Renfield

Yeah.

The stuff in Transylvania is fantastic of, uh, it's not Harker, it's Renfield in this.

Yeah.

Usually in the book it's Harker that goes there and-

Oh

... visits Dracula, but here it's Renfield.

Which you know what? I think that is a smart choice because then you get to see why Renfield is the way he is.

Mm-hmm.

And Bram seemed to be happy to concede all the time and be submissive in his part, it wasn't even a partnership, in his employment with Henry.

And in a way, it represented how Count Dracula was with, say, Renfield, all the women and other people that he bit and slowly took the life from them.

So I wondered as I was writing, I think initially Brown probably saw it as a tribute to Henry, making him this powerful, frightening figure that overpowered everything and sort of in sort of a reverse colonialism, you know, was a European coming to England to take it over in the way that the English had colonised so many other countries.

But I think his subconscious probably rose to the fore and he made him this truly monstrous character.

I mean, some of the dialogue, if you just read it you'd say, "What is going on here?" But when you watch everybody kind of get into it.

I mean, for, if nothing else watch it because, like, I think Tom Waits as Renfield is the most batshit-

Oh.

[laughs]

... amazing, like [laughs] tiny character.

We didn't even talk, we didn't even talk about Renfield.

Yeah, Renfield is incredible in this movie.

I love Tom Waits.

And Jerry suddenly shows some kind of affection or care for Billy.

Now, granted, we don't see the same kind of like radical power dynamic that we see between Dracula and Renfield, where it is a master-servant relationship, you know, where the power dynamic is greatly outstretched.

And maybe in the absence of that like very extreme binary relationship of like master and servant or master and enslaved person, I don't think the absence of that is – Right.

Exactly.

"'I wonder where Jonathan is, and if he is thinking of me, I wish he were here.'

Dr. Seward's Diary 5th June The case of Renfield grows more interesting the more I get to understand the man.

He has certain qualities very largely developed—selfishness, secrecy, and purpose.

I wish I could get at what is the object of the latter.

I shall see him in the morning early.

"'Twenty July.

"'Visited Renfield very early before the attendant went his rounds.

"'Found him up, and humming a tune, he was spreading out his sugar "'which he had saved in the window, and manifestly beginning his fly-catching again, "'and beginning it cheerfully and with a good grace.

Please read this article and then we will return you to the film.

You will also find Renfield doing his best Mariah Carey impression.

Could you explain that for all the olds in the room?

I don't know her.

Yeah, it's like an extended chase scene.

Yeah, into basically a drawing room drama.

And one of the big changes they make is obviously putting Renfield in the place of Harker and all this kind of stuff.

But like the classic, this is the Dracula story that like for probably 70 or 80 years people would be like, oh yeah, the Dracula story.

uh but fun enough like a good romp on a sunday night i was a big i i was a fairly big fan of it i enjoyed it uh On the Discovery screens, you saw a film which I think you were quite a big fan of, Dracula, The Night Around Us.

Yes, so this is a modern day set Dracula in which we follow John Seward as he works in his institution and obviously comes across Renfield.

And then it's kind of based on Dracula coming over and taking a particular interest in his young neighbour.

I really liked it.

I really liked the fact that they kind of used Dracula as a metaphor for this shadowy... kind of higher power that preys on young children and wants to exploit them and, you know, child trafficking, which obviously is very poignant for this day and age, what with everything going on with Epstein, et cetera, et cetera.

Yeah, I really liked it.

The guy who played Renfield was absolutely fucking fantastic.

And there is a great final sequence with a great bit of gore that I did not see coming, but very, very appreciated it.