Director: Peter Sasdy
Year: 1970
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Trying to party around their village, a group of thrill-seekers finds that the latest addition to their social circle has plans for them to resurrect Count Dracula, and when their efforts indeed raise him, he sets out for revenge against their daughters, forcing them to stop his plans.
Review:
For the most part, this one here was quite the impressive and truly enjoyable entry in the franchise. Much like the usual inclusions into the genre, this one really manages to work the Victorian era look and feel of these films into a strong and cogent whole that's quite immersive and enjoyable here. Focusing on the group here as much as it does makes the film half really swim in those typical Gothic tropes of them wandering through the different forms of entertainment, which makes for a strong enough tone before going for the more stylistic choices being in the church where he's resurrected. Part of the usually elaborate and ornate decorations that are perfectly in keeping with this one's overall sense of grandeur while taking in the raging thunderstorm at the time generally featured in this style. The unnoticed resurrection that follows is quite fun and chilling, which makes for yet another great resurrection piece in the church that sets up the rather intriguing second half that plays like the fun traditional Hammer-style effort.
The revenge angle is quite fun as there's a lot to like here with his seduction scenes of the daughters in the castle as well as the mounting search for them as they've gone missing along the way, giving this part some rather enjoyable elements coming along into the remaining parts of the film, which has a lot to like here. There's some solid action with the best friend getting seduced and turned in the castle, their return to investigate the disappearances only to find the vampires there before getting attacked themselves, and the rather short but still fun brawl across the castle grounds in the finale that also manages to include the rather fun and enjoyable meltdown of the vampire at the very end.
Coupled with the nice amount of sleazy goings-on in the beginning, this here comes off rather nicely even though there's a minor but still troubling flaw that comes up here in that there's a rather flimsy and confusing manner of Dracula's death. It doesn't really make any sense what actually happened to cause him to perish, as it's supposedly based on the idea of him being struck by lightning and falling into the tomb, but even that is pure speculation and it doesn't really make any sense if that was the cause here to finally end him as it's been a tactic that isn't employed again and doesn't really offer up any reason why it should. Beyond this, though, there's not a whole lot about this one that holds it back.
Overview: ****/5
A highly underrated effort in the franchise, this is a really likable entry that gets unnecessarily overshadowed by some of the other entries that are more prominent in the community overall. Give this a shot if you're a fan of this era of genre fare, enjoyed the other entries in the series, or are fans of the creative crew, while most others out there should heed caution.
Comments
Post a Comment