One of the few times we have seen some originality in horror films in decades. The story of Dracula during the sea voyage from his homeland in Transylvania to England.
Something that hadn't been told before. A great idea. It could have made for a great film, but again, the director lacked the talent to give it a pulse and recreate the right atmosphere.
Instead, they have resorted to what has long been the death knell of horror films: mere visual impact through FX.
A human Dracula, in the old style, well acted and acted, would have been much more sinister and terrifying, but instead they have preferred to put in a ridiculous little monster in the style of "Jeeper's Creeper's" looking for the shocking image through the special effects, achieving with this that at no time you forget that you are watching a fantasy film and, with this, renouncing any capacity to instil fear.
A complete fuck-up. To round it off, they have also decided to eliminate the satanic ingredient, which is the last straw for the film.
In spite of everything, I liked the film more than most of the current ones, but it also disappointed me a lot more, as it could have been much better.
In short, a good example of what I always explain about why horror films, with very honourable and rare exceptions, died more than 20 years ago and, since then, have been replaced by a mere cinema of scares.
The aim is no longer to instil fear, but simply to shock through spectacular images. This is no longer horror, but a caricature of it.
Blessed are those of us who lived through the times of Freddy Krugger, Jason Vorgees, the Tall Man... or those who preceded us with the great classics ("The Legend of Hell Mansion", "Hauntess Hill", "Psycho", the old Universal films, Hammer, etc.).
What remains today (I insist, with very few and honourable exceptions), is a mere by-product for popcorn teenagers.