Movie Review: Scars of Dracula (1970)

Scars of Dracula (1970) directed by Roy Ward Baker

This late entry in the Hammer Dracula series starts with the local villagers burning the castle of Dracula (Christopher Lee) who has sucked the blood out of one of their daughters. The fire ruins most of the castle but fails to kill the vampire. Years later, Simon (Denis Waterman) is celebrating the birthday of Sarah (Jenny Hanley), his girlfriend. She's also infatuated with his younger brother Paul (Christopher Matthews), a Lothario who has to leave town because of a tryst with the burgomaster's daughter. He flees to a countryside town where the local innkeeper won't give him shelter. He heads to the local castle where he is hosted by Dracula, to his everlasting peril. Simon and Sarah search after Paul, leading into a conflict with Dracula (and those incompetent villagers).

The movie doesn't stint on gore or cleavage, typical Hammer offerings. Lee gets a lot of screen time, which helps, though his performance is less than in other Dracula films. The plot is a bit ramshackle, with some seemingly random killings and a slow investigation. Dracula commands a lot of bats which do some of the killing for him, especially a slaughter at the start. The fake bat unfortunately looks very fake (how does it hover in place?), and when a group of bats appears, they only fly through the scene one at a time, underlining the fakeness at the cost of terror. The ending is more satisfying with a dramatic and unexpected kill for the Count. Also, it's fun to see Patrick Troughton (the Second Doctor in Doctor Who) as Dracula's lackey.

Mildly recommended--this was just okay. Lee's other Dracula films are more satisfying.

Movie Reviews: Christopher Lee Sampler

After the Dracula smack-down, I thought I would check out some of Christopher Lee's other films that I haven't seen yet (so no reviews of LOTR or Star Wars prequels) and are available streaming (a bunch are on Kanopy) or in local libraries' DVD collections. These are mostly in the horror category, in chronological order...

Corridor of Mirrors (1948) directed by Terence Young

Christopher Lee's film debut has him in a minor role, so minor that he is not even mentioned in the opening credits. The film stars Eric Portman as Paul Mangin, an artist obsessed with the past. He is roguishly handsome and mysterious. He spots young socialite Mifanwy (Edana Romney) with her friends at a night club. They have an immediate attraction but he does not return to the club for several weeks. She's there every night hoping he'll be back. When he returns, they start a romance filled with strange behavior. Paul is a rich artist with a home full of art and the titular corridor. Behind the mirrors are clothing, mostly women's, some on mannequins. She enjoys dressing up and wearing his jewelry. He enjoys keeping her to himself. Their tale does not have a happy ending, as is often the case in gothic romantic horror.

The film is very atmospheric, with some amazing sets and costumes. Paul throws a Venetian Ball for Mifanwy and the filmmakers did not stint on the production. The story was just so-so with a not entirely plausible twist at the end. This movie wants to be like Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre but does not make that level of greatness. And Christopher Lee is barely in it, so I am not sure it's worth it for Lee fans to check this off their list.

Very mildly recommended.

The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) directed by Terence Fisher

In 1890s Paris, Dr. Georges Bonnet (Anton Diffring) is a popular sculptor and doctor in upper social circles. He's just unveiling his latest work at a party when a not so old flame, Janine du Bois (Hazel Court), shows up. Bonnet is romantically attached to his latest model Margo (Delphi Lawrence) but is ready to dump her for Janine. Janine is there with Dr. Pierre Gerard (Christopher Lee), a good surgeon himself. Bonnet shuts the party down early but not because he wants to put the moves (again) on Janine. No, he needs to drink a special elixir at a specific time. He starts to transform as Margo pops in, having not left because she is jealous of Janine. Bonnet horribly scars Margo by accident before he can drink the brew. He is restored to health while still being a bundle of nerves. He's been waiting for an old compatriot, Dr. Weiss (Arnold Marle) with whom he's shared a long history. Bonnet is really 104 years old in spite of looking in his mid-30s. They've been doing some surgeries to preserve his life. Weiss has had a stroke and can't perform the next surgery Bonnet needs. Bonnet thinks Gerard might help, if properly motivated.

