1970s Monster Mash
Horror Marathon 2024 Day 2 Films 3-5 - Trashy B-Movies!
Scars of Dracula
1970 Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Christopher Lee is reborn as Dracula in the first moments of the film- blood spewing from a cheezily fake bat is a standout image. As it's a Hammer production the large gothic sets loom over what is a haphazard story. Villagers are able to burn Dracula's den, but find that bats have killed all of the women in their local church in gruesome display. The cheezy violence continues with Dracula killing off one of his brides with knives for falling in love with a dashing young man.
Others try to find this man, and Dracula instantly hypnotizes the female companion- Other Dracula tropes come in play as Dracula's servant becomes enamored with the woman and tries to help the couple escape. Lee plays Dracula with ferocious blood shot eyes- with more silly sleaze where a bat rips a cross off a woman's chest and the focus of the blood smeared bosom. The finale has a nice image of Dracula catching a metal spear just before it impales him, only to be struck by lightning and going up in flames. It's a ham-fisted attempt at Dracula- watch for b-movie special effects and silly moments.
Blackenstein
1973 Directed by William A. Levey
The setup is alright - with 1950s scifi aesthetic and a small mention of losing his limbs to blind patriotism- I hoped for a blaxploitation take on the Vietnam War or something to include the 50s cheeze with 70s funk. Instead the narrative quickly devolves into dimly lit locations and a lagging monster with lackluster that doesn't inspire much fear. There's nothing here to really take the film in a different direction, and inevitably it fails to deliver on any social or horrific metric. To compare, Blacula cultivated a new tragic beginning to the famous vampire- while retaining a funk driven soundtrack.
Zolton... Hound of Dracula (AKA Dracula's Dog)
1977 Directed by Albert Band
It's 1AM and I'm expecting something super silly for the night. The setup: A military bombardment unearths the eternal rest of Dracula's tomb- along with his family remains is that of his dog and thrall servant. The dog "Zoltan" is expected to help find one of the surviving human members of Dracula's bloodline. Once they find the family Zolton is able to start to bite other dogs and create a pack of vampires.
One of the more horrific scenes is a particularly violent dog attack, but most of the film meanders showing the inspector from the old country coming to tell the modern Dracula family what is hunting them. The thrall that commands the dog has an eerie presence, even with some of the synth soundtrack breaking the suspense.
It’s not as cheezy as I’d like- but certainly the setup is silly. It has some decent horror atmosphere and a lingering evil ending. The UK’s bombastic title is better than simply “Dracula’s Dog.”