Fiancee of Dracula

A twisted treasure from Hollywood’s pre-Code horror heyday, Island of Lost Souls is a cautionary tale of science run amok, adapted from H. G. Wells’s novel The Island of Dr. Moreau. In one of his first major movie roles, Charles Laughton is a mad doctor conducting ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked man (Richard Arlen) who finds himself trapped there. This touchstone of movie terror, directed by Erle C. Kenton, features expressionistic photography by Karl Struss, groundbreaking makeup effects that have inspired generations of monster-movie artists, and the legendary Bela Lugosi in one of his most gruesome roles.

At the turn of the 20th century, London real estate agent Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) is sent to Transylvania to close a deal with the mysterious Count Dracula (Gary Oldman), who believes Harker's fiancée, Mina (Wynona Ryder), to be his lost love. Dracula quickly makes his way to England and begins to seduce Mina, while at the same time killing her friend Lucy (Sadie Frost) and transforming her into a vampire. Harker returns to England, and, along with Lucy’s husband (Cary Elwes) and the mercurial Dr. Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins), tries to stop the Count before he turns Mina into a vampire and wreaks havoc upon an unsuspecting world.

At the turn of the 20th century, London real estate agent Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) is sent to Transylvania to close a deal with the mysterious Count Dracula (Gary Oldman), who believes Harker's fiancée, Mina (Wynona Ryder), to be his lost love. Dracula quickly makes his way to England and begins to seduce Mina, while at the same time killing her friend Lucy (Sadie Frost) and transforming her into a vampire…

As well as their famous Frankenstein and Dracula series of films, Universal also shot a number of one-off horror titles during the height of their horror sucesses in the 1930s and 1940s, this set brings together five of those starring their unique and distinctive leading man, Bela Lugosi. In four of the films he is also joined by frequent screen sparring partner, Boris Karloff.
The films range from the original and exciting Invisible Ray (1936) to the missed opportunities of Horror/Gangster fusion in Black Friday (1940). The Edgar Allan Poe based stories range from decent Black Cat (1934) to the average Raven (1935) and the dull Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932).

At the request of Count Dracula (Jack Palance), solicitor Jonathan Harker (Murray Brown) visits Transylvania in order to help the count finalize a real estate purchase. While there, he's bewitched by a group of female vampires, and is lucky to escape the castle alive. Meanwhile, back in England, Harker's fiancée, Mina (Penelope Horner), is taken ill, and the attending doctor, Van Helsing (Nigel Davenport), traces the sickness to the recent arrival of the mysterious Dracula.