Mina Harker
GENRE
DRAMA GOTHIC HORROR SUSPENSE / THRILLER
Core Theme
EVIL REEMERGING, GOOD VERSUS EVIL
TIME PERIOD
Earlier 20th Century
COMPARABLE TITLES
BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, CRIMSON PEAK
CHARACTER LIST
MINA HARKER: BEAUTIFUL, PROPER, SAVAGE.
JONATHAN HARKER: DEVOTED, SECRETIVE, SMART, MINA’S HUSBAND
THEODOSIA SEWARD: ESOTERIC, OSTENTATIOUS, MINA’S FRIEND
QUINCEY HARKER: CUNNING, PRECOCIOUS, MINA’S TEENAGE SON
ARTHUR HOLMWOOD: MYSTERIOUS, OCCULTIST, MINA AND JONATHAN’S FRIEND
ABRAHAM VAN HELSING: DUTCH, OLD WORLD, SUPERSTITIOUS, MINA AND JONATHAN’S FRIEND
JACK SEWARD: MENTAL HEALTH DOCTOR, CURIOUS, FRIEND OF MINA AND JONATHAN
INSPECTOR HOSTETLER: LAW OFFICER, PRACTICAL, CONFIDANT OF JONATHAN
Logline
MINA HARKER is spiraling into menopause while nursing her son, QUINCEY, through a bout of influenza. She observes how he is transforming from a teenager into a young man. She is fearful that a new horror is emerging 20 years after the events placed into motion by Count Dracula.
Target Audiences
Age: 18-34,35-54,55+
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Exeter England, and the Carpathian Mountains.
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Kindle)
Year Published: November 27, 2018
Starting Description
Mina, on her morning walk, stops in a park to enjoy the morning when she is interrupted by an annoying visitor. A Murder of Crows gathers, and because Mina is irritated at her unwelcomed visitor, the Murder pecks the man to death. The event is recorded in Mina's diary, which we are reading.
Ending Description
Mina, youthfully restored, and exposing elongated canines, is set afire by a flamethrower. At the same time, Quincey, shrieking grief for his mother, transforms into a hideous bat-winged creature. The creature is decapitated, and its bat-faced head rolls to a stop, sizzling at his father's feet.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
No
ISBN
ISBN-13 : 978-1533004970
Mature Audience Themes
Extreme Violence
Plot - Other Elements
Twist,Philosophical Questions
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain,Internal Journey/Rebirth,Tragedy
Main Character Details
Name: Mina Harker
Age: Mid 40's
Gender: Female
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Modest,Charming,Sexy,Confident,Engaging,Faithful,Romantic
Additional Character Details
Name: Jonathan Harker
Age: Late 40's.
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Masculine,Modest,Complex,Religious,Secretive,Educated
Additional Character Details
Name: Thedosia Seward
Age: Middle aged.
Gender: Female
Role: emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aggressive,Charming,Outspoken,Visionary
Additional Character Details
Name: Inspector Klaas Hostetler
Age: 50's
Gender: Male
Role: logical
Key Traits: Masculine,Confident,Skillful,Educated
Development Pitch
Having had to drink the Count's blood, 20 years later, Mina Harker is growing younger as her son rapidly ages into a version of his true bloodline. It's a great follow-up story, a whatever-happened-to-these-people story, and why. This story would make an excellent contained film like "Crimson Peak" or a limited series like "AHS."
Genre
SUSPENSE, DRAMA
Brief
Mina is going through menopause when she begins having supernatural experiences. Mina and her son go missing and her husband, Jonathan, is concerned after her usual behavior. He enlist the help of Inspector Klaas Hostetler who is investigating some horrifying murders.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: GOOD
Characterization: GOOD
Commerciality: FAIR
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: FAIR
Premise: GOOD
Structure: GOOD
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
Yes, the book profile accurately reflects the book.
Draw of Story
The story is written as journal entries which is unique and gives ample opportunity to understand the characters inner voice.
Possible Drawbacks
The dialogue is very long winded. There are extensive descriptions of scenery that do not contribute to the plot. It is written in an older style which makes for a more complex read. The book is adhering to a style but the story can be simplified to make a more direct plot.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY RELIES A LITTLE BIT ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The hook is that Mina begins suffering from delusions she believes are related to Count Dracula. She disappears with her son and her husband is searching for them.
