[FrightFest 2026] FILM REVIEW: Dracula The Night Around Us

Dracula: The Night Around Us - FrightFest UK Premiere Review

Director: Chris Schwab

Starring: Eric Toms, Marlene McCohen, Spencer Weitzel, Raelen Mackiewicz, Brenton Jones

Written by: Chris Schwab

Produced by: Marlene McCohen, Metin Yigit, Chris Schwab

Cinematography by: Chris Schwab

Original Score by: Joel Martin

Synopsis:

A disillusioned doctor regains his faith in humanity from a mother and daughter, only to be hunted by an evil force that thrives on destruction.

Thoughts:

You can never have too many adaptations of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. Chris Schwab's low budget modern day effort is definitely worth the watch and proof that a classic story can still have new life breathed into it by passionate creatives.

The film chooses to focus on Dr. Seward, played here by Eric Toms, who spends most of his time stuck in his work at the local psychiatric medical facility, which resembles a prison, tending to his vulnerable patients, before heading home to his empty apartment. A chance meeting with a neighbour called Mina offers some sort of human connection, but this connection proves to be a dangerous one as a sinister force uses it to help spread an evil that has never been seen in the City before.

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Schwab makes the right choice in limiting the number of characters in the film. He moves the classic novel into modern day USA and it feels very confined. This helps him to to retell Stoker's story without requiring a large cast and a long list of locations. Clearly a financial choice first but one that actually elevates the creative too. This isn't the first time we've seen a filmmaker make this choice of course but I think Schwab deciding to tell it from Seward's perspective and his dealings with Renfield rather than involving Harker or Van Helsing does enough to make his version a little different and stand out.

Dracula's obsession with Mina is still included, sort of. He actually has a connection with Mina's daughter Lucy, who is a sleepwalker, and the vampire takes advantage of this by luring Lucy to his underground lair. It's up to Seward and Mina to figure out how to eliminate this evil threat before everyone becomes a slave to Dracula's spell.

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The film has a bit of grainy 90s look to it. Very bleak. I guess the visuals embody the mood of the premise. I really appreciate the somber, gritty vibe going on. There's a bit of humour filtered through too in Eric's performance as Seward. He's definitely got depression and has a sad, loneliness to him. The humour is present in his overall awkwardness. But when Toms needs to turn it up a notch, he does so with ease. There's a little bit of overacting in places but that sometimes happens with indie horror films and for the most part the cast deliver.

The huge positive for me was how Schwab dealt with the Dracula character. He isn't suave. He isn't romantic. He isn't an aristocrat. In fact he ain't even human. He is a vampiric monster, almost vantablack, crouching in the shadows. He is a feral beast very much paying homage to the Nosferatu look. Similar to The Master from Tobe Hooper's 'Salem's Lot' but even closer to André Øvredal's version from 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter'. Pointed ears and fangs with glowing eyes. I really loved the look and how the character appeared on screen. The lighting shots and the limited time we see him was perfect. It gave me chills and despite it's low budget the film does a great job at rejuvenating a classic monster.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Gavin Logan

'Dracula: The Night Around Us' received its UK Premiere at FrighFest '26 on August 30th