Count Dracula
The vampire that moves to Wismar. His motivation is mainly based on his attraction to Lucy, Jonathan's wife. He is portrayed by Klaus Kinski and is depicted as an old man that has lost his humanity both on the inside and the outside. Similarly to the original vampire story, he sleeps in coffins, can be killed by a stake or sunlight and is feeding on human blood. He finds his demise through the actions of Lucy Harker, who sacrifices herself to distract him from the dawn.
Lucy Harker
The wife of Jonathan Harker and a true beauty. She is portrayed by Isabelle Adjani and is portrayed as a beautiful and young woman. However, in contrast to the original story, Lucy is less naive and after her husband has been hospitalized she takes it on herself to solve the issue of the mysterious plague. She is the one that discovers the counts dark secret and after being laughed at by the other townspeople decides to kill him herself. She dies at the end of the movie.
Jonathan Harker
The first character to come in contact with the vampire. He is a real estate agent that travels to Romania to sell a house in Wismar to a wealthy count. Once there, he discovers pretty fast that the count is more than just a creepy human. The count locks him in the castle, which forces him to escape through a makeshift rope through a window. He falls and is seriously injured and placed in hospital. For a longer part of the movie he is in hospital and not part of the action. He returns later, but cannot remember his former life and is delirious. After the count has been killed by the actions of Lucy, he awakes from his state and turns out to be a vampire himself. Him riding a horse and muttering an ominous line is the last scene of the movie.
Renfield
Renfield is the employer of Jonathan Harker and sends him to Transylvania. He is the first to succumb to the influence of the count and goes crazy. He bites a cow and gets admitted to the asylum. His role in the movie is marginal after these initial scenes.
Abraham van Helsing
The important character is a doctor in this version of the story. He is one of the first on the scene when the ghost ship arrives and investigates the reason for the death of the sailors. He is the first to become suspicious of the perceived plague. In the end he is too late to save Lucy, but makes sure that Dracula is dead by driving a stake through the heart. He is then accused of murder by the turned Jonathan and brought to jail.
