Some might wonder how I could be a life long fan of horror films without having seen what many have called the greatest vampire movie ever made. To be honest, it took me this long to find a rental copy. Now, in my thirtieth year on the planet, I have seen Hammer Films' Horror of Dracula, and it was definitely worth the wait.

I had expected the film to adhere more closely to Bram Stoker's novel, but then I reminded myself that Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein had strayed quite a bit from Mary Shelly's original conception. The liberties that director Terrence Fisher took with Stoker's tale may upset some purists, but you can't argue with results. This is indeed a classic.

Like the novel, Horror of Dracula begins with Jonathan Harker's arrival at Castle Dracula. He, of course, arrives on foot because the locals know well enough to keep their distance and the coachman refuses to take him any closer than he has to. Harker is to be Count Dracula's new librarian, straying slightly from his purpose in the book, but for the most part the film's opening is faithful to Stoker.

The first big change comes after Harker has been shown to his quarters and writes in his journal that he has actually come to destroy Dracula, a complete diversion from the novel. This is a pivotal scene. It tells everyone who has read the book that all bets are now off. This is not Stoker's Dracula but Fisher's, therefore anything can happen. The element of surprise has been restored.

And there certainly are plenty of surprises. We soon learn that Harker is working with his dear friend Dr. Van Helsing, played by the inimitable Peter Cushing. Harker stakes Dracula's bride in her coffin, but just as he does so, the sun sets and Dracula rises. By the time Van Helsing arrives at Castle Dracula, Harker has become a vampire as well, and Van Helsing is forced to destroy him.

In addition to plot changes, the very nature of vampirism has been altered. Stoker's Dracula was very much a mystical creature with the ability to change into animals or even mist. Fisher's Dracula, magnificently portrayed by Christopher Lee, can not change shape. In fact, Van Helsing refers to vampirism more as a disease than a satanic condition. Whether this change was made for budgetary reasons I can not say, but it serves to make Dracula that much more believable. He is a monster, yes, but he is also a man.

See this movie. You'll thank yourself.