Dracula's Daughter (1936)

I'll take the Daughter over the Daddy, 4 February 2005

To be honest, I've never been the biggest fan of the original Dracula. To me, Dracula never held the excitement of some of the other Universal classics. It always seemed too "stagey" for my liking.

That's not the case with Dracula's Daughter. Gloria Holden is mesmerizing as Dracula's daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska. Her attitude, look, and performance are what one would expect from a vampire. She plays a vampire in a similar manner to the way Lon Chaney, Jr. played a wolf man - as a tormented soul, longing to be free from a curse. You can almost hear Larry Talbot asking to be released from his nightmare.

The rest of the cast is also quite good. Edward Van Sloan is back as Von Helsing. Irving Pichel is especially creepy as the Countess' henchman Sandor. Marguerite Churchill is a real cutey playing the female in trouble. The weakest cast member is the hero played by Otto Kruger. His character is too unsympathetic to be effective.

The atmosphere is just right. From the fog shrouded London streets to the castle in Transylvania, the perfect horror atmosphere is achieved. The story is simple and straight forward. I would, perhaps, have preferred a few more twists along the way.

I'll take Dracula's offspring (either son or daughter) any day to the original.

7/10