Scars of Dracula (1970)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay)
Bram Stoker (characters)

Release Date:

23 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A young man, Paul Carlson, is on a trip and spends the night on count Dracula's castle. Needless to say...

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Brothers | Dracula | Blood | Dead Animal

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Dracula
Dennis Waterman	...	Simon Carlson
Jenny Hanley	...	Sarah Framsen
Christopher Matthews	...	Paul Carlson
Patrick Troughton	...	Klove
Michael Gwynn	...	The Priest
Michael Ripper	...	Landlord
Wendy Hamilton	...	Julie
Anouska Hempel	...	Tania
Delia Lindsay	...	Alice, burgomaster's daughter
Bob Todd	...	Burgomaster
Toke Townley	...	Elderly Waggoner
David Leland	...	First Policeman
Richard Durden	...	Second Policeman
Morris Bush	...	Farmer

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) (2007) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating: 2008) | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1971) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film and TV Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

EMI Films

Trivia:

Jenny Hanley was dubbed by Nikki Van der Zyl.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Burgomaster is banging on the bedroom door after chasing his daughter up the stairs, the entire wall - supposedly stone - shakes.

Quotes:

The Priest: I'll explain. You must give me time to prepare you for what we both have to do.
Simon Carlson: Both?
The Priest: Yes, both of us. Without my guidance you'd never survive the ordeal. Without your courage I could not even attempt it. But now there's nothing either of us can do until daybreak.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Midsomer Murders: A Tale of Two Hamlets (#6.4)" (2003)

Late nights on the blood, well just look at those eyes.

A bat drools blood on the smouldering corpse of its master to revive him from the dead, where Dracula causes terror to the locals and passing travellers. A young man Paul fleeing from the authorities, disappears when he drops by Dracula's castle. Soon his brother Simon and his finance Sarah have gone looking for him, where they encounter unwelcoming locals and learn that Paul has passed through to Dracula's castle.

Out of the Hammer Dracula films I've watched (which would be Horror of Dracula, Dracula - Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Taste the blood of Dracula and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires), this particular entry (the sixth) would have to be the weakest, but not entirely bad. What stands out is how sadistic it is in its nauseating actions and grisly make-up, where the red, red blood runs freely and the shocks are explicit. Also flesh and sexual activity is more fruitful. There's no denying this is one dark and mean-spirited Gothic film, held together by its scorchingly sombre atmosphere and some sensationally brooding set-pieces of striking suspense and images. These effective moments mainly derived from the original novel. Director Roy Ward Baker does a sound job, even though it can get patchy. However the main problem is that basic story and wilted script doesn't really build upon anything and it gets rather repetitive, senseless and creates drawn out feel. The ending is somewhat anti-climatic too. It's hard to escape the cheap look, as the sets are a mixture of cardboard structures, nice oil paintings as background features from the castle and plenty of rubber bats dangling from strings. While the woodlands surrounding the castle where forebodingly captured. The intrusive flair seems to be lurking there, but not with the same energy. Clocking in is a routine, frenzy music score. Christopher Lee seems to be going through the motions with a called in performance, but his presence features strongly to forgive that. The supporting cast are capable in their deliveries. Christopher Mathews, Dennis Waterman, and a stunning Jenny Hanley are likable in their parts. Patrick Troughton, Wendy Hamilton, Michael Ripper and Michael Gwynn also are terrific.

Bloody, nasty and dread-filled, but due to its languid pace it nothing more than a modest attempt.