Dracula's Adversaries

When you think of those who stand against the evils of Dracula, the first name to come to mind is of course Stoker’s iconic Van Helsing. And as the Count has been adapted so many times, so too has Van Helsing continued on as a bastion of hope against the vampire across numerous versions of the tale.

But of course, Van Helsing is far from the only famous character to have stood against Dracula in various media – and today I want to explore five of the most unusual and unexpected foes to have crossed paths with the world’s favourite vamp…

Billy the Kid vs Dracula (1966)

Why not bring Dracula to the Old West? Here the Count is depicted by the wonderful John Carradine, and seeks to make Billy the Kid’s daughter his undead bride. As you can imagine the famous gunslinger is none too happy with this, and sets out to save Betty from a terrible fate. Shot in eight days as a double-header with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, the two stand as strange blends of Western and horror that have probably lived longer lives because of the creatures they portray than their enduring filmic qualities.

Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971)

While these two monsters did cross over in some of the early Universal franchise movies – such as House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula – cult director Al Adamson put the two in direct conflict with this 1971 feature. It was released here in the UK as Blood of Frankenstein, most likely because it featured a female descendant of the good doctor rather than the man himself. It’s not a film with a great reputation, but if you can ignore some of its glaring problems, it’s certainly fun as a monster mashup.

Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula (1981)

Allow me a slight departure here – of course, Dracula has been presented in many mediums, and this 1981 Radio 4 play brought together fiction’s most famous detective and its most famous villain for a crossover. The story itself is adapted from a 1978 novel by Loren D. Estleman, and takes that strange landing at Whitby as its launching point. Certainly an intriguing take, and one with no shortage of literary star power featured!

The Batman vs Dracula (2005)

Surely the shady streets of Gotham and the presence of the Dark Knight himself make for perfect Dracula fodder? And not only is Batman present here, but the Penguin and the Joker are among those that Dracula seeks to turn into his army of the night. This animated special was actually pretty well received, and the tone of Batman with its Gothic trappings provides a pretty suitable backdrop for the vampiric predations of the Count.

Bonnie and Clyde vs Dracula (2008)

Because… why not? Gangster films did have something of a phase, so why not pit two of history’s most famous criminals against fiction’s most famous monster? After a heist goes awry, Bonnie and Clyde seek to hide out in a seemingly abandoned mansion – only to find it belongs to none other than Dracula himself. Featuring horror icon Tiffany Shepis, this one took three years to find a distributor after it was made. I would say it delivers exactly what it promises.

Over the course of this blog, we’ll be highlighting many more weird and wonderful adaptations of Dracula, one of fiction’s most malleable characters. Why might Dracula be more variable than say Sherlock Holmes or even Frankenstein? Good question, and one we’d like to address in our research project. Obviously, in the novel, he is a shapeshifter, but every time he appears he is different than before. And so with his opponents, who all bring another quality out of their adversary. And who knows what other crossovers might await in the near future…