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Dracula - The Dark Compass
episode 3
UK 2020
produced by Larry Tanz, Ben Irving, Mark Gatiss (executive), Steven Moffat (executive), Sue Vertue (executive) for Hartswood Films/BBC, Netflix
directed by Paul McGuigan
starring Claes Bang, Dolly Wells, Lydia West, Matthew Beard, Mark Gatiss, Chanel Cresswell, Lyndsey Marshal, Paul Brennen, John McCrea, Phil Dunster, Polly Kemp, Sarah Niles, Millicent Wong, Sofia Oxenham, Kiran Shah, Anthony Kaye, Anna Swan, Cat White, Corinna Wilson, Olivia Klein (as Olivia Talbot)
screenplay by Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, based on the novel by Bram Stoker, music by David Arnold, Michael Price
TV miniseries Dracula, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Dracula
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Dracula (Claes Bang) has risen from his watery grave and walked to the
shore of England - and right into the clutches of Zoe Helsing (Dolly
Wells) and her goons from the Jonathan Harker Foundation who want to
research him. He manages to make good an escape, but is easily tracked
down with modern technology. However, in the meantime he has sucked some
blood and with it knowledge of the modern era, so once incarcerated by the
foundation who want to study his condition, he's quick to call his lawyer
Renfield (Mart Gatiss), who's quick to broker his release. He soon learns
about young, beautiful and vapid Lucy Westenra (Lydia West), for whom he
soon develops a sort of fascination. Three months later: Dracula
continues to meet Lucy, even though she's about to marry the American
Quincey (Phil Duster), and she lets him suck a bit of her blood at every
session, just enough to give her dreams - but eventually he sucks her dry.
She's cremated at her funeral, but canb escape before the flames consume
her totally. Meanwhile Jack Seward (Matthew Beard), an ex still in love
with Lucy, looks for advice from Zoe regarding Lucy's death, but finds Zoe
dying from cancer, which makes her blood poisonous to Dracula. Still, the
two make their way to Dracula, just in time to see him welcome a badly
burnt Lucy - and things take a turn for the weird nobody has expected ... While
part 1 of this
three-parter followed Stoker's novel a bit too slavishly, and part
2 took a more improvisational approach, this third part really
goes wild. Sure, there's the odd reference to the book, but it
re-interprets the source's goings-on so radically it feels like little
more than name-dropping - and actually, this episode has much more to do
with Hammer's
modern day Dracula movies from the 1970s than anything Stoker
has ever written - and it enjoys just that, being at times gruesome,
campy, intentionally comedic, and overall post modernist about things. The
outcome isn't great in the traditional sense of the word, but that said a
fun romp that die-hard Dracula
fans most probably will not enjoy, but if you like your horror with a
grain of salt, you'll probably find something to chuckle about here.
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