Post by JoannaL on Jun 22, 2020 11:46:36 GMT -5
Dracula Streaming on Netflix
Dracula, the British series starring Danish actor Claes Bang, is now streaming on Netflix. Developed by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, best known for their work on Doctor Who and Sherlock, this is an unconventional take on the Transylvania bloodsucker.
In addition to Bang, there’s Dolly Wells playing the roles of both Sister Agatha and her ancestor, Agatha Van Helsing; John Hefferman as Jonathan Harker; Morfydd Clark as Mina; and Lydia West as a black Lucy Westenra.
Moffat considered Bang perfect for the role of the thirsty count, formerly played by such luminaries ad Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella and Gary Oldman. “We set the conundrum to [casting] that we needed somebody tall, dark, handsome, in their 40s, not wildly known for any particular role, not English, which is a very tall order,” he explained, “But I was sent a link to The Square (a 2017 satirical film) and I clicked the link and just thought, ‘well that’s Dracula, isn’t it? He’s basically Christopher Lee’s love child!’”
While the series differs significantly from Bram Stoker’s horror tale, it retains much of the novel’s Gothic setting. “Things go in big cycles,” Gatiss explained, “We’ve seen so many iterations of Twilight vampires, so somehow it just felt right to be able to do big castles and moonlight and capes again.”
In the first episode, “The Rules of the Beast,” Sister Agatha, an unconventional nun, assists Jonathan Harker in compiling the details of his sojourn to Dracula’s castle. In the second, “Blood Vessel,” the ship transporting Dracula to England is destined for disaster orchestrated by its “undead” passenger. In Number 3, “The Dark Compass,” the vampire meets an enchanting young woman, but soon discovers taking a bride in England isn’t as easy as it was back in the “old country.”
Sources: TJ Reid, Keizertimes, June 5, 2020; Phil Pirrello, Collider, January 10, 2020; and Samuel Spencer, Newsweek, December 31, 2019.
