Scars of Dracula (1970)

GET YOUR DRACULA FIX WITH THIS SHOT IN THE NECK

LOTS OF FUN TO VIEW THIS ENJOYABLE FILM. GOOD STORY PLOT, GOOD CHARACTERS, NOT AS PREDICTABLE A PLOT AS ONE WOULD EXPECT. LEE IS MUCH BETTER HERE THAN ON SOME OTHER HAMMER DRAC FILMS. THE FAKE VAMPIRE BAT, WITH THAT HIGH PITCHED SQUEELING AND SQEAKING SOUNDS AND SOMETIMES DROOLING BLOOD FROM IT'S MOUTH, WERE WORTH MANY LAUGHS BECAUSE THE HIGH CAMP FEEL TO THOSE PUPPET VAMPIRE BATS DANGLING FROM STRINGS MADE ME BURST OUT LAUGHING AND THEN, EDITED IN BETWEEN THOSE VAMPIRE BAT CAMERA SHOTS WERE THE MORE SERIOUS ACTORS, DOING STRIAGHT SCENES. SCARS OF DRACULA SHOULD BE IN YOUR DVD HORROR COLLECTION.REALLY. August 12, 2008

SCARS OF DRACULA IS A GOOD FILM!!!

After reading most of the reviews I thought that I was just going to recieve an awful movie, but I'm surprised that yet . . . IT ACTAULLY TURNED OUT TO BE GOOD! So what if it had flaws, Hammer films were made on tight budgets and were all made in lightning speeds, so they didnt have time to fix everything. Anyway, I like this movie for five reasons.

1. The widescreen print is beautiful

2. Very good acting, yet Dracula talked a bit much

3. The actresses are pretty hot.

4. Cheap, but decent sets

5. Funny, Memorable Charachters.

Really, I dont know about you people that said it's a bad movie; if you don't like it, then don't go around commenting negative things about it so the people that actually want to buy this flick won't chnage their minds. July 11, 2008

The Count clocks on for another night on the treadmill

The budgets were hitting rock bottom and the formula getting tired by the time Hammer persuaded Christopher Lee to don the cape yet again for 1970's Scars of Dracula their second Dracula outing of the year after the superior Taste the Blood of Dracula. Not particularly bad though awfully overfamiliar, this has the feel of everyone clocking on to work at a treadmill as yet another unwary (and in this case accidental) traveller finds himself shunned by tight-lipped superstitious locals (well, Michael Ripper and a couple of extras) and soon regretting taking advantage of the Count's hospitality in the first half while in the second half his brother (a young and miscast Dennis Waterman) and romantic interest Jenny Hanley go through much of the same routine in the second as they go in search of him. There's an effectively nasty surprise waiting for the villagers in the church after their early attempt to burn the Count out of house and home and there's an engagingly matter of fact just-another-day-at-work sequence where Patrick Troughton's servant discards the remnants of one of his master's unwanted brides with a hacksaw and an acid bath but this is more notable for upping the violence than improving the quality.

Anchor Bay's Region 1 DVD offers an interesting package of extras - audio commentary by Christopher Lee, Roy Ward Baker and Marcus Hearn, stills and poster gallery, double-bill trailer for Scars of Dracula + The Horror of Frankenstein, and the UK theatrical trailer. Most copies also contain a second disc with a 50-minute documentary The Many Faces of Christopher Lee, produced for UK video in the early 90s, which has the star running through his favorite anecdotes. Be warned that this second disc also includes two very odd middle-of-the-road music videos... March 5, 2008

not the best, but good enough

After reading the other reviews, I really expected a really awful film, so I was pleasantly surprised that the film was not as bad as I expected. Several reviewers said that something was missing but couldn't say what. I can tell you. Peter Cushing. Or some other actor of the same ability. Let's face it. Even in a part that he did not really want to play, Christopher Lee is a giant talent. He towers over the rest of the cast and it is just not believable that this crew of very nice but remarkably ordinary people could bring down such a terrible monster. In fact, in the end they don't. The writers had to bring out a "deux ex machina" and Dracula is struck down by a bolt of lightening out of the heavens.
Actually, I bought this disc for the special features. These turned out, by themselves, to be worth the purchase price. There are two parts worth mentioning. First is the commentary by Christopher Lee and the director. this gives us several things one is a chance to listen to Christopher as himself. He comes across as a working actor who thoroughly enjoyed his work and had a considerable respect for the other actors. I don't know how many times he repeats about another actor, "He is a lovely man." To people not familiar with the reserve typical of the English of his generation, this may seem faint praise, but translated into American Idiom, it means "He was a joy to work with, and I loved every minute I spent with him." But even more than the glimpse of the actor, was the insight it gave into the workings of the Hammer Film Corporation and the way they made movies. To me, who had watched so many Hammer Films, but had no knowledge of the organization behind them, except that they were filmed in England, this is very interesting. One of the great joys of DVD viewing is the look we get into the nuts and bolts of movie making through the special features tracks.
In addition to the commentary, this set includes a separate disc where Mr. Lee gives a overview of his career. This is fascinating in that I had never realized that he has played in so many different kinds of parts. I am sorry though, that this was taped before his masterful performance as Saruman in Lord Of The Rings. I would have loved to hear his comments on that part.
On the whole, the disc is just what the makers of the movie intended- a simple, low budget, mildly entertaining, typical horror movie. They weren't aiming for a classic and they didn't get one. But I'd like to comment that given the choice of watching any of the Halloween sequels, any of the Friday the Thirteenth sequels, or any of the Lee as Dracula sequels, Dracula wins with me hands down. November 28, 2007

What a vampire should be

I'm giving a thumbs up to Scars of Dracula, a vampire bloodbath which many feel is one of the lesser Hammer films. The movie has its problems; the bat special effects are sad, and some scenes (like Paul in bed with the burgermeister's daughter, and Dracula's death scene) should have been edited down a bit. But the film succeeds in portraying what (I think) a vampire should be: a malevolent, sadistic beast, a demon from the Pit that mere humans, including Christians, are hard-pressed to deal with.

Christopher Lee puts on a superior performance as a vampire that is not sophisticated, not sympathetic, but an evil monster, and he has more screen time and dialogue in this film than in most Hammer Dracula films; he isn't just a sinister force in the background, we actually see Dracula doing the things you expect Dracula to do, like murdering and torturing people, climbing walls like a spider, and overpowering or outwitting the Christians who try to destroy him.

Patrick Troughton also gives a good performance as Dracula's servant. The protagonists aren't as interesting or as well acted as the villains, but they aren't distractingly bad, and the girls are pretty.

Definitely worth a look for horror fans. November 8, 2007

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