. The visuals were 2012 level CGI, which from a 2018 feature film with the budget it had is pretty much unacceptable. They were overly rendered or weirdly hazy, granting the supposedly living creatures a plasticy appearance. The pacing was also very strange, giving an almost 2 hour movie the impression that it was only an hour at most. I honestly cannot recall whatever feelings of enjoyment I had originally on my first viewing. Whatever this movie was, it does not hold up on a second watch-through. As a science fiction film, it's nearly incomprehensible. As a feature film, it's lazy.