Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), an American vampire horror film, was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart. It is based on Stoker’s classic 1897 novel of the same name. The story follows Vlad Dracula, who returns from a victorious battle against the Ottoman Empire in 1462 to find his beloved wife, Elisabeta, dead. He is told by a priest that her soul is condemned for committing suicide. Outraged, Vlad renounces Christianity and vows to avenge Elisabeta with the powers of darkness. To seal his fate as a vampire, he drives his sword into a stone cross in the chapel. In 1897, solicitor Jonathan Harker takes on Count Dracula as a client at the request of his colleague R.M. Renfield who has gone insane and is now held in an asylum under the care of Dr. Jack Seward. Harker travels to Transylvania to arrange Dracula’s London real estate acquisitions.

Jonathan encounters Dracula, who discovers an image of his beloved Mina Murray and becomes convinced that she is the reincarnation of Elisabeta. While Dracula travels to England with Transylvanian soil and settles into Carfax Abbey, he leaves Jonathan to be preyed upon by his brides. Meanwhile, in London, Dracula uses hypnotic powers to lure and bite Lucy Westenra, Mina’s dear friend whom she is staying with while Jonathan is away. As Lucy’s health declines and her behavior changes, her former suitors Quincey Morris and Dr. Seward, along with her fiancé Arthur Holmwood seek help from Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, a trusted mentor of Seward’s who identifies Lucy as a victim of vampirism. During daylight hours when he takes on a youthful and attractive appearance, Dracula meets with Mina and wins her over with his charm.