BBC - Netflix's Dracula (Series Review)

Vampires.

Vicious creatures that hunt at night, sinking their fangs into the neck of their preys and sucking their blood dry. They can shape-shift (usually into bats) and possess extraordinary speed and strength. These nocturnals are somehow afraid of garlic and the cross. On the other hand, sunlight or a stake in the heart would kill them.

Dracula is a vampire. But he is not your typical vampire.

I used to think that Dracula was the very first vampire in history. Turns out, he was actually the first that made vampires popular in fiction and pop-culture. Dracula was first written by Bram Stoker in 1897. The book has been so popular that it inspired so many adaptations over the last century.

My memories of Dracula are not terrible ones. Dracula was the funny protagonist who danced with a lady (Dead and Loving It). He was also an evil super-villain (Van Helsing) and an anti-hero (Dracula: Untold). Of course I have watched tonnes of vampire materials to register that vampires are horrific. But, it goes without saying that I have missed materials that carry the original spirit of Dracula.

Enter 2020's BBC-Netflix's Dracula series.

I can honestly say that this is my first 'scary' Dracula. Dracula in this series is pure evil. He is manipulative and merciless. He's good at tempting victims to allow him to enter their room (He can't enter a space without an invitation). Every episode is bloody. The effects he had on his victims are sickening.

As with some re-imaginings of iconic characters, new elements are introduced to create new and fresh stories. Add comedy on top of the horror genre, and you get Mel Brook's Dracula. Combine the Dracula story with the Vlad the Impaler legend and you get a new origin story as in Dracula: Untold. 2020's Dracula introduces new elements too. For one, Dracula in this series is able to gain the knowledge and memories of his victims from feeding on their blood. Furthermore, an arch-nemesis is introduced for Dracula fueling an intense rivalry and battles that span years.

P/S - A character to watch: Sister Agatha.

There are only three episodes in the series. The first episode is a series of flashbacks during an interview with Jonathan Harker, a Dracula victim. The second takes place during a voyage from the east to England aboard the ship Demeter. And the last one takes place in the New World.

Suffice to say that this series ignited an interest in me to delve more into the Dracula lore. I am already in the midst of reading the original Bram Stoker's Dracula book. It's interesting to know the stories from this series are almost the same as the original. This includes the last episode.

From chatters on the Net, I know a lot of people do not like the last episode. This is understandable because it is so much different than the first two. Another new element was added here. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the story was not that bad. If the series was in book format, we probably won't notice the stark difference.

In conclusion, 2020's Dracula is a reminder to all that Dracula is a horror story.