Vampires in literature and folklore are similar in many ways to zombies, fairies, and other monsters. They hurt people and drank blood because that's what they existed for. These were creatures that people should fear, not complex beings with personalities and motivations that a story could be built around. Bram Stoker's Dracula (the real Dracula character, not Francis Ford Coppola's). Bram Stoker's Dracula) marked a turning point in vampire storytelling, as his Dracula resembles in many ways the stereotypical portrayal of a heartless aristocrat: self-righteous, selfish, prone to destroying things just to satisfy some whim or urge. Good versions of Dracula hone in on those and other aspects of his personality, such as his menace or his seductiveness, and do something worthwhile with them. This includes CastlevaniaA take on Dracula that, despite being a lightly plotted video game series, often features a vampire villain in a way that films struggle to do.
The advantage Castlevania has over most other depictions of Dracula is that in Konami games you only rarely see the villain himself. It's a big deal when he shows up, and the impression you have of him at that moment lasts a long time. You remember him as a menacing final boss or a multi-faceted monster whose soul (or… whatever it is that animates him) has enough room to contain the love for his son and dead wife. And intense hatred of everyone and everything else. And since he usually dies soon after, or dies again, or flies away, or something like that, he doesn't have to do much to maintain that impression. This is where most Dracula films suffer. You'll get a decently scary Dracula, but one that sucks (ha) creating a darkly seductive sense of presence, or one who has the right personality but is too damn corny to be scary.
In this Fangsgiving, we pitted Castlevania's Dracula against some of the most famous vampire adaptations in media, including the only video game to feature Dracula. We're talking about Dracula, not Nosferatu. Yes, the 1922 film of the same name absolutely influenced later Dracula adaptations, but he's Count Orlok, not Dracula, and I don't think Castlevania writer Koji Igarashi thought too deeply about the origin of his inspiration Anyway.
Castlevania Dracula vs. Kid Dracula (Konami, 1990)
Look, Konami has driven the video game market to Dracula. There is no other Dracula in games other than Castlevania. So yeah, it's almost literally a “kid vs. H-bomb” meme, but that's all I have and the kid loses. Kid Dracula is a happy-go-lucky little freak who rewards himself for good behavior by going to a cancan show. Are you like Expect that adult Dracula mentality. Sensuality has always been an integral part of the idea of vampires and especially Dracula, although it still remains so. Really sticky. For a small child? It's just weird.
Castlevania Dracula vs. Christopher Lee (Dracula's Hammer series, 1959–1973)
Hammer's take on Dracula is probably the closest to the spirit of Castlevania, with Christopher Lee returning to undeath for various reasons to do bad things, much like Konami's Dracula. There's so little Dracula in all of this, because Hammer Films being Hammer Films, they swap gothic horror for schlock. Blood! Death! Big fangs! Bloodshot eyes! The uncanny, the fear of the unknown, the unholy, the overwhelming compulsion—all the things that make Dracula scary are nowhere to be seen.
Lee is just a vampire, not Dracula. Konami still manages to utilize all that gothic goodness of the real castle and Dracula's minions in the lead up to the inevitable final showdown, so you still get Dracula. feeleven if the Big Bad doesn't do much himself. Lee's Dracula is too omnipresent to feel scary when things start to go wrong too. It is difficult to feel fear when the source of that fear is constantly appearing everywhere. Even beforeSymphony The Draculas seemed impressive, if only because Konami held them back until the end and gave them such a challenge.
Castlevania Dracula vs Bela Lugosi (Dracula1931)
Universal's first attempt Dracula with Bela Lugosi it's uh. Well, this is the first attempt. In Lugosi's Dracula there is presence – when he doesn't move. Or talk. Basically when he's standing still and the camera zooms in really close. But in moments like these, he charms and frightens in a way that Castlevania's Dracula never does. Lugosi is too campy to be taken seriously, as you'd expect from a pantomime. Perhaps this is a relic of the exaggerated notions of the silent film era (this Dracula was released in 1931, just four years after the first talking film), but still ruins the effect and makes you wonder when Bugs Bunny will jump out and shout “Abracadabra.”
Castlevania Dracula vs Frank Langella (Dracula1979)
The one thing that always characterizes Dracula in Castlevania is consistency. Even in later games that try to humanize him further, his personality and actions remain the same, and you never get some weird 180-degree turn that makes you wonder what just happened. Frank Langella's Dracula exudes the vibe of quiet menace and pent-up fury that you'd typically associate with a Castlevania villain. He is quiet and collected, cruel and manipulative, and is almost always in control of any situation.
Until the film inexplicably went off the rails. In the ridiculous confrontation between Dracula and Van Helsing, the former behaves like a cartoonish caricature of himself when he is given a cross and some garlic, and is defeated not by the gypsy vampire hunters or his vampire lover, but by a hook who lifts it onto the ship's rigging. Yes, he is defeated by the equivalent of a Scooby-Doo trap. I'm sure there was some artistic intent behind the contrast of the terrifying Dracula and… whatever it was, but that's how it is banal. It's impressive and cool when Castlevania's Dracula gets angry or his minions get into a fight with you. It's just stupid when Frank Langella does it.
Castlevania Dracula vs Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker's Dracula1992)
This is a funny question because there is a pretty simple argument that Symphony of the night And Cry of innocence are signs that Konami is adapting Coppola's film, aiming to make Castlevania a little sexier and less like a Hammer Film. Symphony it is here that Dracula gets his most famous look: long locks, a luxurious cape and a decadent baroque style. It's almost identical to what Gary Oldman looks like as the dehydrated Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula and a neat little parallel, since Oldman's “Wrinkled Dracula” isn't too different from Konami's “Dracula” on the cover of the first Castlevania.
In any case, these appearances are far from the only close similarities. Draculas have the same behavior, the same capacity for sensuality and violence. Castlevania Concept: Dracula mourns his dead wife and wreaks havoc on the world instead of going to therapy (background plot for Symphony And Cry) is also a 1:1 retelling of Coppola's film, the first to give Dracula a sympathetic human story (and a libido to match the size of his legend).
The big discrepancy is the finale. Keeping Dracula in the Castlevania games, where his story is unimportant, worked great and preserved the atmosphere of Dracula's menace and mystery. IN Symphonyit means you don't have much reason to care about him. He's just a well-dressed villain, a man whose grief you never see and whose atrocities happen out of sight. There is little cause for concern when he asks his wife for forgiveness at the end. SymphonyIt's a far cry from the tension and drama that carry Coppola's film to its glorious climax, when Mina (Winona Ryder) kills Dracula and reunites him with his lost love. There is no sense of tragedy or moral conflict. Symphony. The end is simple isand it's a damn shame.
So in the end, Castlevania's Dracula is finally defeated: by Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder.
