ReelThoughts
"Defanged"
Commentary by James Berardinelli
One of the first novels I can recall reading was Bram Stoker's Dracula. I can't be sure of my exact age, but I was probably around 8. That would have coincided with the beginning of my "monster movie" phase. The thing I most vividly remember about Dracula was how monstrous the title character was. There was nothing redeeming about him. He was a beast who posed as a sophisticated gentleman. And, while there are clear sexual overtones in the book (which I was not aware of during that first reading), it's hard to envision the Dracula that Stoker wrote about being considered "sexy." The connection between vampires and sex in this book lies in the subtext, and is entirely dark and primal.
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