Dracula's wrath is no small thing, as the city of Targoviste can attest. Blood pours from the sky; people scream; the archbishop--the camera lingering on his long, claw-like nails--is consumed by flames. Those were simply heralds, though. When the dark lord himself appears, he overtakes the screen, a living effigy of fire proclaiming Wallachia's doom. This land has wronged him, and every mortal will pay.
The Castlevania videogame franchise has been around for 31 years. Thirty-one. In that time, Konami has released 30 different titles that span more than a millenium, for all manner of game platforms—yet, while similar franchises have jumped to screens both big and small, we've never seen the beloved sidescrolling adventure game do so. Until now. Last weekend, Netflix released the first season of an anime-styled adaptation; the new Castlevania is Van Helsing meets Heavy Metal, loudly and wildly stylized and juvenile, excellent in its sharply crafted absurdity. And, knowing Netflix, it might be the future of videogame adaptations.
One Belmont Too ManyThe Netflix series, which may have started its life as an abandoned film script—itself drawn from the 1990 game Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse—tells a tale of vengeance in the Romanian region of Wallachia. After priests murder his human wife for supposed witchcraft, Dracula seeks retribution. It's historical fantasy turned dark and bloody as hell, rife with butchering monsters and indifferent, evil clergymen imposing a pseudo-fascistic order on their parishes.
Netflix
