The 10 best Dracula films

Dracula has found everlasting life on the silver screen. Gothic horror, as a genre, has terrified and transfixed the public for centuries, and the myths surrounding vampires are often explored in both literature and film.

Bram Stoker's blood-sucking villain in particular has inspired countless films, shows, and animated movies, from the Hammer Horror films to Nosferatu, and even in kids films like Hotel Transylvania.

Read more: Everything you need to know about The Last Voyage of Demeter

Vampire legends may have existed long before Stoker's genre-defining novel, but the ideas of the creatures of the night were certainly defined by it afterwards.

The 10 best rated Dracula films

The latest film to take inspiration from Dracula is The Last Voyage of Demeter, which was released in the US on Friday, 11 August and will be released in the UK soon.

In anticipation, Yahoo UK is looking back at the 10 best rated Dracula films of all time and how they rank amongst fans on IMDb.

10 | Dracula: Untold (2014)

Luke Evans takes on the title of Vlad Tepes, a man who must become the monster his people will fear in order to protect the ones he loves as war rages in his kingdom.

It is perhaps surprising that the vampire film has made it into a best of ranking for Dracula films given the way it was received by critics and viewers alike in 2014, but on IMDb cinephiles have ranked the action flick a solid 6.2.

IMDb rating: 6.2

9 | Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Christopher Lee is one of the most famous actors to portray Count Dracula on the big screen. The actor portrayed the villain in seven Hammer Horror films which also often starred Peter Cushing as the hero Van Helsing.

Taste the Blood of Dracula starred Lee alone, and followed his character as he seeks vengeance on three English gentlemen who resurrected him but killed one of his disciples.

IMDb rating: 6.3

8= | Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968)

Another of Lee's depictions of Dracula, the third film to star the actor as the iconic vampire received a slightly higher rating of 6.5 by IMDb users.

Read more: 6 Dracula actors you may have forgotten

In Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, Lee's vampire is brought back from the dead after an exorcism is performed on the count's castle by Monsignor (Rupert Davies), and he then begins to prey on the man's niece and her friends as a result.

IMDb rating: 6.5

8= | Dracula (1979)

Starring Frank Langella as Dracula and Sir Lawrence Olivier as Abraham Van Helsing, the 1979 take on the character follows the vampire as he travels to England in search of a bride.

The film portrays the vampire in a more seductive light, with the character being seen as an attractive predator rather than a terrifying villain which is a trope that has been used in other takes of the vampire genre since, like Twilight.

IMDb rating: 6.5

6 | Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Another of Lee's Hammer Horror films, Dracula: Prince of Darkness follows its titular character as he is resurrected once more and begins preying on people who are staying in his castle.

The second film to star Lee and Cushing as enemies Dracula and Van Helsing, it continued to show the strength of their chemistry onscreen, as well as Lee's skills in the title role.

IMDb rating: 6.6

5 | Dracula (Horror of Dracula) (1958)

Lee's very first film as Dracula is seen as his best according to film fans on IMDb, the film helped to propel the actor to stardom and also became a staple of Hammer Film Productions.

The horror film adapts Stoker's book of the same name, following Jonathan Harker as he accepts a job at the vampire's castle and soon begins to be preyed upon by the Prince of Darkness.

IMDb rating: 7.2

2= | Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Werner Herzog's remake of the original Nosferatu was met with huge critical acclaim when it was released in 1979, and it seems that IMDb users feel much the same as the film is in joint second place with a rating of 7.4.

The film stars Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula and sees the villain travel to Wismar where he begins to spread a Black Plague, and his rein of terror can only be dismantled by Lucy Harker (Isabelle Adjani) who is a woman pure of heart.

IMDb rating: 7.4

2= | Dracula (1931)

The 1931 adaptation of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi in the title role, is the film that went on to truly define the vampire's look.

It followed the vampire as he sets up a new home in London and begins to prey upon a series of victims in the capital, it is a classic of the horror genre and one of the most famous takes on Dracula so it's no wonder that IMDb users gave it a rating of 7.4.

IMDb rating: 7.4

2= | Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Another iconic film about the vampire is Bram Stoker's Dracula, the 1992 take on the villain that stars Gary Oldman as the Count alongside A-list actors like Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Anthony Hopkins.

Read more: Cary Elwes on Bram Stoker’s Dracula at 30: ‘Gary Oldman spent most of the time sleeping in a coffin’

In this version of the tale, Dracula travels to London in order to seduce Jonathan Harker's (Reeves) fiancée Mina Murray (Ryder), and as the vampire begins to wreak havoc it is up to his famous adversary Van Helsing (Hopkins) to find a way to stop him.

IMDb rating: 7.4

1 | Nosferatu (1922)

The film to start it all, Nosferatu was the first ever depiction of Dracula onscreen though as the film was an unofficial adaptation of Stoker's novel the character was renamed to Count Orlok.

Directed by F.W. Murnau, the silent film features iconic visuals that still define the genre to this day, and it gives a unique take on the character who was portrayed by Max Schreck.

IMDb rating: 7.9