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“The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which spotlights the doomed ship in Bram Stoker’s oft-adapted 1897 novel, is the second Dracula film released in 2023 after “Renfield.” Both take generous liberties with the source material, which brings up the question: Out of the 200-some films about the famous Count, which ones are the most faithful?

Here’s our ranking of some of the most popular, and a few lesser-known, Dracula adaptations.

Universal

8. Renfield (2023)

Pretty much the only thing this horror comedy has in common with the novel is Nicholas Hoult as the bug-eating title character and a delightfully campy Nicolas Cage as his bloodthirsty boss. The movie brings them both into the 21st century, makes Renfield an ass-kicking hero and swaps out Lucy and Mina for Awkwafina’s incorruptible cop.

Miramax

7. Dracula 2000 (2000)

The film begins with a shot of the wrecked Demeter and footprints in the sand as Dracula heads to town.

Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 "Dracula" was promoted as a faithful adaptation of the 1897 novel, down to its full title "Bram Stoker's Dracula." Don't think for a moment this means the movie is a stuffy stage reading, concerned only with literally adapting the text. No, Coppola's rendition of Stoker is one of the most visually audacious films of its decade.

Mini-documentary "In Camera: The Naïve Visual Effects of Dracula" explores how Coppola and his team used entirely in-camera special effects, resulting in a film as tactile as it is lavish. Coppola explains this choice was motivated by period accuracy:

"Given that the book 'Dracula' was written around 1900, being the same date as the birth of the cinema... coming out of magicians and illusions and basically magic tricks, I thought would not only make the film entirely in a false place, in a studio, but I would only use effects...

The best of all Hammer horror pictures finally comes to Region A Blu-ray, with a bright transfer made to look like original Technicolor prints. This is where Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing came into their own as international stars, as the undead Count Dracula and the no-nonsense vampire killer Van Helsing. It’s the bridge between old-school gothic horrors and the modern age of sex and gore, and it’s as exciting as a breakneck action serial.

Horror of Dracula (Dracula)

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1958 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 82 min. / Street Date December 18, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, Olga Dickie, John Van Eyssen, Valerie Gaunt, Janina Faye.

Cinematography: Jack Asher

Film Editor: Bill Lenny

Production Designer: Bernard Robinson

:Makeup Artist: Philip Leakey

Original Music: James Bernard

Written by Jimmy Sangster

Produced by Michael Carreras, Anthony Hinds, Anthony Nelson Keys

Directed by...

Top 100 horror movies of all time: Chicago Film Critics' choices (photo: Sigourney Weaver and Alien creature show us that life is less horrific if you don't hold grudges) See previous post: A look at the Chicago Film Critics Association's Scariest Movies Ever Made. Below is the list of the Chicago Film Critics's Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time, including their directors and key cast members. Note: this list was first published in October 2006. (See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, and Mary Philbin among the "Top Ten Scream Queens.") 1. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock; with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 2. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin; with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow (and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge). 3. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter; with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Tony Moran. 4. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott; with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. 5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero; with Marilyn Eastman,...

Horror cinema has a long tradition of creating iconic characters and none more so than those borne in the early days of the genre: characters such as Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and, of course, Dracula – the king of horror. A character who, despite his many cinematic deaths, always returns to the silver screen for one more bite of flesh… As he does this week in Dracula Untold, which features Luke Evans as the evil Vlad Tepes.

With that in mind we thought we’d rundown the ten best unforgettable Dracula performances in cinema. Check them out below and let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree!

Christopher Lee – Dracula (1958)

Dracula (1958) is the first in the series of Hammer Horror films. Directed by Terence Fisher, Dracula (1958) stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh and Michael Gough. Retitled Horror of Dracula...

When you think about vampires the images that spring readily to mind are of tall, dark handsome strangers, of the seduction of the innocent, of smouldering looks and sexual frission, of low cut gowns and bare, bloody breasts. Well they do to my mind, anyway, having been brought up on Hammer films and then graduating to the likes of Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985), Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark (1987), Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys (1987), and Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula (1992), all of which propagate the dark and sexy image of Transylvania’s least favourite cold caller.

It wasn’t always this way, though. When vampires first appeared on the silver screen they were awkward, ugly things that anybody in their right mind would run from rather than to. Some of them had bald heads, big ears and too many teeth like Max Schreck’s timeless portrayal of Nosferatu (1922), a look...

Dracula is back from beyond the grave - and he's looking even more fangtastic than ever.

The 1958 classic Dracula, starring Christopher Lee as the count and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, has been fully restored in high definition and is coming to Blu-ray and DVD for the first time.

It will be released in the UK on March 18, 2013.

Hammer, Icon Film Distribution and Lionsgate have called it "a major event in British film history." Details of the release, including the extras, are included below.

The set will contain two versions of the feature (seamlessly branched on the Blu-ray): the 2007 BFI restoration plus the 2012 Hammer restoration, which adds additional footage lost for decades.

The additional footage comprises two of the scenes that were originally censored by the BBFC in 1958 that have now been restored to the film from reels found in Japan: Dracula's seduction of Mina, and Dracula's sunlight disintegration.

We have some really exciting news for fans of Hammer’s Dracula (1958). Hammer has revealed that a longer Japanese cut of the the film has been located and they are planning to restore the additional footage into a future release of the film. Included in the extended scenes is extra footage from Dracula’s disintegration.

“In 2007 Hammer and the BFI collaborated on a restoration of Dracula that resulted in the creation of a new HD master of the classic film. The version that was restored was the American print, which is slightly longer than the British version, but the re-master has the original title card added to the beginning (the Us version of the film carried the title Horror Of Dracula).

However, for many years historians have pointed to the fact that an even longer, more explicit, version of the film played in Japanese cinemas in 1958. Up until now, efforts...

This week's roundup of DVD releases include fan favorites from TV, a scarred comic book antihero, the next installment of The Lost Boys, the requisite creature features, a Roger Corman set, and SyFy's apocalyptic view of the world. Also, don't forget to check out the soundtrack from the hottest vampire TV show right now (well, there's only one playing currently) at the very end of this list.

While waiting for your orders to arrive by mail, you can always catch up on Camera Obscura for free with our Episode 1-7 episodes & recap or watch the newest episodes on Dailymotion. You can also learn all about creature making from our Q&A With Camera Obscura's FX Maestro Jeff Farley.

On with the list....

Jonah Hex

Directed by Jimmy Hayward

Out of the pages of the legendary comics and graphic novels steps Jonah Hex (review), a scarred drifter and bounty hunter...