Why You Should Watch: Netflix’s Castlevania
Who else remembers Castlevania? The horror-adventure platformer as old as gaming itself that reincarnated seemingly every time a new console came out. Maybe you played the original NES version back in the 80’s or tried it on one of the dozens of other iterations since? Well that game was made into a show by Netflix and it is without doubt one of their best offerings in recent memory. Deputing in 2017, Castlevania managed something often attempted but rarely managed; a good video game adaptation. The show accomplished this minor miracle by striving to maintain the essence of the games while also ensuring its story was well fleshed out and satisfying in its own right.
As a game, Castlevania was all about the ambiance. The gothic horror setting was front and center, all dark castles and foreboding dungeons with characters dressed in Victorian era outfits speaking in dramatic soliloquies. This combined with the stark violence and gore to make a unique experience which was unlike anything else, especially during its earliest days. The creators of the Castlevania television series made the wise decision to steer into the skid on this, laying on the pedal until it melds with the floorboards. Everything about the series bleeds style. The anime style is a perfect medium to portray the kinetic and brutal action that is so integral to the series, yet also allows for beautiful rendering of the horrifying monsters and eerie locations. Even for non-anime fans, it is worth a look just to see the artistry they have been able to accomplish with this series. Whoever made the call to use Powerhouse Animation Studios deserves to win all the awards forever.
But the show is so much more than a flashy showcase. The writing is absolutely to die for. Throughout its history, the games weaved a wonderfully dramatic history with a complex internal lore which evolved and changed over decades. The series managed to cut a streamlined story out of that wealth of source material, focusing on the return of Dracula and his conflict with the series’ three major protagonists, one of whom is his own half-human son. This plays no small part in the series success as Dracula, expertly voiced by veteran actor Graham McTarvish, is a showstopping standout villain, up there with some of the greats. But make no mistake, these characters are, without exception, fantastic. The heroes are witty without being grating, endearing without slipping into trite character beats, playing off villains that are genuinely menacing and present a tangible sense of competence. Every major character is blessed with a remarkable amount of personality, drive and agency, creating a narrative that feels untethered by plot contrivances or weighed down by uninspired archetypes.
The main series ended after four seasons in 2021. Thankfully, unlike so many other recent shows, the creators of Castelvania had the foresight and self-control to end the story once it had run its natural course. The result is a series which never loses its way or tries to be something it’s not. It maintains course, delivering its gruesome plot and maintaining its fantastic characterisation without compromise all the way through to the end. Fortunately for fans, due to the success of the series, a spinoff was released this year following the descendents of the main characters. Castelvania Nocturne tells its own story, yet maintains the same dark yet engaging style, fantastic character work and beautiful animation as its predecessor. Having spawned two successful Castlevania series, Netflix has done something noteworthy by injecting life into a dying genre. For that, I applaud them.
Vampires used to be terrifying. Once upon a time, vampires were one of the premier fantasy antagonists, terrorizing the pages of gothic horror novels and the silver screen. Unfortunately, due to overexposure and severe watering down in modern media, they have mostly been reduced to playing love interests or generic movie monsters. Most audiences have tired of the vampire trope and have relegated them to the bargain bin alongside other overplayed icons of the genre like zombies and kaiju. But Castlevania proves that even though vampires might never reach their rightful place as the apex predators of the horror food chain again, they still have some fight left in them. If vampires can’t be terrifying, at least they can be awesome.
