Transylvania
The spooky setting of this tale is the wooded darkness of Transylvania. The eerie setting is well described, visually speaking, and the ominous tone of Jonathan's visit is doubled by the imagery of the setting, because the woods provide cover and darkness that could bode ill for him, because he cannot see clearly to ensure whether he is safe or not.
Reverse anthropomorphism
The imagery of anthropomorphism is clear—when things look humanoid or behave in human ways, there is anthropomorphism. This story does the opposite, describing humans like animals. Jonathan sees that the man at the castle has a ratty appearance, and Mr. Renfield bites a cow during a mental breakdown. The animalistic depictions of people are reminders to him of death, because animal instinct is oriented around survival.
Death imagery
Obviously, this story of the undead is not devoid of death. There is death imagery throughout the movie, darkening the tone to horror. The presence of death is teased by coffins, by bats, by creepy figures in the dark, and by injury and suffering, which are animal reminders to Jonathan of his concerning mortality. When the epic underworld spits out Dracula as Jonathan's foe, the death imagery is complete.
The imagery of the underworld
When the undead Dracula is harassing, there is no doubting the underworld is active and evident. There are depictions of occult behaviors, like the killing of a vampire with a stake through the heart (which is folkloric). Then, there is his delusional episodes, injured and unassisted from his attempted escape which left him badly injured, deliriously ranting about death and the grave. He is clearly experiencing reality through the lens of agony. In other words, he is in hell.
