Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Full-Cast Audiobook (English-language production)
Audible Audiobook
Directed by Mary Lambert
Voice Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Ella Purnell, Aimee Lou Wood, Louis Partridge, David Jonsson, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Publisher: Audible Original
Release Date: October 1, 2026

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is brought to life once more in a new full-cast audiobook adaptation from Audible Original, starring Wicked’s Jonathan Bailey as the iconic title vampire and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Dr. Van Helsing, his arch-nemesis who hunts him.

Bram Stoker‘s Dracula is not only one of the most popular stories of our time, but its title character went on to become the world’s most famous fictional vampire. In his 1897 gothic horror novel, the Irish author introduced readers to what are now considered typical vampire tropes: a blood-sucking creature of the night with supernatural strength and the power to shapeshift, control animals, and manipulate minds — a seemingly undefeatable foe. But then there are the weaknesses, too, such as being averse to garlic, crucifixes, and sunlight (and that little bit about sleeping in coffins and wooden stakes to the heart), which the human characters slowly learn to use to their advantage. Stoker managed to tell a sensational tale filled with lust, possession, blasphemy, and a bizarre subplot unfolding in an insane asylum in a serious way through the letters and diary entries of the characters and the newspaper clippings they collected.

Though Count Dracula is certainly the draw of this story, its heart clearly lies with Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray, a young British schoolmistress who unwittingly becomes the vampire’s latest obsession. Mina is engaged to Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified solicitor sent by his employer to far-off Transylvania to facilitate some property transfers for the mysterious Count. After her betrothed sends her several uncharacteristically brief letters, Mina’s gut tells her that Jonathan might be in danger, so she searches for clues as to what could be happening. Meanwhile, her best friend Lucy is suddenly stricken by a strange, incurable malady, which rallies her suitors, who then send for the aid of the respected Dr. Van Helsing.

Audible’s new take on Dracula is not a straight narration of the original epistolary novel, but rather a new adaptation of the classic book from a script by Robyn Ahern, who won the Bisha K. Ali Screenwriters Fellowship in 2022. It features a full voice cast directed by Mary Lambert, who helmed the 1989 film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary and its 1992 sequel and was behind the lens for many of Madonna’s most popular and often controversial videos (“Like a Virgin” and “Like a Prayer,” to name a few.) So, from my perspective, the project was automatically elevated by Lambert’s involvement.

Ahern truncates the original material and interprets it in a way that’s easily digestible as an audio feature, but still captures the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Unlike the original novel, the audiobook bypasses Jonathan’s initial journal entries to begin in media res with Mina expressing her fears over Jonathan’s lengthy absence and the unsettling feeling of someone watching her. Ella Purnell, the breakout star of TV’s Fallout, perfectly projects the very essence of the intelligent Mina, who uses her wits and will to untangle her group from Dracula’s grasp.

The details of Jonathan’s first diary entries surface later on, when he finally recounts to Mina the details of his haunting journey to Transylvania and the torments he endured while captive in Dracula’s lair. Upon Jonathan’s arrival there, the elusive Count reveals small signs of his true nature. It’s during sequences like this that this new audiobook takes its cue from various film adaptations of Stoker’s masterpiece.

For instance, the audiobook includes the distinctively memorable line, “Listen to them, children of the night. What sweet music they make!”, altered slightly to borrow the word “sweet” from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film, giving it a more cinematic flair. While Gary Oldman’s delivery in Coppola’s blockbuster leaned more into the Transylvanian accent associated with the legendary vampire, Jonathan Bailey gives us a definitively British-sounding gentleman, but it’s no less chilling.

Adding to the chills is the audiobook’s masterful sound design. This is particularly effective during moments like the aforementioned “children of the night” scene as the vampire welcomes his newly hired British solicitor into his home high in the Carpathian Mountains. We hear the whistling mountain winds, groaning doors, and eerily creaking floors as the two move about the castle. Then, when the Count expresses his delight at hearing the wolves howling outside, we hear the beasts too, evoking the same unsettling feelings experienced by the terrified Jonathan.

Then there’s Ilan Eshkeri‘s original score, which adds yet another cinematic layer throughout. Though this audio-only remake doesn’t contain a full read-through of all the letters and diary entries from the novel, it does feature some of the more pertinent correspondences, so having a score softly punctuate the narration on these highlights their importance. The score becomes increasingly frantic throughout the story as Mina’s fears swell, from her worries for Jonathan’s safety through her efforts to stave off Dracula’s psychic advances, and it’s during these times that the music truly enhances the listening experience. Eshkeri’s compositions are most impactful during disturbing segments, like Jonathan’s harrowing escape attempts from the castle, the repeated vampire attacks on the weakened Lucy, and, of course, the final showdown between Dracula and his adversaries, led by the scholarly Dr. Van Helsing, a professor whose knowledge of folklore and the occult prepares Mina and her friends for battle against their undead assailant.