The story moves at a good pace. The explanations comes slowly enough to keep viewers intrigued. The pace also lets the viewers think about the morality of the situation, something all the characters struggle with. The make-up for the horror bits looks like its from 60 plus years ago but the performances make up for it. Lee is good in a hero role, something he doesn't often get. The lavish technicolor Hammer production has good sets and costumes.

Recommended.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) directed by Terence Fisher

Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) is called to the remote moors of England to deal with a family curse. Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley) pursued and killed a woman centuries earlier and was himself killed, legend has it, by an immense, possibly supernatural, dog. The latest Lord Baskerville died mysteriously on the moors and now Sir Henry Baskerville (Christopher Lee) has returned from the continent to take up residence in the family home. The local doctor is concerned for him, calling for Holmes' aid. Holmes has business to wrap up in London but sends Doctor Watson (Andre Morell) with Sir Henry to deal with the situation.

This Hammer Studios production has the lavish, full-color approach of their horror films. Indeed, they even play up the horror elements of this most supernatural of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The film is a delightful adaptation. Cushing is great as Holmes, with the cunning intelligence and seeming aloofness needed. Lee gets to play a romantic lead (there is a local lady, daughter of a neighbor, who gets entangled with him) and does a fine job here. The mystery hardly strays from the novel's plot, but the plot is so good it's not a problem. A few little horror elements are added on though the actual hound is a bit underwhelming and doesn't get much screen time.

Recommended.

The City of the Dead (1960) directed by John Llewellyn Moxey

Young college student Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) is taking a class on witchcraft with teacher Allan Driscoll (Christopher Lee). She wants to do some field research for her term paper and he recommends Whitewood, an off-the-beaten-track town that has a history of witch burnings. Both her brother and her boyfriend object but she goes anyway. The town is fog-draped and has one church with only one clergyman who warns her off of the town. But the local inn's proprietor, Mrs. Newless (Patricia Jessel), says it's a bit of nonsense and Nan should stay. Well, Nan shouldn't have stayed. When she does not return to college after two weeks, her brother and her boyfriend start an investigation, which does lead to some witchcraft.

The atmospheric visuals are almost too much. This is the most gothic and most rundown 17th century village in New England. Even so, the movie provides some chilling moments, especially from the performers like Lee and Jessel. The narrative is a bit familiar and yet very enjoyable.

Recommended. 

The House That Dripped Blood (1971) directed by Peter Duffell

Horror movie star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) has disappeared after renting a house in the countryside that's an hour's drive from the studio. A Scotland Yard detective (John Bennett) is sent to the small town to investigate. The locals tell him four stories about the house to explain, if not the disappearance, at least why he should not investigate. In the first story, a horror writer (Denholm Elliott) wants to finish a new book and thinks the house has just the right atmosphere. His wife is willing to put up with it until the writer starts seeing his new killer around every corner of the house. Next, a retired businessman (Peter Cushing) wants to have a relaxing life after too much work, only to discover the local wax museum has an effigy of Salome (the one whose dancing got John the Baptist decapitated) that looks exactly like a woman he was in love with years ago. Finally, a father (Christopher Lee) rents the house with his young daughter. He shelters her very much, going so far as to hire a teacher (Nyree Dawn Porter) who tutors the girl. The teacher does not understand why the father is so restrictive, but there are very good reasons. Returning to the present, the movie star, who is also an expert in the occult, wants a more authentic costume for his latest production and gets a musty cape from a local antiques shop. The cape enhances his performance more than he wants, as the viewers quickly discover (at least, we get it long before he does). It leads to his disappearance, which the detective scoffs at until he goes to the house after hours.

The set of stories all work well, providing little chunks of horror leading to a final unhappy revelation for the detective. The writing, directing, and acting are all enjoyable, making this a fun Halloween chiller. It's a nice way to string together a bunch of horror shorts (written by Psycho scribe Robert Bloch), even if Lee is only in a quarter of the film. All the other leads do a great job as well, though some stories are more convincing than others. The final scene features the estate agent talking to the audience in a way that looks very dated today. Still, it's entertaining if you are in the right frame of mind.

