I saw Dracula 2020...

I saw the new "Dracula", released this early year of 2020 per Netflix. It should come as no surprise, my dear reader, that I adore Bram Stoker's novel and all the cinematic installments that have followed. This one, a miniseries, is no exception. 

It's adapted by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (of "Sherlock" fame) and directed by Paul McGuignan, Damon Thomas and Jonny Campbell. It keeps Drac, played by the charismatic Claes Bang, in tune with tradition, though bridged by jolting twists that keep the blood flow bright and fresh during his story's three, juxtaposed parts. 

At the start, we find Johnny Harker (John Heffernan) to be a Renfield variant, rather like the vice-versa, Dwight Frye spin of  Tod Browning/Bela Lugosi's version, albeit with much more of a telepathic, undead plunge. (For the record, Renfield does eventually make an appearance via the aforementioned Gatiss. Cool!)  Johnny's account is told to a no-nonsense nun, Sister Agatha, who ultimately morphs into the scrutinizing Dr. Zoe Van Helsing (Dolly Wells): Ah, how's that for clever reinvention!

The rest of the presentation subscribes to what we know and respect about the mythology, with alternating shades and great, time-displaced segments, in which an extended Demeter portion plants its stake, as well as weird, current-day antics, underscored by a dark, endless ebb of terror and sensuality. It's at various times Universal, Hammer, Marvel, "Dracula 2000", "Dracula Untold"; Francis Lederer, Jess Franco, Dan Curtis, Clive Barker, and many more in the way of the devilish macabre, all rolled up into one ghastly, mean and quippy ball. 

Bang's performance is hip, humorous yet sly and sadistic. It's an interesting interpretation, but it never deviates far from the Stoker source. This Count is never too pompous to fear the cross. 

All the actors and their semblances are, in fact, beyond excellent, including Heffeman's Harker (so sickly and sad), Wells' Van Helsing counterparts (shrewd and alluring in their Ingrid Bergman tonalities) and Morfydd Clark's Mina Murray, who's sexy, pious and uncanny in the way her ends meet, even if her presence is much too brief. Lydia West is also effective as Lucy Westenra, our beloved, if not unsettling, bloofer lady.  

I'd love to see more of this incarnation. I'd love to see its makers tackle "Frankenstein", "Jekyll and Hyde" and/or "The Invisible Man". After all, it's not easy to pull off the old good-vs-bad and make it seem new, to redesign the heart of something legendary without turning it unrecognizable or blasphemous. "Drac 2020" deserves hardy applause for having reached its amazing level. As a lifelong fan, I walked away damn impressed.