Dracula: The Night Around Us (2026) Review
Writer and director Chris Schwab (Heretic, Neither Day Nor Night) latest film Dracula: The Night Around Us is a modern retelling of the definitive vampire horror. It received its UK Premiere at Tubi FrightFest, screening as part of the Discovery Screen One strand on 30th August.
Inspired by Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, Dracula: The Night Around Us is written and directed by Chris Schwab, who puts his own spin on the classic Dracula story. The film stars Eric Toms, Marlene Mc’Cohen (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), Spencer Weitzel, Raelan Mackiewicz and Brent Jones.
Dr. John Seward, a depressed doctor at an asylum for the criminally insane, finds a rare glimmer of hope when he connects with his new neighbour, Mina, and her young daughter, Lucy. But beneath the city streets, an ancient evil stirs in the sewers. Dracula is building a harem of undead brides, and he soon sets his sights on Lucy.
Clocking in at just seventy minutes, this latest take on Bram Stoker’s classic does not outstay its welcome, stripping the infamous vampire story back to its essentials. Working with a limited budget and transplanting the story into a modern-day setting is one thing, but do we really need another adaptation of a tale that has been told and retold countless times? Does it bring anything genuinely new to the table, or is it simply regurgitating a story we already know by heart?
Director Chris Schwab has admitted to being obsessed with Stoker’s novel, as well as the numerous film, television and other adaptations that have followed. His introduction to Dracula came through the late-Eighties cult favourite The Monster Squad, although it was not until he encountered Francis Ford Coppola’s lavish adaptation that he realised Dracula originated from a classic novel. Schwab subsequently read Stoker’s book and concluded that, despite the wealth of adaptations, there has never really been one definitive version. Instead, filmmakers have continually found their own ways of interpreting the material for the screen.
With that in mind, Schwab takes an intriguing approach by placing Dr. Seward at the centre of his retelling, effectively combining elements of Seward, Jonathan Harker and Van Helsing into a single character. Dracula’s castle is also given a radical makeover, replaced by the towering steel and concrete structures supporting the freeways of Los Angeles, while the sewers and tunnels beneath the city provide the dank, claustrophobic setting for Dracula’s crypt.
It is an approach that gives Dracula: The Night Around Us a distinctive sense of atmosphere. The film is often at its most effective when dialogue takes a back seat and Schwab allows the imagery and soundscape to do the storytelling. In fact, there are moments when I found myself wondering whether a virtually silent interpretation of the classic tale might have elevated the film even further. The visual storytelling is sufficiently strong that the dialogue can occasionally feel unnecessary by comparison.
There are some clever adjustments to the familiar story that sit comfortably within Schwab’s modernised interpretation rather than feeling forced, while the camerawork and choice of shots are frequently inspired. An eerie visual quality permeates the film, helping to inject life into proceedings whenever the dialogue threatens to bring the pace to a standstill. Schwab clearly understands that Dracula is a story that lends itself naturally to shadows, atmosphere and suggestion, and he makes good use of all three.
Dracula himself is given a more traditionally monstrous appearance, with a distinctly Nosferatu-influenced look that suits the film’s darker, stripped-back approach. Rather than attempting to compete with the grander interpretations that have come before, Schwab opts for something considerably more intimate and atmospheric.
Ultimately, Dracula: The Night Around Us is an interesting experiment in taking one of horror’s most familiar stories and stripping it down while relocating it to an entirely different environment. It may not completely reinvent Dracula, but it does demonstrate that there are still ways of approaching Stoker’s creation without simply retracing the same old footsteps.
Dracula: The Night Around Us received its World Premiere at the Portland Horror Film Festival earlier this year, where it took home the Goule D’Or Award for Best Feature Film.