Like many of the best and most intelligent horror films (which is unfortunately a rarity), "Dracula" -- in particular, this classic film version -- is about more than the things that go bump in the night or jump out from the darkness for the sake of cheap scares. Any horror film -- or thriller -- has to contain a relative human element, some aspects through which you can relate to the characters, regardless of whether you relate to the victims or the monster or predator. With Bela Lugosi's hypnotic, seductive portrayal of the Count, we're given someone (or, dare it be said, something; he is, after all, undead) to whom we can relate. That may sound far fetched, but really, Dracula, like all of us, has a feral need, a compulsion, a literal blood-lust that drives his every "waking" moment. To deny it and not feed the need -- the desire -- is to deny what makes him who he is. Aren't we all like that? Don't we all have something, or some things, that consume us body, heart, and soul? When those things are right for us and we embrace them -- much like the Count embraces his victims in his cloak just before putting the bite on them and giving them the gift (or, the curse) of eternal life -- don't we feel fulfilled and complete? The gothic, dark shadows here are even more beautiful and inviting than ever before thanks to an impeccable restoration process; and Lugosi's hypnotic line readings and creepy, seductive stares are even more irresistible as well. I'd certainly surrender.