The fifth installment into the Dracula series from the Hammer studios, Scars of Dracula. Now we are talking, this film was Rated R and we are talking some real hard core violence in this film. You thought the prior films could be scary, you haven't seen anything yet with this Dracula. Christopher Lee returns and has a lot more screen time and lines and looks more chilling than ever. I think he had to enjoy this role a little more than the sequels, at least he seemed to have a more horrifying presence than the previous sequels. There's more blood, more sex and more bats on strings. Yeah, that's the big flaw with the film, the story isn't as strong and for a series that was pretty popular, you'd think that they could afford better special effects than bats on a string! I digress; despite the flaws, I think this was the scarier sequel from the previous films. Flaws aside, Dracula is biting, stabbing, impaling and burning his victims this time and he is out for blood.
Local villagers, enraged that yet another young woman has been murdered by the Count, rise up and set fire to Castle Dracula. However, the Count is safely asleep in a solid stone crypt. Falsely accused of rape by the spurned burgomasters' daughter, libertine Paul Carlson flees the Kleinenberg authorities by jumping into a nearby coach. He is deposited near Count Dracula's mountaintop castle. Initially he is welcomed by the Count and a beautiful woman. Paul later has a liaison with the woman who concludes their lovemaking by trying to bite his neck. Dracula enters and, casually throwing off Paul's efforts to stop him, savagely stabs the woman to death. Trapped in a room high in the castle, Paul uses a line to climb down to a lower window but the line is withdrawn and he is trapped in a dark doorless room. Paul's brother Simon and Paul's fiancée Sarah Framsen come searching for him. Dracula has immediate designs on the lovely Sarah, but Klove, who has fallen in love with the young woman, helps the young couple escape. But Dracula never gives up so easily and is determined to get Sarah.
The flaws with the film besides the bats was the characters. They're just a bit more bland this time except for Paul who sadly leaves the film early. Speaking of Paul, isn't it weird how many times there has been a character named Paul in this series? Did Hammer have a thing for the name Paul? Moving on, also there's a moment where a bat attacks a priest killing him, the priest doesn't fight back at all which was unbelievable. Then Dracula commands one of the bats to take the cross of Sarah's neck well, not so much her neck as her massive heaving cleavage that the camera manages to zoom into every five seconds, but again she doesn't fight back as more she stands there and just screams. I think she wanted Dracula to bite her, she just had to show a little resistance since she plays so defenseless. And just Dracula's luck, he grabs a metal pole during a thunder storm and gets hit by lightening! You know there's something I've learned from this series, Dracula is a very bad shot. Every movie, he throws something at someone during a fight and always misses, he's about to throw the metal pole at Simon and lightening strikes him, I think it's God's way of telling him "Oh, give it up, man! You're a bad shot!" Anyways, back onto the film, is it worth the watch? I think so, despite it's flaws, this was a lot more gory and had some really good scares. The scene where Dracula burns his servant Klove is genuinely terrifying. Dracula knows what he wants and will do anything to get it and if you mess with him prepare to take on some severe punishment, because if you come at him with fists, he'll come at you with a bat, you come at him with a bat, he'll come at you with the fangs and if you bring a stake, I suggest you make sure he's dead because he'll never stop until he's drained you of every last drop of blood in your body. I know, because I've watched all the sequels.
6/10
Local villagers, enraged that yet another young woman has been murdered by the Count, rise up and set fire to Castle Dracula. However, the Count is safely asleep in a solid stone crypt. Falsely accused of rape by the spurned burgomasters' daughter, libertine Paul Carlson flees the Kleinenberg authorities by jumping into a nearby coach. He is deposited near Count Dracula's mountaintop castle. Initially he is welcomed by the Count and a beautiful woman. Paul later has a liaison with the woman who concludes their lovemaking by trying to bite his neck. Dracula enters and, casually throwing off Paul's efforts to stop him, savagely stabs the woman to death. Trapped in a room high in the castle, Paul uses a line to climb down to a lower window but the line is withdrawn and he is trapped in a dark doorless room. Paul's brother Simon and Paul's fiancée Sarah Framsen come searching for him. Dracula has immediate designs on the lovely Sarah, but Klove, who has fallen in love with the young woman, helps the young couple escape. But Dracula never gives up so easily and is determined to get Sarah.
The flaws with the film besides the bats was the characters. They're just a bit more bland this time except for Paul who sadly leaves the film early. Speaking of Paul, isn't it weird how many times there has been a character named Paul in this series? Did Hammer have a thing for the name Paul? Moving on, also there's a moment where a bat attacks a priest killing him, the priest doesn't fight back at all which was unbelievable. Then Dracula commands one of the bats to take the cross of Sarah's neck well, not so much her neck as her massive heaving cleavage that the camera manages to zoom into every five seconds, but again she doesn't fight back as more she stands there and just screams. I think she wanted Dracula to bite her, she just had to show a little resistance since she plays so defenseless. And just Dracula's luck, he grabs a metal pole during a thunder storm and gets hit by lightening! You know there's something I've learned from this series, Dracula is a very bad shot. Every movie, he throws something at someone during a fight and always misses, he's about to throw the metal pole at Simon and lightening strikes him, I think it's God's way of telling him "Oh, give it up, man! You're a bad shot!" Anyways, back onto the film, is it worth the watch? I think so, despite it's flaws, this was a lot more gory and had some really good scares. The scene where Dracula burns his servant Klove is genuinely terrifying. Dracula knows what he wants and will do anything to get it and if you mess with him prepare to take on some severe punishment, because if you come at him with fists, he'll come at you with a bat, you come at him with a bat, he'll come at you with the fangs and if you bring a stake, I suggest you make sure he's dead because he'll never stop until he's drained you of every last drop of blood in your body. I know, because I've watched all the sequels.
6/10