This is the TRUE beginning of the "Dark Universe"
Why else would Lawrence Talbot's cane be so prominently visible? Universal has learned from their past mistakes and this time they're going to start slowly and build up to it.- Well, given the box office, it may wind up being just as successful as their last few efforts...
This Film is an Alternate Continuity to the events of the novel
The movie is not really an adaptation of the events of the novel but an Alternate Continuity, with the point of divergence being Doctor Clemens joining the crew of the Demeter, as the logs as mentioned in the book mention no ship's doctor. In the original book there probably was no accident in the docks, Clemens never joins the crew, Anna remains undiscovered, and the events unfold as detailed in the ships logs that appear in the novel. Dracula is the same species of vampire as the ones in From Dusk Till Dawn.
He has the same ugly, ghoulish visage as they do and is partial to a Full-Frontal Assault that shows off his similarly sickly build. Presumably some of his other abilities like growing wings or conjuring fog are a special ability that came with age and time. He only appears tougher because the Demeter's crew aren't hardened badasses or lucky like the survivors of the Titty Twister.