ASU film school director brings overlooked 1931 Spanish-language 'Dracula' to big screen
The Poitier Film School Deputy Director Peter Murrieta discusses the rarely screened 1931 Spanish-language "Dracula" film with horror film historian Justina Bonilla at Milagro Cinemas in Norwalk, California. Courtesy photo
“Soy Dracula” isn’t as famous a horror movie catchphrase as Bela Lugosi’s sinister introduction “I am Dracula.” But it should be.
“It’s wild that there is a Spanish-language version of ‘Dracula’ that’s even better than the English-language version that everyone loves, but virtually nobody knows about it,” said Peter Murrieta, deputy director of The Sidney Poitier New American Film School at ASU. “But I’m hoping to change that.”
Murrieta curated a community screening of the rarely exhibited film at Milagro Cinemas in Norwalk, California, where he introduced the film with journalist and horror film historian Justina Bonilla on June 18.
The screening drew a packed house, with two theaters at Milagro Cinemas completely sold out. Murrieta and Bonilla were greeted by an enthusiastic audience eager to rediscover a long-overlooked gem of cinema history.
Most film fans know Lugosi's 1931 horror classic, a film and lead performance that popularized the image of Count Dracula as a debonair aristocrat with slicked-back hair, wearing a tuxedo and opera cape. Less known is that when filming wrapped for the day, a second cast and crew used the same Universal sets to create an alternate version of the film written in Spanish and starring Latino and Spanish-speaking actors.
In the early days of talkies, subbing and dubbing films in other languages wasn’t common practice, and there was a short-lived effort by Hollywood to serve Spanish-speaking audiences. Still, while English-language “Dracula” became an enduring mainstream classic, Spanish-language “Dracula” fell into obscurity and has only recently begun to be popularly recognized as a seminal work of American cinema.
“This film shows how important non-English speaking audiences have always been to the industry,” Bonilla told the audience before the screening.
She explained that the Spanish-language version was created during a time when Latino characters were frequently portrayed through harmful stereotypes — but this film featured doctors, psychiatrists and aristocrats. Bonilla noted that the Spanish version is not only 30 minutes longer than the English version, but also “so much more technically advanced, and more care was given to this film.”
This film shows how important non-English speaking audiences have always been to the industry.
Justina BonillaHorror film journalist
Bonilla also discussed the differences in the lead performances, pointing out that while Helen Chandler’s portrayal remained stiff before and after Dracula’s bite, Lupita Tovar conveyed a clear transformation from innocence to seduction. Murrieta touched on the real-life love story that contributed to bringing the film to life: Tovar’s romance with talent agent and producer Paul Kohner, who helped the film get made.
Murrieta called the screening “an amazing event that shows ASU's commitment to serving the community we are part of, as our charter inspires us to do,” by bringing more underappreciated gems of Latino cinema to the big screen in Los Angeles and Southern California.
In April, Murrieta was recognized by the Imagen Foundation in its 2025 class of Influential Latinos in Media. The foundation seeks to empower, celebrate and inspire Latino creative voices in entertainment, and it was Murrieta’s second consecutive year receiving the distinction. Murrieta, also the recipient of the Imagen Foundation’s Norman Lear Writer’s Award, is a multiple Emmy Award winner known for series like Netflix’s "Mr. Iglesias" and Disney’s "Wizards of Waverly Place.”
“Part of my mission in teaching is to tell more stories and help elevate more storytellers that speak to underserved communities,” Murrieta said. “When I see packed screenings bringing together film students and the Southern California filmgoing community to celebrate Latino cinema, I see that dream coming true.”
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