Was Netflix’s new horror series Dracula a good adaptation?

Netflix made waves with the release of their series Dracula, in collaboration with BBC, but how good was this show at retelling the iconic vampire story?

Dracula is definitely one of the most fascinating stories in horror fiction. The powerful themes it covers and its complex characters, particularly the titular villain, still make it very attractive to adapt. This is why we keep reshuffling Bran Stoker’s tale, arranging it to fit our times and our visual sensibilities.

This time, it was the streaming titan Netflix that took up the initiative and joined forces with the BBC for this 2020 version. The writers and showrunners are Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, two seasoned creators with some great experience adapting classics, as shown by their tremendous Sherlock, and while they have shown serious respect for much of Stoker’s original text, soon enough you can appreciate the radical departures and modern touches.

The problem is that the execution creates such a consistency issue in its narrative structure, it never lives up to its lofty intentions.

The series begins in a Hungarian convent in 1897, where a severely damaged Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan) shares the account of his encounter with the beast, to two nuns that are investigating this case.

We get introduced to an opinionated and brutally pragmatic Sister Agatha (Dolly Wells), which tries to unveil this mystery. It is later revealed that she’s none other than the emblematic Van Helsing, as she quickly establishes herself as Count’s nemesis and Moffat/Gattis’ most on-the-nose change.

However, while giving such a central role in the series to a strong woman is undoubtedly positive, the story around these interesting opposites never advances much, taking several directions at the same time without clearly deciding where to go.

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Agatha’s sardonic humor and modern attitude work very well in the first episode, where the intentions of the show are more evidently character-driven, but this approach doesn’t last long either. In Episode 2, things start to go over the top, and even as we are presented with the rest of the classic characters (especially Renfield) as well as the writers’ new creations, the show loses its way.

It progressively becomes a mere collection of gory set pieces and provocative plotlines  (including obvious attempts at queer-bating) that offer very little substance. And, unfortunately, by Episode 3, where we’re firmly placed in the modern age, the entire proceedings feel already tiresome and gimmicky.

There are still many things that this version of Dracula did right. One of them is the overall visual style of the series, from the impeccably dark cinematography to the use of recurring motifs and symbols in the story. Most notably, the use of flies to indicate death and the decay of the flesh, which is masterfully expressed both in Harker’s account and in the Renfield scenes.

Also noteworthy is the way the visuals go along with the story’s new elements. For example, Dracula’s shape-shifting ability gets completely flipped on its head, opting for a more gruesome take on this concept that also enhances the vampire’s parasitic nature.

But Dracula’s biggest accomplishment, and perhaps its saving grace, is Claes Bang’s marvelous portrayal of the creature himself. The Danish actor perfectly captures the Count’s complicated persona, his implacable thirst for blood and chaos, and crucially, the sense of danger his sheer presence invokes.

There is great chemistry between Bang’s monster and Wells’ Van Helsing, which makes for an entertaining cat-and-mouse game, in which we can appreciate the show’s best instances of clever dialogue, and their mutual fascination effectively shows through their skillful delivery.

Sadly, the writing itself does not give Bang that much to work with. Throughout the three-episode run, we can see a vampire who is brutal and gleefully morbid but lacks the tragic passion and the seduction of its better versions, and even in the character’s most camp, exuberant aspects, the story embraces ridiculousness way more than it should, in a way that undermines the original Dracula’s imponent stature.

Ultimately, Netflix’s retelling of the iconic novel feels underwhelming, and even when it proposes some interesting new additions, these never create anything fully engaging. We may get a second season, which can offer Gatiss and Moffat necessary room for improvement, as their writing is better suited for lengthier runs like in Sherlock, but for now, we’ve got a messy story that bites more than it can chew.

What did you think of this Stoker adaptation? Do you agree with our review? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Dracula is streaming now on Netflix.