Rob Zombie Loves This Ultimate Classic Horror Performance: It’s “…Like He Wants to ‘F’ Everything”

Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie, 2005, (c) Seville Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Rob Zombie is forever tied to the horror genre. His music, his movies, and elements of his physical appearance are all inspired by macabre cinema. Some of the musician-turned-director’s favorite films include pre-code content from the 1930s.

In a chat with Rotten Tomatoes, Zombie named his five favorite horror films. All five selections are from the ‘30s. Amongst them is Dracula (1931). Zombie digs Bela Lugosi’s performance and the sexual energy he brings to the role.

In discussing the 1931 film with the outlet, Zombie said: “I’ve been on a kick lately of watching Dracula, the 1931 version with Bela Lugosi, over and over and over and over. You know?

I love everything from the ’30s. The 1930s is my absolute favorite time period for horror movies, because they were just so demented and sick. Sometimes you watch them and go, “Wow, they get away with a lot.” Then, of course, the codes came in and it ruined the party. When you watch movies from the 1940s, they seem so tame and so dry, but everything from the ’30s is just amazing.

Lugosi seems like he wants to f— everything in the movie constantly. He just has that vibe. Really weird, man. You know?”

Well, there you have it, folks. The musically inclined director knows what he likes. And he likes a sexually charged Bela Lugosi.

The setup of the 1931 incarnation of Dracula is as follows: The dashing, mysterious Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), after hypnotizing a British soldier, Renfield (Dwight Frye), into his mindless slave, travels to London and takes up residence in an old castle. Soon Dracula begins to wreak havoc, sucking the blood of young women and turning them into vampires. When he sets his sights on Mina (Helen Chandler), the daughter of a prominent doctor, vampire-hunter Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) is enlisted to put a stop to the count’s never-ending bloodlust.

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