Dracula, aka Nosferatu, remains one of the most terrifying and well-known figures in pop culture. Since author Bram Stoker introduced the world to his vampiric vision with his 1897 novel, the character has been adapted into several forms of media over the past 127 years, most recently in Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu.
There have been multiple movies across different genres that center around the iconic bloodsucker, and it seems like they won’t stop coming anytime soon. While the world continues to embrace the terrors of the legendary vampire, here are the best films centered around Dracula/Nosferatu so far.
10. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
This meta-horror film stands out for presenting a fictionalized account of the production of 1922’s Nosferatu, with F.W. Murnau inadvertently hiring Max Schreck, an actual vampire, to star in his film as Count Orlok.
Such an unconventional remake makes for an excellent satire of the film industry and its vices, with Murnau being the eccentric, demanding director and Schreck the extreme method actor who’s too into his character. But like the actual Nosferatu, this film is a dark depiction of obsession and how far one is willing to go to satisfy it.
9. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Despite what the film’s title implies, this horror-comedy classic from Abbott and Costello shows the titular duo encountering Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and many other iconic movie monsters in addition to Frankenstein’s monster. The two leads’ brand of rapid, slapstick humor alone makes this movie a noteworthy watch.
However, the movie also does a terrific job of replicating the terror, suspense, and chilling atmosphere of the horror films it parodies. With the way it perfectly balances both horror and comedy, Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein revolutionized both genres as it blended them together for a boundary-pushing classic.
8. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
The third film in Hammer’s Dracula franchise, Prince of Darkness shows the evil vampire’s frightening resurrection after a group of tourists are invited to his castle. Compared to the first film in the franchise, this sequel utilizes more elements from Stoker’s novel while presenting some unique deviations from the typical Dracula formula.
Though Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing is absent, Andrew Keir fills in quite well with his performance as Father Sandor. Christopher Lee also continues to inject the franchise with sufficient scares with his largely silent, but still terrifying return as Dracula.
7. Horror of Dracula (1958)
Unlike the source material, Horror of Dracula does away with Jonathan Harker early, making Doctor Van Helsing the film’s main protagonist as he investigates his friend’s disappearance in a plat point that’s similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.
Featuring big-screen acting legends like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, director Terence Fisher’s adaptation of Dracula launched an entire series of Dracula films featuring Lee as the evil bloodsucker. The characters in this film could be developed more, especially the female ones. Despite this, the film succeeds without relying on gore to create scares, as it oozes creeping suspense and sinister sexuality to get under its viewer’s skin.
6. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
In this sequel to Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Christopher Lee’s Dracula returns from the dead after a priest performs an exorcism on his castle. Unlike its predecessors in Hammer’s Dracula franchise, this film features greater personal drama beyond the battle with an evil vampire.
As the characters face battles with their own faith and lust, this sequel adds more depth to the existential war with the demonic and vengeful Dracula. Also, with Dracula’s victims battling to retain their humanity as they succumb to his spell, this movie puts a unique spin on the “Renfield” archetype and provides greater character development.
5. Dracula (1931)
Not only was this movie the first official adaptation of Dracula, but it was also the first one to utilize sound. This version gives Renfield a greater role in the film, as he takes part of Jonathan’s role and becomes the lens into Dracula’s dark world.
As a product of classic, studio-era Hollywood, this film’s visual effects and underdeveloped characters leave much to be desired. However, this adaptation stands out due to its chilling atmosphere and Bela Lugosi’s benchmark performance as Count Dracula.
4. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)
Technically, Nosferatu was the first Dracula film, as it was an unapproved adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, but with different character names and some plot changes. Though the movie was hit with a plagiarism lawsuit that demanded its destruction, a few prints of the film survived, and cinema was arguably better off for its continued existence.
This German expressionist film from director F.W. Murnau was revolutionary in its time, establishing several tropes in the vampire genre while pushing the boundaries of cinema with its inventive shots, creepy atmosphere, and sexual undertones.
3. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Director Francis Ford Coppola achieved the lofty task of adapting Stoker’s novel in its purest form. Though the film stays true to the source material’s plot, characters, and narrative perspective, it stands out for how it expands upon Dracula’s past, particularly the tragic romance he shares with Mina Harker.
All in all, Coppola’s version of Dracula is a stylish and erotic nightmare filled with vibrant imagery, jaw-dropping creature designs, and remarkable performances from Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder.
2. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
While director Werner Herzog’s adaptation derives several elements from 1922’s Nosferatu, it retains the character names featured in Stoker’s novel. However, Herzog’s film expands on the source material by emphasizing the tragedy of Dracula’s lonely, immortal character. It also presents the death and chaos he unleashes on Lucy’s town in a whole new light, showing how this widespread loss can affect humanity on a spiritual level.
This slow-burning 1979 remake is one of the more hypnotic and thought-provoking versions of Nosferatu and Dracula, and it still holds up almost 50 years later.
1. Nosferatu (2024)
After revolutionizing horror with The Witch and The Lighthouse, director Robert Eggers fulfilled his lifelong dream of remaking Nosferatu with incredible results. This psychosexual nightmare takes a classic silent film and turns it into modern cinema’s version of The Exorcist in terms of terror, artistry, and intensity. Bill Skarsgård is virtually unrecognizable as the evil Count Orlok, who steps away from the more sympathetic versions of Dracula and Nosferatu as he tortures Ellen and her loved ones to make her submit to him.
Meanwhile, Lily-Rose Depp gives a shocking and revelatory performance as her character is tormented and possessed by the evil vampire. Not only does the film take the vampire genre story back to its roots, but it reapplies it for a modern age in one of the most unsettlingly primal, but beautifully made horror movies in cinema history.
