Fantastic atmospheric horror

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2001)

Of all the mythological scary creatures, none might be as popular as the erotic and malevolent "vampyr" especially when Hollywood comes into play (11 vampiric movies come to mind right away: Nosferatu, Dracula, Phantom of the Night, Salem's Lot, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview With the Vampire, Night Flier, John Carpenter's Vampires, Blade, Dracula 2000 and Shadow of the Vampire). Hollywood doesn't always make good vampire movies, but they sure do give it the ole college try. And Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Anthony Hopkins, Winona Rider, Gary Oldman and *shudder* Keanu Reeves, is one of the best.
This version of Dracula tells the story of Prince Vlad Dracul (Oldman), who renounces God after his fiancee commits suicide and drinks her blood as a replacement for holy life. The result is eternal undeath, and the story picks up at the turn of the 19th/20th century. Here it is the same old story. Dracula entertains real estate agent (Reeves) and falls in love with agent's fiancee (Rider). Lots of sex, lots of violence. Dracula is tracked by obsessive doctor with extensive knowledge of diseases of the blood (Hopkins). Lots of Latin, lots of crucifixes, lots of decapitations. Climax between Dracula and the fiancee and his pursuers. End. Credits.

This is not to undercredit the plot, for it is indeed wonderful. It is excellently-paced and atmospheric to the core - this is definitely one of the best atmospheric horror movies ever. Coppola's directing is superb, using light and shadows to create a fairy-tale unreality at first, and later a brooding malevolence that culminates in the final red-tinted climactic sunset chase. Coppola also uses jerky camera movements and hectic splicing to create first-person views that are both real and dreamlike. And he uses these to perfection. Dracula is a pleasure to watch and soak in the atmosphere.
The acting is fine all around. Well, almost all around. Oldman is fantastic as the many incarnations of Dracula, lending the role the vehement evil it requires while adding the melancholic longing necessary to the plot. Hopkins is not disappointing. He is a first-rate actor and provides a first-rate performance as the eccentric yet intelligent Dr. Van Helsing. Rider proves herself capable to stand beside Bette Davis and Ingrid Bergman as one of the greatest actresses of all time. Her portrayal of Mina Murray, the fiancee torn between the suave and handsome Prince Dracula and her true love Jonathan Harker, is heart-wrenching and pity-inducing. Unfortunately that leads to Harker, played by the abominable Keanu Reeves.

Reeves is a hack actor, incapable of playing even the least demanding role (and this one was not very demanding). His stone-faced, surfer-boy acting in the face of the greatest evil he has ever come in contact with is deplorable. The fact that someone dared cast an actor this terrible in such an excellent movie is disturbing (the same should be said for The Devil's Advocate and The Matrix, as well). Reeves is the lone blemish on this movie, and while he doesn't ruin it altogether, his presence on the same set with actors such as Hopkins, Oldman and Rider is ludicrous and unfortunate. The only thing Reeves does well in Bram Stoker's Dracula is narrate Harker's diary, which is not surprising considering how narration is generally monotone anyway.
But -- with the exception of Reeves (and everything good about Dracula must be used in this context) -- "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is not only one of the best vampire movies ever, it is one of the best movies period. Fine acting, perfect directing, interesting plot. And enough violence to make even the generally brainless modern-slasher fans happy.
10/10