After reading the Dracula novel and watching the 1992 adaptation of the same name, I realized that the movie has quite a few differences from the book. The main difference that stands out to me is the storyline about the growing romantic relationship between Mina and Dracula. In the book, Dracula is a character that shows no romantic feelings toward any of the women in the book, nor do we have any indication about past romantic relationships. In the movie, Dracula falls in love with Jonathan Harker’s fiancée Mina, as she reminds him of his wife who we learn has committed suicide. Mina shares the same romantic feelings toward Dracula, while in the book, Mina actually despises Dracula for hurting the people that she loved. The relationship between Mina and Dracula is made to be a main story line in the movie, when this was a non-existent relationship in the original book.

Dracula in the movie shows more emotion than the Dracula in the book, and this makes him seem like more of a tragic hero in the movie, while he comes across as a villain in the book. He’s more ‘humanized’ in the movie, as a result of his emotions and relationship, where as in the book, he is a complete monster who kills to satisfy his primal urges to feed on human blood.

I wouldn’t quite say that I prefer one version of the story over the other, as they are both interesting, and they are both very different. I definitely enjoyed the story, as believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve read or watched anything Dracula!