Fanbase Potential
This would not have a large fanbase as a psychological drama. It is a period drama that's gruesome and intriguing. It would appeal to an adult audience, however, making for a smaller demographic.
Awards Potential
This could have awards potential because it is a intense view of the psyche of a woman. She is experiencing changes in her body and in her mind. It's also exposes the ideology surrounding woman at the time and the lack of help for mental issues.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, CARNIVAL ROW, ROAD TO PERDITION
What’s New About the Story
The story is original because it is told through many journal entries. The elements of the story are not very original. It could be made more unique if had more of the story told from Mina's perspective.
Lead Characters
The lead characters do not stand out much. They are a product of there time and act and think accordingly.
Uniqueness of Story
This is a solid story. A period thriller drama is generally entertaining and this has been done well. There is the mental unraveling from Mina to the intrigue of "who done it" as the Inspector tries to solve the other murders.
Possible Formats
Film - Studio, Film - Streaming, Film - Indie, TV Series - Limited Run / Mini-Series, TV Series - Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
CONSIDER
Justification
This story is a consider because the book is hard to decipher. It is thickly worded with a lot of unnecessary language. There is an interesting story, particularly what happens to Mina and how she takes her son away from home. The other murders are pretty gruesome and would appeal to horror genre fans.
Brief
Twenty years after surviving a fateful encounter with Count Dracula, a woman finds that the evil is emerging anew.
What We Liked
The premise is strong. Picking up the same characters from an iconic horror novel and penning a sequel in the same vein is incredibly ambitious, but it pays off well in this wonderful novel. It is very marketable.
Film: This is very broad in scope and is perfect for a feature film adaptation. The gothic motifs are quite cinematic and will play well in film format.
TV: Though this could possibly be developed into a successful short tv series, it is more suited for a big screen adaptation.
Key points: Borrows epochal characters & continues storyline; Universal themes; Popular genre; True to form of original source material; Stylistic
Synopsis
It has been twenty years since Mina Harker was forced to drink of the blood of Count Dracula. Now at middle age, she is going through the change of life and focused on her transformation as well as that of her young son, Quincey, as he progresses through puberty. Mina expresses her thoughts and recounts her actions in her diary. The story is presented from entries from diaries kept by Mina and her husband, Jonathan.
As Jonathan begins to notice Mina aging backwards, her movement to nocturnal habits and strange happenings around their village, he begins to suspect that Mina is transforming into an undead vampire.
A visit from their old friend, Arthur Holmwood, who practices the occult, fuels his suspicions. Mina has been sharing her dream diary with her dear friend, Theodosia Seward. Theodosia married physician, Jack Seward, after the death of his finance and Mina’s close friend, Lucy Westerna. Mina’s dreams and Theodosia possession by the spirit of Lucy, seems to confirm Jonathan’s fears. After suffering from her own mysterious affliction, Theodosia, no longer recognizable, succumbs to it.
Jonathan takes Mina and Quincey to Amsterdam to meet with Abraham Van Helsing, Jack’s mentor and the doctor who was able to destroy Lucy’s vampiric body and send her soul to Heaven. Van Helsing is grotesquely murdered after a visit with Mina and she and Quincey disappear. Jonathan, Jack and the Dutch Inspector Hostetler, who is investigating Van Helsing’s murder, set out to find Mina and Quincey. It is suspected that they have traveled to the Carpathian mountains to the origin place of Mina’s affliction. The men find Arthur along the way and he joins them. When they reach the ruins of Count Dracula’s castle, they find the frozen remains of a platoon of Russian soldiers. Upon examination of a diary kept by one of the soldiers, they realize that Mina has been slowly draining the men of their blood.
Surrounded by wolves in the forest, the men are confronted by Mina and Quincey who are now fully transformed into evil incarnate. In a battle with a powerful weapon procured from the dead Russians, Mina is beheaded and burned. Enraged by the death of his mother, Quincey transforms into a hideous bat winged monster only to suffer the same fate as Mina. Arthur also loses his life in the battle. With the horror behind them, the three surviving men emerge into the sun with plans to compile accounts together into an accurate depiction of the events that unfolded.