Best and worst of Dracula movies

With more than 100 films focusing on or heavily featuring the popular literary character, it’s hard to believe that there is anything “untold” about the Dracula legend (not to mention the seemingly endless list of other vampire flicks that have been produced). The coffin has been sufficiently exhumed.

The latest incarnation, “Dracula Untold,” resurrects Vlad the Impaler and re-imagines him as a sort of superhero (You know, the guy who murdered hundreds by slowly driving blunt stakes through their abdomens? That guy!).

But here we are, facing yet another adaptation of cinema’s most beloved bloodsucker. Whether this one turns to ash or becomes all sparkly like a “Twilight” vamp remains to be seen, but what it does afford us is the opportunity to look back at some of the best and worst Dracula adaptations over the years in time for your Halloween viewing pleasure.

A caveat: this particular list will only feature cinematic Dracula films and ones that mention him by name (Sorry, original “Nosferatu,” you’d make the list, otherwise), and we will not be looking at the comedic approaches to the character (Leslie Nielsen and George Hamilton, this means you).

Worst

• "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula" - I realize I said there would be no comedy films, and I am fairly certain that although there are comedic elements (or scenes with what is supposed to pass for comedy) sprinkled throughout, the makers had no intentions about the level of hilarity this film elicits. It’s a shame, too, as John Carradine has donned the cape before and has proven to be quite the creepy count.

• “Dracula vs. Frankenstein” (1971) - Al Adamson, who bestowed upon us such classics as “Satan’s Sadists” and “Horror of the Blood Monster,” stitched together two iconic creations which starred J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Frankenstein (who looks more like Col. Sanders here) and Lon Chaney as The Mad Zombie. And the two title characters are never pitted against one another as the title would imply, but that is the very least of this film’s issues.

• "Dracula in Istanbul” (1953) - What?! It could happen! Vlad did spend time in a Turkish prison! If you have never witnessed the wildly wacky ways that the Turks liberally copy-and-paste American cinema, this one is a great place to start. Follow it with “Turkish Tarzan,” “Turkish Spider Man,” “Turkish James Bond,” “Turkish Exorcist,” “Turkish Jaws,” “Turkish E.T.,” and conclude with the unmatched inanity of “Turkish Star Wars.”

• “Vampirella” (1996) - None other than The Who’s Roger Daltrey plays Vlad, who is actually an alien from the planet Drakulon. With the help of a high-tech vampire hunting group called PURGE, a sexy female, after being shipwrecked on Mars for centuries, seeks revenge on Vlad. Again, not a comedy, and sadly, not the only time Dracula was set in space (see “Dracula 3000,” if you must).

Best

• “Count Dracula” (1970) - With the title character portrayed by Christopher Lee (who had practice, starring as the count in four films prior to this, and five subsequent times), this is perhaps one of the most faithful adaptations of Bram Stoker’s original source material that has been filmed. Directed by Jess Franco, the film may be light on budget, but it is heavy on creepiness and atmosphere, and Lee positively nailed it with a mixture of charm, insanity and seduction.

• “Dracula” (1979) - Drac got all sexed up as a young Frank Langella sent female hearts aflutter, injecting a surge of much-needed life into the undead for - and from - its lead. (For a novel in which sexuality played such a large part, the cinematic Draculas have been mostly chaste). The film certainly took liberties with the tale, but it was still an overall effective take on the cloaked vampire, and Langella remains one of the more iconic images of the character.

• “Drácula” (1931) - There’s an interesting backstory to this version, which includes a Spanish cast and crew quickly rushed onto the same set used in the iconic 1931 Bela Lugosi version, using it after hours. The count is played by Carlos Villarias, whose performance has been heralded as one of the strongest. The film, which used the American version’s dailies as inspiration, stuck even closer to the novel’s veins.

• “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) - Francis Ford Coppola’s take is certainly the most faithful, if not necessarily the best (for those who think Keanu Reeves struggles with English, you should watch him grapple with a British accent). And Gary Oldman, an actor then known for being eclectic and unpredictable, was custom-tailored to play the shape-shifting, age-changing vampire who could turn from seductive to deadly on a dime.

• “Nosferatu: The Vampyre” (1979) - The inclusion of this Werner Herzog remake is not meant to slight the 1922 F.W. Murnau original. It still remains a classic, but due to copyright issues, the original Nosferatu was unable to use the Dracula name (settling for Orlock). Herzog had no such issues here even though most of the characters in Stoker’s novel were not even used. The director’s frequent collaborator Klaus Kinski makes Dracula an almost pitiful character, weakened by an insatiable bloodlust and keeping a Gollum-like existence of solidarity.