Speaking of the professor, for this audiobook, the bilingual polymath doctor-lawyer turned vampire hunter is gender-swapped, which doesn’t inherently weaken the character’s core strengths. Admittedly, though, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Van Helsing caught me off guard at first because her American accent stood out amongst the mostly British cast (VH is Dutch in the novel). Plus, when she first appeared, her soft cadence didn’t seem commanding enough for such a fierce leader; her sweet voice is more suited for lulling you to sleep or comforting you after a hard day. But this isn’t The Dark Knight star’s first foray into the world of Classic Monsters; she did direct this year’s The Bride, inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, so she does have cred. I’d guess that this voice role was a passion project for the actress, and she likely made the conscious choice to play Van Helsing as a calm academic at first, ramping up her performance for the final act, where her directions are crucial. I listened to the audiobook twice, and it didn’t take long for me to come to appreciate Gyllenhaal’s unique portrayal of Dr. Van Helsing.

Gyllenhaal, Bailey, and Purnell are the big names who lead the ensemble, while the rest of the cast is filled mainly with young talent, including Louis Partridge, who played Millie Bobby Brown’s love interest in Enola Holmes, as the beleaguered Jonathan; relative newcomer Francis Lovehall as Lucy’s chosen suitor Arthur Holmwood, whose recent inheritance funds the group’s fight against Dracula; and David Jonsson, Marvel’s new Black Panther in the MCU, as the methodical Dr. Seward, the head administrator at an insane asylum located next door to the Count’s English estate. Unbeknownst to Dr. Seward, one of his patients at the asylum, the insect-eating lunatic R.M. Renfield, happens to be Dracula’s faithful servant. Actor and musician Johnny Flynn, who stars as Lucius Malfoy in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series, is immensely entertaining and is a standout as the erudite and cunning, yet unhinged madman, whose devotion to the vampire is tied to his own desire to achieve immortality. Rounding out the main cast is veteran actress Lesley Manville, who skillfully conveys the fear of Lucy’s concerned mother, Mrs. Westenra, who’s unaware that the threat to her teenaged daughter’s safety is supernatural in nature. (Manville, by the way, already had a Dracula connection: She used to be married to Gary Oldman, who starred as the title vampire to great renown in Coppola’s popular film.)

As with some previous iterations of Dracula, this one axes the character of Quincey Morris, an American cowboy and another one of Lucy’s suitors who joins the group in the battle against Dracula. This deliberate omission not only means the vampire-hunting party is smaller, but also that other characters have to pick up Quincey’s slack and even suffer his ultimate fate. On the one hand, I can’t say I love that part, especially since it causes the other characters to make different decisions; on the other hand, I’m willing to overlook his exclusion since I’ve always found him to be the least interesting of the hunters.

Dracula is one of my favorite books of all time and over the years I have loved many of its various adaptations, even the campy ones, the silly ones, and the downright ludicrous ones. As a fan, I’ve come to learn that if every version of the story is an attempt at a line-by-line rendition, it can get boring pretty quick; sometimes a reimagining of classic literature can be thrilling and reinvigorating, and this new full-cast audio presentation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula sure was.

From the Publisher: For centuries, Dracula has evaded capture. Enter Mina Harker.

Audible presents Dracula, a brand-new, full-cast adaptation of Bram Stoker’s masterpiece starring Ella Purnell, Jonathan Bailey, Aimee Lou Wood, Louis Partridge, David Jonsson, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

When her fiancé vanishes in Transylvania, Mina pieces together letters, diary entries and chilling testimony to hunt the predator stalking those she loves: only to discover he’s already hunting her. Dracula lurks in shadow, slips into dreams, and casts no reflection. To nearly all, he defies detection: beyond what the eye can see, and what the mind can comprehend. When her closest friend Lucy succumbs to his thrall, the enigmatic Professor Van Helsing is summoned to wage war on this unfathomable threat. But it is Mina, her intellect, her resolve, her gift for drawing the unseen lines between clues, who holds the key to stopping this ancient killer. If he hasn’t already found his way inside her mind…

Starring Ella Purnell (Fallout) as Mina, Jonathan Bailey (Wicked) as Dracula, Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes) as Jonathan, David Jonsson (Industry) as Dr Seward, Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus) as Lucy, Johnny Flynn (Emma) as Renfield, Lesley Manville (The Phantom Thread) as Mrs. Westenra, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) as Professor Van Helsing, this is Bram Stoker’s groundbreaking epistolary novel, given a new lease of life.

Directed by Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary) featuring an original score by Ilan Eshkeri (Audible’s 1984, House of Guinness) and with full sound design, Audible’s Dracula invites you to feel the terror of being hunted. And the thrill of the hunt.

Note: this adaptation contains scenes that some may find uncomfortable. Listener discretion is advised.

Available in Dolby Atmos.

Preview

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Temporary streaming access to the product was provided to Geeks Of Doom by the publisher for consideration. The publisher did not pay for this review, and the publisher had no influence over the reviewer’s opinions or the content of the review.