It’s a story that refuses to die.
Since Bram Stoker’s vampire tale was published in 1897 it has been adapted for film and television at least 161 times, beginning with Nosferatu in 1922. The latest attempt is Netflix’s Dracula with Claes Bang in the title role as the blood-drinking Count set in Victorian London.
No definitive film adaptation of the story has yet been made, which may be why it looms like an Everest challenge for filmmakers. Stoker’s novel is an unconventional story, delivered in the epistolary accounts of its characters in the form of diary entries, letters, ship logs, news clippings and articles. The gradual nature of its revelations, however horrifying, are nearly impossible to translate to the screen.
Every film adaptation of Dracula, including Netflix’s 3-episode series, takes liberties with the source to engage its audience.
