The supernatural comedy horror Renfield ends with a bloody, gruesome climax, wrapping things up quickly before the credits role. The film is a tight 93 minutes, and as mentioned in TV Overmind’s Renfield review, the ride is a wild one — blood spills, heads roll (literally), and eventually, good vanquishes evil. Once Nic Cage’s Dracula is finally destroyed, there’s not much for the titular hero to do before the movie’s over. So should you stick around, or is it safe to head to the car early and beat the crowds? (This is a joke — there won’t be crowds.)
Renfield Doesn’t Have A Post-Credits Scene
Renfield does not have a traditional post-credits scene at the end, nor is there a mid-credits scene — at least, not in the expected sense. If you were hoping Universal was planning a whole series with Renfield, that seems unlikely at this point — which may be why there wasn’t a post-credits teaser. With Universal Pictures releasing the decidedly more serious The Last Voyage of Demeter later this summer, chances are that any continued Dracula series will come out of that, not this silly Nic Cage and Nicholas Hoult vampire comedy. Having said that, audiences do still have a reason to stay seated until the lights go up.
The Renfield End Credits Celebrate Classic Universal Horror
The end credits for Renfield are highly stylized, combining the fun musical score by Marco Beltrami (Scream, Hellboy) with background visuals of essentially bonus footage. Some of this appears to be alternate takes or cut material, but other parts are harder to place; one shot seems to be Renfield and others doing a choreographed dance — perhaps from a cut musical number? It’s brief, so it’s difficult to really make out what’s happening.
Much easier to make out is the cool Easter egg to a classic Universal film during the end credits. In one shot of Cage’s hilarious character, he’s shown in a top hat and black suit, grinning menacingly at the camera to show off his shark-like pointed teeth. In addition to just being a fun moment, this is actually a recreation of a famous promo picture from Lon Chaney’s 1927 horror picture London After Midnight (pictured above). Although lesser known than Universal’s Dracula, London After Midnight also featured a vampire as the primary antagonist, and it’s clear that Cage’s makeup (especially the teeth) draws inspiration from it as much as Bela Lugosi’s iconic bloodsucker.
London After Midnight was a silent black-and-white mystery horror, and was directed by Todd Browning (who would go on to direct Dracula in 1931). The film was lost in the 1965 MGM vault fire, along with hundreds of other films. Because of the Lon Chaney connection, London After Midnight is highly sought after; in fact, it might be the most desirable lost silent film. Renfield director Chris McKay is clearly showing his hand here, and it’s a nice little homage for fans of early horror.
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