Recommended.

Horror Express (1972) directed by Eugenio Martin

Christopher Lee stars as Alexander Saxton, a British anthropologist who makes a fantastic discovery in 1906 Manchuria. He calls it a fossil but it is clearly a frozen "missing link" in the evolutionary chain. He digs it out of a cave and crates it up to go back to Europe. At the train station, there's some trouble, including a thief who tries to rob the crate. The thief dies with his eyeballs turned completely white. A Russian monk declares the contents of the crate evil and rants for a bit before Saxton completely dismisses him. Saxton has met Doctor Wells (Peter Cushing) who has a more pragmatic style for dealing with the trouble at the train station--bribing trainmen and government officials to get what he wants. The two men are at first antagonists. On the train, things change when whatever was in the crate escapes and starts killing train passengers one by one.

The story moves along at a good pace though some parts seem a bit contrived or nonsensical. Some characters are thrown in just to be cannon fodder (or monster fodder) later in the movie. It's entertaining enough in a rainy Saturday afternoon way. The atmosphere is not too chilling and the soundtrack sounds like late 1960s/early 1970s.The actors are fun to watch.

Mildly recommended.

Gremlins 2: The Next Batch (1990) directed by Joe Dante

Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates) have moved to New York City after their hometown was almost overrun by gremlins in the first film. They work at Daniel Clamp's (John Glover) "smart building." He's a real estate and cable TV entrepreneur (so, Donald Trump plus Ted Turner) who is completely obsessed with his image. He wants to rebuild Chinatown into a high-tech mall but one store is holding out. Mr. Wing (Keye Luke), who owns Gizmo, refuses to sell his place but he dies off. Gizmo sneaks out and is caught by an employee of the genetics lab in the smart building. The lab, called "Splice of Life," is run by Dr. Catheter (Christopher Lee), an unscrupulous scientist who is experimenting on all sorts of animals in all sorts of way. The lab is naturally interested in the new creature. Billy discovers Gizmo there but not soon enough to get him out of the building before more gremlins spawn and they mutate into their green, slimy, and destructive selves. 

 The movie starts with an animated Warner Brothers logo with Bugs Bunny riding on it. Daffy Duck interrupts and wants his share of the spotlight, leading to typical Looney Tunes chaos for the first minute or two. The rest of the film follows in the same spirit--satirical comedy. Clamp's ego and ambition are made mockery of, as is his cable networks, including an archery channel and a first aid channel. This was satirical in 1990 but now it just looks normal. The gremlins get ahold of the genetics lab and drink a lot of weird elixirs, creating a bat-gremlin, a female gremlin, and an intellectual gremlin (voiced by Tony Randall). The social satire is very strong and features a lot of cameos, some breaking the fourth wall in creative ways. But it is also a product of its time--fewer and fewer people know who Leonard Maltin or Hulk Hogan are. Seeing the first film is not required (they repeat the basic information needed) but it helps with some of the jokes. The effects are a bit dated, especially scenes where Gizmo walks around. But the movie is entertaining if you are of a certain age and Lee gives a fine though minor performance.

Mildly recommended.

Dual/Duel Review: Christopher Lee's Draculas

 Dual/Duel reviews are an online smackdown between two books, movies, games, podcasts, etc. etc. that I think are interesting to compare, contrast, and comment on. For a list of other dual/duel reviews, go here.

I was amazed to discover that Christopher Lee played Count Dracula not only for the Hammer Studios horror films from the 1950s to the 1970s but also for an independent production in 1970 (in the middle of the Hammer run!). I will present these two performances of the iconic blood-sucker in chronological order, so the first Hammer film is, indeed, first.

