Impressions
A young woman is carried into town having been bitten by a vampire. This raises a mob to go and burn down Dracula's castle. When they return to their town, they find that all their women and children have been brutally slaughtered by bats. We then cut to Sarah's birthday! She and her lover Jonathan are curious as to the disappearance of Jonathan's brother. His brother is having a fling with the Burgomaster's daughter and gets run out of town. He ends up at Dracula's castle.
The opening with the bat was tacked on by the studio. This movie was always intended to reboot the series. The opening credit scene is reminiscent of the classic Universal Frankenstein scene of a man walking through the town with the dead child. Also, Simon has to climb down to Dracula's chamber using a rope, much like Jonathan had to do in the novel.
Our HeroJonathan is a law student who wants to marry Sarah, but has some competition in his brother. His devotion to his brother and Jessica is touching, but I wish we got a bit more beyond that. We could have cut most of Paul's plot to make more time for him, but he does have adequate screen time and doesn't do much with it.
The Mob Mentality
Paul is Jonathan's handsome womanizing brother. He is chased out of town and ends up in Dracula's castle. The main driving point of the movie is finding out what happened to him. He gets a great deal of screen time that doesn't make us care for him. I suppose we were supposed to sympathize with him, but all I know is that he hit on every woman he came across. Charming.
Sarah is the love interest who we're meant to care about because Jonathan and Paul do. The real reason is for gratuitous shots of her breasts. She has some charming scenes at her birthday, but they are undermined by her lack of identity. She is kind of engaged to Jonathan, but she seems ambivalent. We never get a reason for her refusal beyond that she finds Paul attractive for some reason. Then they go along like they're engaged for the rest of the movie.
The Mob is irrational and hurt over Dracula's slaughter of their women and children. There are some scenes where they are afraid, but the only effects we see are shouting matches and lying to strangers to get them out of town. The relationship between the village leader and the barmaid Julie could have been interesting.Unfortunately in an amazing display of ineptitude.
Klove has the most interesting story in this. He is Dracula's servant who becomes obsessed with Sarah's picture. Klove becomes so in love with her that he defies Dracula and helps the lovers escape. His feelings are torn the entire movie and you can see his struggle. There are similarities with Renfield, but with a more direct and personal connection to Dracula. The film would have been much more interesting if it centered on his struggle. Also, he's played by Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor in Doctor Who.
Dracula is a much more human embodiment of cruelty in this. He inflicts torture and callously murders any brides he creates. Christopher Lee is in fine form as the cool and suave count. With a much larger part, we get more of the gentleman with a seething monster within.Fine Atmosphere
The day for night is terrible, but the overall feel is similar to other Hammer Dracula movies. This one is a little lower budget, but it doesn't show that much. Bat attack scene is comically bad. That is a scene where they should have followed the less is more rule.
In the End
We get moments for both Klove and Jonathan which was really nice. In the end it is kind of a fluke that kills Dracula, but it is an interesting way for him to go. Unfortunately. Dracula's screams sound really bad.
Overall
This film does a lot right and a lot wrong. I loved Klove's story line and Dracula's very human cruelty. I didn't like the use of Sarah and I thought Paul's whole storyline was a waste of screen time. The mob scenes at the beginning are shocking. We could have used more of the priest and the town's reactions to their crisis. I think it could be re-cut to be way better, though it'd probably be an hour long. I do have to recommend it for fans of Dracula. 6/10
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| "Alright, no fooling around!" |
We start with Lawrence Van Helsing and Dracula fighting atop a carriage in what looks like the end of a much better movie. Dracula is staked and turns to ash. A man takes his ashes and scoops them into a vial. Jump Cut to 1972 and the swinging 70s music. Then to a groovy 70s party! The guy who took Dracula's ashes, Johnny Alucard, is at the party. After it breaks up he invites them to a Black Mass because those were the thing back then. Jessica Van Helsing stops in to exchange exposition with her grandfather before heading out again. At the black mass, Johnny summons Dracula and everyone just sits around while he slits his wrist and pours blood all over a girl. Then they run away leaving the sacrifice and she sits there crying. Dracula enters and drinks her blood.
So this cannot be a serious review. There is no way this was made seriously. The music is so badly over the top. One of Jessica's friends walks around in a Monk's habit. Some of the lines in this movie are "Come in for a bite" and "You better leave me alone man." It is so bad it's good.
Professor Lorrimer Van Helsing is played as the crazy old man. The funny thing is that Peter Cushing makes everyone he has a scene with look bad. He is still giving his all even with this crap. He deserved a better movie than this. Sometimes I don't know what Hammer was thinking. He and Chris Lee are great actors and they get this crappy movie.
Damsel in Distress
Jessica Van Helsing is our damsel in distress. That's right. Screw women's power! She has large breasts that can be exploited! Jessica has a sexy see-through nightdress that her wears at her grandfather's house. Awkward.
EVIL! Foes
Johnny Alucard is Dracula's minion who has an eternal life of drinking and partying Is it a thing to see a person turn to ash and then have to collect it into a test tube? Why is this normal in the Hammer universe? Johnny screaming "You'll never find her!"
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| Why'd I sign up for this? |
Dracula is just hilarious. Christopher Lee has some looks where he has to be thinking, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
Groovy Atmosphere
We sit through a whole concert of "Alligator Man". Dracula has 70s swagger music. After Van Helsing finds out his granddaughter has been captured we get loud 70s action music as he races to save her.
In the EndMore 70s music. Some chase scenes. Jessica in a low cut top. Oh and Dracula slips to his death.
Overall
It does get a little slow in the middle, but I have to recommend at least the first 20 minutes. It is so over the top seventies you cannot help, but laugh. It has to be a parody doesn't it?
4/10 Critically 7/10 Comically
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