美国国家公共电台 NPR--New horror comedy 'Renfield' is about Count Dracula's long-suffering servant

New horror comedy 'Renfield' is about Count Dracula's long-suffering servant

Transcript¹

The new vampire² comedy stars Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his servant. It's an update to the Renfield character, and an homage³ to the way he's been played in the past.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Every good villain⁴ needs an assistant - right? - somebody to carry out their evil plans. One of the biggest, baddest villains⁵ of all time, Bram Stoker's Dracula, has got Renfield, a sniveling wretch⁶ who does whatever the legendary⁷ vampire commands him to do. A new horror comedy film opened this weekend. It's called "Renfield," and this time, the assistant becomes the hero. Nicholas Hoult plays Renfield in modern day New Orleans as he tries to extricate⁸ himself from his very toxic⁹ relationship with his bad boss, played by Nicolas Cage.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "RENFIELD")

NICOLAS CAGE: (As Dracula) Renfield, bring me innocent victims. I want a handful of nuns¹⁰, a bus load of cheerleaders.

NICHOLAS HOULT: (As Renfield) And I just want a normal life again.

MART?NEZ: That's what we all want. Glen Weldon hosts NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and he's here to place this new film in context. Glen, thanks for being here.

GLEN WELDON, BYLINE¹¹: (Imitating Dracula) Ah, it's great to be here.

MART?NEZ: (Laughter) A perfect way to start. Now, OK, so they made this movie from the sidekick's point of view, which is one way to breathe some life into this old Dracula story, I mean, in theory anyway, right? I mean, that's the idea, I would imagine.

WELDON: Yeah. Yeah, it is an old story. And they do throw some nods into the OG 1931 "Dracula" film, in which Renfield was played by the great Dwight Frye. And that dude went big, so big that it still kind of defines how Renfield gets depicted¹² on screen. And if you know that 1931 film, there's this one shot of Renfield staring up at us from the hold of the ship that brought Dracula to England. He's staring up at us. He's grinning like a freak. And he is laughing in - well, let's just call it a very distinctive¹³ way. Here's a clip.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DRACULA")

DWIGHT FRYE: (As Renfield, laughter).

MART?NEZ: Yeah, that is a big slab¹⁴ of creep...

WELDON: Yeah.

MART?NEZ: ...That has been laid down there. Yeah.

WELDON: Yeah. And that performance is so big that it's set in stone the two things that - if you know anything about Renfield, here's the two things you know. One, he eats bugs¹⁵. And two, that laugh. And other actors who've played Renfield have just basically copied it. Here's a couple examples.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVE AT FIRST BITE")

ARTE JOHNSON: (As Renfield) If you're hungry, Master, we could ring for the night maid. (Laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT")

PETER MACNICOL: (As Renfield) Don't be afraid. (Laughter).

WELDON: That is Arte Johnson and Peter MacNicol in "Love At First Bite" and "Dracula: Dead And Loving It," respectively.

MART?NEZ: So OK. So in this new film, does Nicholas Hoult go big? I mean, does he do the laugh? Does he go for it?

WELDON: Yeah, well, he's playing a kind of depressed¹⁶, disillusioned¹⁷ version of Renfield. And when we meet him, he's kind of meek¹⁸ and buttoned up. But they do recreate scenes from the 1931 "Dracula" film, including that scene with Renfield in the ship laughing that Dwight Frye laugh. Now, I don't have the clip of that for you, but trust me, he brings it. He does it well. And he also eats plenty of bugs in this movie, like any good Renfield would, only in this movie, eating bugs gives him superpowers because it's 2023. And I guess that's how we're doing things now.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, people eat bugs these days. I mean, it's a delicacy¹⁹, from what I've been told. Now, when you and your panel of guests reviewed "Renfield" for Pop Culture Happy Hour, you all kind of came down kind of meh the film. Is that fair to say that it was kind of a universal decision, that it was a meh movie?

WELDON: Yeah. I mean, the movie is fine. It does What it says it's going to do on the box. It is pretty gory²⁰, which a lot of people want from a vampire film. And Cage is going full ham as Dracula, it may shock you to learn. But the best thing about it is that premise²¹, this toxic relationship between Renfield and Dracula. But in the end, we just get a lot of jokes about co-dependency. We don't get nearly enough time with Hoult and Cage sharing the screen because that relationship is what's interesting. And the film just doesn't seem to want to trust that.

MART?NEZ: All right. Glen Weldon hosts NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast.

Glen, thanks a lot.

WELDON: (Imitating Renfield laughter). My pleasure. (Imitating Renfield laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF FERNANDO GERMANI PERFORMANCE OF BACH'S "TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D MINOR, BWV565")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

3 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

4 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

5 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 extricate   

v.拯救，救出；解脱

参考例句：

• How can we extricate the firm from this trouble?我们该如何承救公司脱离困境呢？
• She found it impossible to extricate herself from the relationship.她发现不可能把自己从这种关系中解脱出来。

9 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

10 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

11 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

12 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

13 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

14 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

15 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

17 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

18 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

19 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

20 gory   

adj.流血的；残酷的

参考例句：

• I shuddered when I heard the gory details.我听到血淋淋的详情，战栗不已。
• The newspaper account of the accident gave all the gory details.报纸上报道了这次事故中所有骇人听闻的细节。

21 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。