Horror of Dracula (1958) directed by Terence Fisher

Known simply as "Dracula" in the United Kingdom, this Hammer Horror follow up to Curse of Frankenstein brings back Peter Cushing (here as Dr. Van Helsing) and Christopher Lee (here as Count Dracula). The story starts off seeming like a faithful adaptation of the novel with Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) going to Dracula's castle. But viewers quickly find out that he's there to kill Dracula. Harker reveals he is already working with Van Helsing. Harker is thrown a curve ball when a young woman (Valerie Gaunt) wants him to help her escape from the castle. He agrees and tries to comfort her only to find out she is also a vampire. Dracula saves him from the vampire woman though Harker is knocked out in the scuffle. Harker manages to survive to the next day but has slept through most of it. He finds the tomb where Dracula and the vampire woman are resting. Harker dispatches the woman after a lot of effort. He's too slow to finish off Dracula, who has risen at the (second) death cries of the woman. Dracula bites Harker. 

The scene then changes to Van Helsing showing up in the town Harker passed through. The local tavern keeper does not want to provide any help in finding Castle Dracula but the serving woman is more helpful, even passing on Harker's journal. Van Helsing arrives at Dracula's castle as a hearse is speeding away with a white coffin. Van Helsing discovers the newly vampiric Harker and stakes him through the heart. Then he returns to Harker's fiancee Lucy (Carol Marsh) who has taken ill and is living with her brother Arthur (Michael Gough) and his wife Mina (Melissa Stribling). Lucy then goes through the novel's story beats for her character (slowly succumbing to multiple Dracula bites, dying, rising as a vampire who stalks children), which puts Arthur on board with hunting down Dracula. Things get worse when Dracula starts attacking Mina. Arthur and Van Helsing struggle to find where Dracula is hiding during the day, eventually discovering his white coffin in Arthur's basement! Dracula takes Mina back to his castle where the final confrontation goes down.

The movie cleverly changes up a lot of the novel's plot elements to throw viewers off their expectations. But most parts (except Renfield--they only had 82 minutes) are in the story. Some bits are confusing--it's unclear if they ever went to England. I just assumed they did for Arthur and Mina's home, but then they are able to return to where Dracula's coffin was shipped in less than a day with no mention of sea voyaging (or even channel voyaging). On the other hand, Lee is very menacing as Dracula, even when he isn't given extra makeup with bloodshot eyes and blood-dribbling lips. He's a little stiff at the beginning when initially dealing with Harker, who he clearly does not suspect will cause trouble. Interestingly, all his dialogue is in this first sequence. After he leaves his castle, he has no lines, only a physical performance. Lee has the screen presence to dominate just like Dracula should. The Hammer style is in full flourish, with bright technicolor and women more scantily clad than in the Universal horror films.

Recommended.

Count Dracula (1970) directed by Jesus Franco 

This Spanish production starts with Jonathan Harker (Fred Williams) on a train to Transylvania where he has a nice chat with a fellow passenger, until the fellow passenger discovers that Harker is headed to Dracula's castle. They debark in a town where Harker spends the night at an inn. The people at the inn are all incredulous and stand-offish with Harker. The innkeeper's wife tries to warn off Harker, but he continues on anyway. He takes a coach to the Borgo Pass where he meets with Dracula's coach that takes him to the castle. The Count himself (Christopher Lee) opens the door and offers hospitality to Harker, who provides details on Dracula's purchase of an abandoned home in England. Harker asks why Dracula would leave his home. Dracula gives a long speech about his ancestors and their great warrior tradition, protecting their country from eastern invaders. But in his old age (he has grey hair and a grey mustache), the count has some wanderlust. Harker has a harrowing night of what seems like a dream--three vampire women want him but Dracula stops them by offering a local baby (the mom appeared in a previous scene at the castle gates begging for her child). Harker is his. In the morning, Harker wakes up to bite marks on his neck and no way of escape other than jumping from his window.

Harker wakes up in an English sanitarium run by Van Helsing (Herbert Lom) who is slowly nursing him back to health. The other inmate viewers meet is Renfield (Klaus Kinski), a weird case of a man obsessed with eating bugs and staring out the window at the building next door--the very abandoned home that Dracula purchased. Harker doesn't see it right away, so no one is warned. Harker's finacee Mina (Maria Rohm) and her best friend Lucy (Soledad Miranda) come to check on him and decide to stay at the sanatorium. Lucy goes through her story arc of being victimized by Dracula, dying, and victimizing local children. By this point, Van Helsing has an idea what's going on and gathers Lucy's fiance and Harker to fight Dracula.

