Hailed as one of the most iconic monsters in film, Dracula established many of the vampire conventions we see today. We were dying to find out if this classic could raise our subject’s heart rate from the dead.
SYNOPSIS:
The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina.
Test Subject: Leah
Age : 35
Gender: Female
Fears: Creatures of the NIght
Resting HR: 60-65 bpm
Walking HR: 80-85 bpm
ANALYSIS:
Only minor heart fluctuations could be recorded during the film. Twice our subject’s heart rate showed life but even those peaks struggled to climb above resting numbers, landing at 68bpm. There was a moment at 28:00 when (spoiler alert) a vampire bat appeared and we saw a bump to 66bpm but unfortunately it was caused by a laugh.
CONCLUSION:
On several occasions while monitoring our subject we would anticipate her pulse quickening only to have the scene cut short. This editing played a major role in preventing the building of tension. Images considered too graphic for 1931 may have enhanced the fear in our subject. Sound editing also caused major lulls. Moments which could have created suspense with the right soundtrack fell flat with silence.
Dracula launched the wave of Universal monsters and will always be considered a classic. The dead eyed stare of Bela Lugosi along with chilling dialogue captures the essence of the undead. The set design screams of Halloween but sadly the film left our subject with less than desirable results.
Dracula : Burns 73 Calories
What did you think of this classic horror? Let us know in the comments and make sure your following @FearScale on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
