The great Christopher Lee as Dracula. He rarely speaks in the film but his presence alone is intimidating enough. And when bearing his fangs, he less a man and more a feral beast.
Jonathan Harker confronts a woman who had tried to ask for help earlier and makes one more plea for it. Harker agrees to do so, however he lets his guard down and allows her to embrace him— to which she reveals herself to be a vampire and bites him. What helps sell the scene is that she does seem rather genuine with her pleas in wanting to be free of Dracula, but her instincts kick in and she reverts back to the monster she is. Shortly after Dracula shows up and manhandles both her and Harker who, despite having been bitten by her, tries to defend her to no avail and is quickly knocked out.
After going through the manor, Harker manages to find the crypt of Dracula and his bride. He Mercy Kills the bride first (she becomes old and decayed, revealing she's been a vampire for a long time) but by this point, the sun sets and he lingers too long— and Dracula is able to awaken. The scene ends with Harker finding Dracula out of his coffin, by the entrance to the crypt, who then closes the door. The Oh, Crap! look on Harker's face doesn't even begin to describe how much he knows he's screwed.
Van Helsing soon arrives looking for Harker, ultimately finding him in the crypt area, now occupying Dracula's coffin and turned into a vampire. To drive the point home, the camera cuts closer to Harker's face displaying a rather ghastly looking expression, signifying the corruption has him and he was set to rise that nightfall. What makes it more unsettling is the fact there's a huge bloodstain on the left side of his neck and collar, indicating that Dracula likely drew out his feeding of him (the bite from the bride had already cursed him) before eventually killing Harker and letting the transformation take hold. Fridge Horror kicks in when you remember that the sun had just set when Dracula came to attack Harker, so likely he made him suffer for the entire night.
A still in circulation shows what appears to be a decayed Harker◊, which to all knowledge was never used in the final film (which is probably why there's a lack of stake).
The initial scene between Lucy, Mina and Arthur seems normal enough. But once Lucy's alone, her demeanor becomes more stoic as she suddenly gets up and opens the patio door before laying back down, pulling down her collar to showcase a bite mark on her neck. After a scene where Van Helsing goes over his information on vampires, it cuts back to Dracula having arrived to continue feeding on Lucy.
When Van Helsing comes to check on Lucy and deliver the news of Harker's death, she stops him by stating she already knows despite no one having told her and when questioned how, answers that she just... does.
Following Van Helsing's visit, a near hysterical Lucy begs Gerda to take away the garlic wreaths that he had advised to hang and display all around her room because she can't breathe. Once the garlic is taken away, the scene cuts to Van Helsing making a new recording on his information on vampires before redirecting back to Lucy's room where Dracula arrives once again to feed on Lucy - who looks scared, the entire time, but is unable to do anything since she is under his spell.
As stated on the main page, Tania suddenly going missing into the night not long after Lucy dies. But even more so when she tells Mina and Arthur that Lucy was the one who lured her away.
The reveal of the now-vampirized Lucy, as Tania once again goes to her at her call. This is a showcase of an active vampire victim after transformation and it's jarring, to say the least. Not just from the obvious fangs when Lucy smiles at Tania, but just how stilted and off-putting she is. Van Helsing would later go on to describe the fact that indeed, the Lucy Arthur knew and loved is dead and now just a "shell" in her likeness under Dracula's control. What makes this worse is that Dracula deliberately targeted her as revenge and a replacement for his previous bride.
Arthur spots Lucy just about to feed on Tania and calls out to her, drawing her attention.
Lucy: (After Arthur calls out to her) Arthur, dear brother...
Arthur: (Unsure) Lucy?
Lucy: (Smiles, showcasing her fangs) Dear Arthur, why didn't you come sooner? (Arthur just looks on stunned as Lucy raises her arms and approaches him) Come, let me kiss you.
What makes the scene work is just how shellshocked Arthur is upon seeing his dead sister walking about, plus the camera going into a slight Dutch Angle on Lucy as she starts to approach him.
Shortly after the above, Van Helsing suddenly arrives from off-screen brandishing a cross. Lucy is forced back, making some very twisted grimaces and hissing gasps at the symbol before Van Helsing sears her with it by simply touching it to her forehead. And the scream she emits is loud (not recommended for headphone listening). When he takes it off, Lucy has a very noticeable and ugly burnt mark on her forehead before running off back to her crypt.
The whole staking scene, while somewhat mitigated by the looks on Lucy's face as Van Helsing is driving the stake in, her screams are once again rather loud along with the sickening "crack" sound every time the hammer is pounded into the stake. You'll end up wincing along with Arthur as the scene plays out.
Mina goes to the undertaker place when she gets a "message" from Arthur telling her to meet her there. She finds the place closed, but notices the area where the coffins are and sees if he's there. As she looks, the camera pans to a certain white coffin— whose lid lifts to reveal Dracula inside, fangs already bared.
When Helsing and Arthur come back from looking into where Dracula's carriage went, the maid initially finds that Mina is gone— only for her to arrive none worse for wear, though oddly clasping her mink around her collar with Arthur noting she's paler then usual. They write it off as stress from the events so far. Later, when the two men set to go look into a nearby cemetery for Dracula, Arthur goes to give Mina a cross necklace for protection which she seems hesitant to take. No sooner then she does, Mina reels in pain and faints. The quickly take the cross off her hand and find an imprint on it, similar to how the vampiric Lucy was seared by Helsing's cross, and the two come the horrible realization that she's already been bitten.
The scene where Dracula goes to bite Mina a second time. She's about to go to bed and checking the windows, but as she goes to step into the main hall she finds Dracula just standing there waiting for her. He forces her back into the bedroom and, though she's frightened, she doesn't or possibly can't resist him as he lays her down on the bed. Just as he goes for the bite, it transitions to an owl screech which spooks Arthur while he's patrolling the grounds.
When Van Helsing and Arthur return from their patrols, Arthur goes to check on Mina. His anguished sudden shout of her name offscreen is enough to make anyone jump. After a blood transfusion, Helsing and Arthur wonder how Dracula could even get into the house until Gerda mentions that "Mina" told her not to go into the cellar for whatever reason. Van Helsing quickly puts two and two together and rushes down there, finding Dracula's coffin juat as Dracula himself arrives back. He quickly locks Van Helsing into the cellar and makes off with Mina as Arthur comes to unlock the cellar door.
The chase back to Dracula's castle after he kidnaps Mina. Very tension-filled as the two men try desperately to catch up to him, climaxing with Dracula reaching his castle first but having no time to feed on her with the sun coming up and instead trying to bury her alive, likely meaning to suffocate her into death and trigger the vampire transformation.
And of course the final fight between Van Helsing and Dracula. At one point Dracula manages to knock out Van Helsing briefly and goes to bite him. Van Helsing comes to just in time to knock him back and corners Dracula by pulling off a curtain to a window letting sun in and forcing him back into sunlight with two candlestick he shapes into a cross. Once Dracula's leg hits the sun, it crumbles into dust instantly followed by his arm and finally the rest of the body, with a lovely shot of Dracula raking his rapidly decaying face. The SFX look good even nearly 70 years later!
◊, which to all knowledge was never used in the final film (which is probably why there's a lack of stake).
