Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing given the monsters featured here, 28 Jun 2004
House of Dracula is a really weird film, as this sequel of sorts to House of Frankenstein features not only Count Dracula, but Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man as well. John Carradine plays a quite pedestrian Count Dracula, while Lon Chaney, Jr., plays the Wolf Man; Frankenstein's monster is played by Glenn Strange, but the monster plays only the most minor of roles in the story. The action takes place in Vasaria (wherever that is), where Dr. Franz Edelman (Onslow Stevens) is pursuing his own rather wacky scientific experiments, placing great hope on some new kind of spore he is growing in his private little hothouse. Both Count Dracula and Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man) come seeking his help; Talbot's wish to banish the Wolf Man manifestation from his life is understandable, but Dracula's reasons for seeking help are never made clear. In the course of trying to help these two special patients, Edelman runs into the body of Frankenstein's monster in a cave underneath his sanitarium (in a rather ho-hum fashion, no less). As you might expect, this association with three monsters turns out to be a bad thing, leaving Edelman in a pretty bad fix himself. It's somewhat difficult to take this movie seriously, but it does provide some wacky good fun in a campy sort of way. The only decent aspect of House of Dracula revolves around Larry Talbot, as he is finally freed from the curse of the werewolf. The appearance of Frankenstein's monster seems to be little more than an afterthought, and John Carradine is simply horrible as Count Dracula. This was the last of the Universal monster films in their original, horror-oriented sense. They would reappear as comic relief vehicles alongside Abbott and Costello, but when you get right down to it, the script writers of House of Dracula did what all those villagers never proved capable of doing - they killed (for good) not one classic monster but three.
|
|
|
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
universal's monster swansong and a very good one., 7 Mar 2007
there is a touch of sadness, that after many years of producing films with dracula, frankenstein's monster, the wolfman and the mummy, universal finally brought the curtain down on their famous monsters with "house of dracula."
happily though, the universal horror cycle finishes on a high; lon chaney jnr. returning for his fourth outing as larry talbot/the wolfman, takes centre stage by his desire to be finally rid of his affliction. he plays the part well. although i consider john carradine only adequate as dracula, i'm glad that he has more screentime here than before. i'm also happy to see lionel atwill again in a role that should have been expanded.
the only negative points i can think of, are as follows; onslow stevens as the kindly doctor turned mad scientist, isn't quite convincing enough(certainly not as effective as boris karloff in "house of frankenstein"), glenn strange as the frankenstein monster is merely added for the effect of "window dressing" and the film does feel slightly restricted with everything revolving around the film set of the hospital.
still, these are mere quibbles and can easily be forgotten. long may the legacy of the universal horror films live on.
|
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
The House of Dracula, 4 Sep 2001
Dracula seeks a cure from his undead existence from a Doctor who is also trying to cure Lawrence Talbot of his lycanthropy.Universal's multi-monster films are good value and, while this is not the best of the bunch, it has much to offer- not least the whole new mythology given to Count Dracula (or Baron Latos). Universal treats all its monsters with dignity and if the film doesn't quite thrill, it does give a good value run on the way.
|
|
|
|
With an Amazon.co.uk 