Dracula eventually attacks Mina as he gets younger and younger each time he feeds. The men break into Dracula's house but he's already fled back to Transylvania. On paperwork left lying around the house, Van Helsing sees the route Dracula arranged. His return will take three weeks. Harker and the fiance can make it to the castle in one week. They go and dispatch the three vampire women. Then they bless Dracula's coffin so he can't use. The wait for Dracula to arrive is short. They are on the roof and send some large boulders down to disrupt the local escort for Dracula's box (it's still daylight). The men race down, open the box, and set Dracula on fire. He dies in the flames, ending the film.

While this is a more plot-accurate adaptation, it does have some flaws. The lighting and sets are very reminiscent of the 1970s. Kinski (who had his own Dracula performance almost a decade later in Nosferatu) is reliably kooky as Renfield, though he does not contribute anything to the story other than a bit of atmosphere. He never escapes or does anything other than menace Mina when she tries to see him. He is a bit wasted, especially since he had second-billing after Lee but is only a third- or fourth-tier character in the story. The movie also has a lot of shots where the camera pushes in on a performer's eyes, so much so that it would make a good drinking game for each time it shows up. The score is heavy-handed, a natural temptation for a horror film and overdone here. Lee is good as Dracula, more on that in a bit.

Mildly recommended.

Which is better?

Both plots move through their material at a good pace, with a bit more style being shown by the Hammer film. But the real interest is in Dracula himself. Lee achieves a dominating presence in both films, even though the first film doesn't let him use his sinister and smooth voice after the first third. Lee was reluctant to continue playing the vampire but was convinced that a lot of people would be put out of work if he did not continue the role. So he was more of a workman than a passionate player. He signed on for the Spanish production with the promise of a strictly faithful adaptation of the novel. He gives a very good performance here (that one speech is a lot of fun to watch) but the budget was curtailed during production and it shows. Lee is better in the Spanish film but the Hammer film is the one I would rather watch again. Also, his performance in the Hammer film is not much less than the later film.

Winner:

Loser:

Movie Review: Extraordinary Tales (2015)

Extraordinary Tales (2015) written and directed by Raul Garcia based on works by Edgar Allan Poe

This movie is an anthology collection of several stories by Edgar Allan Poe, rendered in stylistic animation. The tales are narrated by various horror icons, the two outstanding ones being Christopher Lee, who narrates "The Fall of the House of Usher," and Bela Lugosi, with a scratchy recording where he dramatizes "The Tell-Tale Heart." Each tale has its own visual style, again with "The Tell-Tale Heart" being outstanding with its stark black and white visuals inspired by Alberto Breccia's work. They still work as a set thanks to the visual sensibility of the director and to having the same composer.

The tales are strung together through a framing device of Poe visiting a graveyard in the form of a Raven and having a conversation with Death about his obsession with death and morality and his desire for his writings to be remembered. The device doesn't work so well and leaves the viewer hoping it will be over quickly to get back to the next story.

The tales' only other flaws are two. The computer animation sometimes looks too much like computer animation. Second, there's an implicit assumption that viewers are already familiar with Poe and his writings (otherwise, some of the Poe/Death dialogue is not very comprehensible). Definitely read the stories before watching. The stories are:

• The Fall of the House of Usher narrated by Christopher Lee
• The Tell-Tale Heart narrated by Bela Lugosi
• The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar narrated by Julian Sands
• The Pit and the Pendulum narrated by Guillermo del Toro
• The Masque of the Red Death narrated by no one, it's just visual storytelling!

The movie is interesting as an interpretation of Poe and is certainly worth hearing Lee and Lugosi do what they do so well.

Mildly recommended.

Parental recommendation: in addition to dealing with death and the macabre throughout, "The Masque of the Red Death" sequence is explicit but not overbearing with the sexuality of the debauched people celebrating while the outside world is dying from the plague. I'd recommend teens and up.