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You’ll find immense, beautifully dressed sets and breathtaking oceanside locations in the 1979 Dracula. You’ll also hear a richly romantic John Williams score. These elements go a long way in creating a mood and atmosphere that are more lush than any Dracula movie has ever had before — and are enough to warrant a recommendation. But I think the superlatives end there. Frank Langella is certainly a sexy Dracula, but he’s not a very frightening Dracula. Director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever) succeeds in making a film that looks like a horror movie, but never quite acts like one. It appears to be by design. It’s just not what I would prefer to see. Kate Nelligan is a drab leading lady through most of the film, and Trevor Eve as Jonathan Harker might as well be walking driftwood. Sadly, even Sir Laurence Olivier is underwhelming in the role of Professor Van Helsing. He was apparently very ill during production, and it shows. With Donald Pleasence.

See it because it’s fuckin’ pretty.