31 DAYS OF HORROR 2022 - Day 18: DRACULA (1931) Spanish-language Version

 

Filmed during night shoots on the same sets as the 1931 Tod Browning classic that lit the fuse on the original cycle of Universal monster flicks, this often overlooked version featuring a Spanish-speaking cast eluded horror completists for deacdes, but it can now be had with ease via home video. Though I grew up immersed in the pre-cable culture of the old school monster movie showcases that aired on weekends, I had no idea this alternate take on the Bela Lugosi landmark even existed until I was in my late teens, so when I was finally able to see it for myself and compare it with the more famous iteration, I was quite intrigued by what I got.

Helmed by George Melford, a veteran of the silent era, the Spanish-language DRACULA is pretty much exactly the same film as Browning's, but with its characters afforded livelier, more Latin flavor that is like night and day when viewed alongside the release that audiences are more familiar with. Carlos Villarías as Dracula somehow manages to be that much more suave than Lugosi's indelible take on the Count, and he manages this while simultaneously lending his performance many moments of over-the-top animated mugging. And the sensuality of this version is notched up several degrees higher than Browning's, presumably because "ethnic" types were perceived as being more "earthy" in their expression of carnality, so depicting non-white people getting up to such shenanigans was likely easier to get away with at the time.

Like I said, it's basically the same movie as Lugosi's version, only performed entirely in Spanish, and if I had to choose which one I prefer, I have to be honest and say that the Spanish-language version just works better, even minus the iconic presence of Bela. It's just that much more alive and active and, unlike Browning's film, it does not put me to sleep. RECOMMENDED.

Poster for the theatrical release.