even though i consider myself a classic horror fan ( and a fan of the classic universal horror movie in particular ) and i readily admit that dracula ( 1931 ) be not among my favorite . in fact and i prefer almost all of the dracula sequel to the original . and and i consider son of dracula the best of the bunch . why . i be prepare to write about three area in son of dracula that work almost perfectly for me represent the atmosphere and the mix of genre or style and and the cast . atmosphere son of dracula positively drip with atmosphere . the misty swamp and the expertly lit interior and the luscious set and the eerie music and and robert siodmak direction all contribute to the richness and underlying sense of taboo and dread . one scene that perfectly demonstrate the film atmosphere be the rise of dracula from the swamp . the coffin rise from the swamp floor and a vaporous mist come forth eventually change into dracula solid form and he glide effortlessly across the swamp to meet his mortal love and future wife man and you could bath in the atmosphere . mix of genre or style throughout it history and horror have often be combine with other genre or style of movie . most obvious be the great number of horror or comedy or horror or sci fi film you can find . sometimes and horror be mixed in more unusual way . for example and there be horror or western and even horror or romance film . son of dracula be one of the very few movie that i would call a horror or film noir ( i know that film noir isn not necessarily a genre and but humor me here ) . all the film noir trapping be here . to begin with and son of dracula have that look generally associate with film noir . just take a look at the use of shadow and you will see what i mean . but a good example be kay caldwell a the femme fatal and dracula and of all people and a her dupe . the way kay use dracula to do what she want would have make even phyllis dietrichson proud . kay use dracula to kill her father so she can get the estate and then trick him into marriage to gain immortality . finish with dracula and he become disposable . she turn to old flame frank stanley to help her destroy dracula . in the end and all three kay and dracula and and frank be either dead or damage beyond repair . take away the supernatural element of the story and you have get a typical 1940s film noir . the cast a lot of people tend to focus on lon chaney and jr. and suitability for the role of dracula . the criticism be almost always relate to chaney physical appearance . i be convince that some of these people can not get past his size long enough to take a look at his performance . and i have always think of it a a rock solid performance . equally mysterious be louise allbritton in role of the manipulative kay . she fantastic a she wind both dracula and frank around her finger . a for robert paige a the doomed frank and he perfect . he play the tragic figure so well . beyond these three and the film also feature solid support performance from evelyn ankers and j. edward bromberg and and frank craven . all be terrific . everyone involve in the cast really come out of son of dracula look good . in the end and i do not hesitate to rate son of dracula a positive . other than some minor quibble i have with how quickly dr. brewster come to believe in and accept that dracula be in their presence and the film be near flawless to me . and it get well with each successive viewing . watch tonight and i realize i be enjoy it even more now than ever before . it a great movie .