Director: Lew Landers
Year: 1943
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire; Werewolf
Plot:
Believed to have finally been killed, the uncovering of a special tomb during the German Blitz on London brings a terrifying vampire back to life with his werewolf assistant, who set out to avenge his original staking years earlier, and forces the children of the original killers to stop his plans.
Review:
This was a more enjoyable effort than expected. Among the most enjoyable factors of this one is the incredibly enjoyable setup, which makes for a wholly entertaining Gothic horror feature. The main idea of the vampires working in conjunction with the werewolf as a hypnotic prisoner and forcing him to carry out his work when he returns offers the kind of intriguing elements necessary to expand the vampire lore within here. This comes along nicely in conjunction with the resurrection method including the original attack and uncovering in modern times which signals the return into the werewolf form to act as a servant once again while carrying out a kind of revenge rampage against the children of the person who killed him makes for a simplistic and overall fun setup to bring about the changeover into Gothic imagery due to this setup.
As expected, this setup brings about a slew of impressive aspects with the vampire action here, as when Lugosi is in full vampire mode, it's never a boring feat. The hypnotizing sequences showing him taking over the minds of the various subjects offer a nice start to his powers, as the aftereffects of his intentions involving the tell-tale signs of a vampire attack build the kind of ambiance and atmosphere associated with this kind of storyline. The frequent fog-drenched landscapes spread throughout are excellent examples and set up some great setpieces, as the early attack in the graveyard is very creepy, and a brawl with the werewolf against investigating police officers on the city streets offers a lot to like. The shadows are also great at generating suspense, with the sequences in the bedroom being the best, featuring his ethereal voice commanding unnatural activities to his possessed charge. Combined with the solid pace that keeps this one moving along, there’s a lot to like here.
There are only a few things wrong with this one, and they're not that bad. The main issue here is the fact that there’s very little reason for the film to bring together a vampire and a werewolf as the main villains, as none of these scenes have any kind of impact. With the werewolf essentially being nothing more than a spineless lackey that has no real point in the relationship who is ordered around and has nothing to do as the bride is also hypnotized to do his bidding as well, all of his presence is a wholly underwhelming time as hardly any of it matters and it doesn't need to even be a werewolf for the story to work. There’s also the fact that the vampire attacks are so obvious that no one really gets on board despite all the signs that are present, which they're all aware of, so it comes off as needless points to expand the running time. Thankfully, these don't really hurt the film all that much.
Overview: ***/5
A rather routine vampire film that's at times quite chilling, it rises above its limitations at times and becomes somewhat decent despite its series of flaws. Give it a shot if you’re a fan of these kinds of cheap genre fare, are a classic horror fan, or enjoy the creative crew, while those turned off by the issues on display might want to heed caution.
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