Bram Stoker: dead and loving it?

Horror fans across the world have been celebrating the centenary of Bram Stoker's death as of last week, as the Victorian novelist who gave us Dracula died on April 20, 1912.

Since the publication of his iconic vampire novel in 1897, pop culture has embraced the image of the blood-sucking Transylvanian count, so much so that over 200 films featuring the count have appeared since the 1920s.

Not to mention how the vampire has become the supernatural monster du jour, with the success of properties like Twlight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries.

Bram Stoker (1847-1912)

Here are some of the most prominent of the bunch. Which are your favourite? And are their any criminal omissions in our list?  

Nosferatu (1922)

A pioneering work of German Expressionist cinema, F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent film Nosferatu - starring the eccentric-in-his-own-right Max Schreck as Dracula stand-in Count Orlok - risked being wiped out after Stoker's wife sued the filmmaker for copyright infringement.

Dracula (1931)

Tod Browning's Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, was the first official Hollywood adaptation of Stoker's original tale. Himself a Hungarian émigré, Lugosi would help entrench Dracula's image in pop culture, not least thanks to his easy-to-parody accent.

The Horror of Dracula (1958)

Horror legend Christopher Lee began an illustrious career within the genre with this feature, under the auspices of the British production company Hammer Films. It was to be the first of many.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Titling his film 'Bram Stoker's Dracula', Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola sought to re-inject the Gothic, sexual energy back into the story with his 1992 starring Gary Oldman, who presented the Count as a tragically romantic figure.

Dracula 2000 (2000)

A critically-panned mess, this update transported the Count (Gerard Butler) to contemporary New Orleans, where he seeks his revenge on his nemesis, the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, by praying on his descendants. 

Read the full article on this Sunday's edition of MaltaToday.