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He lives for corruption; this is sport for Meinster and he keeps score by the number souls he ruins, his boyish spit curl mocking the world of the living. (His mother's blood must have been a grand slam in his vampire world.) Meinster is almost a prequel to the mature Dracula; he's like Dracula Year One.


Gary drives a spike through the heart of BRIDES OF DRACULA! An excellent analysis. Meinster cares for neither of the sexes, just the power over ALL in the service of his hunger. This character is an evil that feeds on blood just as much as the consequences of the vampire's curse. No Larry Talbot here, he revels in being an unearthly creature and adhering to no one's rules but his own. In this light a gay subtext can certainly be attached to it but it's not the basis of the character's drive.

I think TIDES's thoughts on THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS and Polanski's more frank deplictions of gay and bisexual vampires rings quite true (genre once again being able to open doors on subjects a general audience tends to avoid). The fact the FEARLESS vampires actually enjoy a semblance of a group society (even an interest in remaining "civilized") in the film adds to the gay references while I believe BRIDES' Meinster operates completely as a souless creature unconcerned with civilization and society, only how best to use it to further his thirst and corruption.

Does anyone else think it does a disservice to Peel as an actor to suggest he brought a gay subtext to the role simply because he was gay? As Whale worked with Karloff to bring the "outsider" realities of the Frankenstein monster to such a vivid life that it transcended sexual context (and murderer, criminal, etc.) to become something greater and thus an honest examination of all who stand outside of the rigid barriers accepted or enforced in a society.
Sam F. Park