Horror Film Historian David J. Skal to Introduce DRACULA (1931) and THE ROAD TO DRACULA at Webster University January 24th

“Rats. Rats. Rats! Thousands! Millions of them! All red blood! All these will I give you if you will obey me!”

Horror Film Historian David J. Skal will introduce  a screening of DRACULA (1931) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium  (470 East Lockwood) January 24th as part of the ‘Grave Tales’ Horror film series. Skal is an American cultural historian, critic, writer, and on-camera commentator known for his research and analysis of horror films and horror literature. After DRACULA, Skal will screen his documentary THE ROAD TO DRACULA. The program starts at 7:00. A Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE. Look for more coverage of the  ‘Grave Tales’ Horror film series here at We Are Movie Geeks in the coming weeks.

First up is the original DRACULA starring Bela Lugosi. Ladies fainted in their seats when Bela Lugosi rose from his coffin as a vampire in the 1927 Broadway stage production of “Dracula” that preceded Tod Browning’s timeless 1931 film version that had an equally chilling effect on movie audiences. Playwright Hamilton Deane based his lean script on Bram Stoker’s famous 1897 novel, and introduced horror to talkies. Dwight Frye’s gonzo performance as Renfield, the hapless Brit accountant who first sets foot inside Dracula’s foreboding castle, set the film’s tone of ghoulish insanity. For the well-established lead, Bela Lugosi is positively blood-curdling as he stalks every scene. With his thick native Hungarian accent and dapper tuxedo and cape, Lugosi forever defined the title character. The way he looks, behaves and sounds is truly vampiric. Think of Lugosi saying, “The blood is the life.” Or, “I never drink … wine.” Or, “To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious.” And when he hears wolves howling, “Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.” To see DRACULA for the first time, after seeing so many other versions, is to appreciate this first one. Lugosi and his eyes, as well as the sets, the story, and to an extent even the early special effects, make it memorable. DRACULA is a classic not to be missed and you’ll have the chance to see it on the big screen hosted by the man who wrote the definitive biography of the film’s director Tod Browning

Then it’s THE ROAD TO DRACULA. Horror film scholar David J. Skal, author of the celebrated text Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen, here directs an overview of the path the story of Dracula took, with emphasis placed on the 1931 film version of the story. Hosted by Carla Laemmle, whose uncle Carl is the founder of Universal Studios. Some of Skal’s other books on the horror film genre include: ‘Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker, the Man Who Wrote Dracula’,  ‘The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror; Revised Edition with a New Afterword’, and ‘Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning’

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.