Scars of Dracula [DVD]

Released at the end of 1970, Scars of Dracula is almost universally panned by critics, & has been singled out by Christopher Lee himself for attack.
Whilst i recognise that this film is a step down in quality from the previous sequels, i've previously found the film quite enjoyable. Watched in isolation, it's quite a watchable outing, but when viewed in close context to the other sequels it does come across as more of generic mish-mash of elements derived from all the other films.
The film falls down from the outset with a bodged continuity link to the previous film. For a start, it's a pretty average idea at best to have a large vampire bat come along & spit out some blood onto the altar where Dracula was destroyed, & thus re-animating the Count. Ok, it's a fairly weak idea, but i can accept it. The main gripe is though that the original event took place in a church in Victorian/Edwardian England, & yet after Dracula is re-born in this film, he's suddenly back in his own locale at Castle Dracula.
Lee gets a fair bit of dialogue, which is a plus point, & gets a chance to portray the Count in the courtly manner in which he appears in the early part of the original film, as Stoker had written the Count's initial appearance. On the downside, Lee's make-up job looks slightly perculiar, & even gives him a slightly effeminate look! However, he still plays the Count very well, & with a particularly dark & violent edge. Early in the film he viciously attacks a young woman with a knife before biting her, & whilst this is somewhat out of character, Lee manages to make it quite hair raising.
Klove returns as Dracula's manservant, this time played by Patrick Troughton. Though it would've been easy enough, & better for continuity, to call the character by another name, since Philip Latham's original Klove was killed in 'Dracula: Prince of Darkness'. Troughton does a fine job of his portrayal of Klove, who undergoes some particularly sadistic treatment at the hands of his master, including being burned with hot irons, but for me, this Klove doesn't have the creepy, sinister quality that Philip Latham's original has, However, that's hardly Troughton's fault, as the conception of his Klove is very different. He's a torturted soul who suffers greatly at the hands of his master, but is too fearful to leave the castle.
Once again, the production values are high. I particularly like the views of the castle when Paul (why are the young heroic/lover figures always called Paul in these Dracula movies?!) is trying to escape by shimmying down the Castle walls using tied together blankets, & similarly in another effective scene, there's another nod to Stoker's novel, Dracula himself is seen crawling spider-like along the walls of the castle. As for the other supporting characaters - Dennis Waterman is reasonable but nothing special in his performance as Simon, & similarly; Jenny Hanley, whilst she serves well as particularly busty eye candy, is only average in her performance as Sarah. Strangely, although by now Hammer was giving us bare buttocks, (in a genuinely funny comedic scene near the beginning) Dracula's sexual frisson is not especially evident. The focus in this film seems to be on Dracula being violent & sadistic, in spite of his earlier courtly manner. Whilst Lee makes a good job of this, it does however make the Count seem a little more one dimensional. There is quite a bit more violent content in this film, which includes a savage attack upon the local priest by a large number of bats who inflict severe, bloody damage to his face. And whilst all these things aren't as subtle as most of the previous sequels, it definitely gives the film more of an out & out horror feel.
Alas, there's another slightly dodgy ending to this movie. Simon tries to kill Dracula with a metal spear which impales the count to no effect, & when the Count pulls out the spear to throw back at Simon, a bolt of lightning strikes the spear causing it to turn red hot & sets Dracula on fire & he plummets ablaze to his death over the castle walls! So much for the 'religious conviction' of a few films ago!
But IMO, whilst this film does have several flaws, i think it's counterbalanced by a lot of good stuff, too. It is more of generic runaround, that in strange way, has some of the feel of a Hammer Frankenstein movie, (perhaps because Dracula is reduced to the level of a mere monster in some regards) but it's not slow paced or boring by any means, & works well enough on the level of pure entertainment. (Ralph should love it then, & that's his main criterion)
Perhaps the final deciding factor in it's favour is that it's the last of the Hammer Draculas that retain that genuine, classic gothic atmosphere that they did so well. After, this Hammer tried to update their Dracula franchise with a contemporary setting, & IMO, these last films to come were pretty dismal for the attempt to update the Count. But taking everything i've said about 'Scars of Dracula' into account, i award a score of 7/10.

Well, after several previous outings as the Count, Lee again resumes his role in this installment, 'The Scars of Dracula', the last of the 'Gothic' Dracula films in which he would star, if I'm correct.

Though a fairly lenient fan of the Dracula genre, I did find unforgivable problems with this picture - for one, I could never take the giant rubber bat seriously; secondly, the plot seemed almost spoof-like, and again lowered the tone, and thirdly, there were some appalling characters which didn't make the picture feel like a traditional Hammer horror at all - namely the stupid pair of Policemen.

On the up side, there's, of course, the fantastic Christopher Lee, who gets plenty of screen time, and plenty more lines than usual. His presence is stunning, although I found Dracula's death scene a little over-rated. Most of the actors are fairly good, and most of the settings are decent enough.

If you want a good Hammer horror with the legendary Mr.Lee as Dracula, I recommend any of this film's predacessors, and even Dracula AD 1972 - unfortunately, this one is one of my least favourites of the Dracula franchise starring Mr.Lee. Just one too many flaws for my liking.

But, either way, you can't go wrong with Christopher Lee!

Though not considered one of the best by Hammer fans, Scars of Dracula is still an enjoyable vampire film. It is dark and violent and at times twisted. Lee himself has said on more than one occasion that this was his least favorite in the series, because of the violent nature of the film, and the acts of torture his character was directed to perform. Yet, it is still very much the Hammer-style film, with luscious, colorful sets, ghothic atmoshere, and great performances by all the actors involved. And in a way, Lee's Dracula here is more frightening than some of his other incarnations, because of his twisted, satanic ways. He gives a feeling that Dracula could indeed originate from the lower regions of hell.

It would've been a better film with the reappearance of a Van Helsing type vampire hunter, like Cushing, or Andrew Keir (Dracula: Prince of Darkness), as the kill-scene is my least favorite of all the Lee/Dracula films. But the DVD itself is beautiful, the picture quality near perfect, the sound clear and crisp. And it is a well put together film.

The extras from Anchorbay, as usual, are far superior to anything anyone else (with the exception of Criterion, perhaps) includes with their DVDs. There's an audio commentary with Lee and director Roy Ward Baker. You get trailers, a poster gallery, and with the limited edition two disc set, you also get a neat and personal interview with Lee called "The Many Faces of Christopher Lee", and two totally cool music videos that Lee participated in. Anchorbay, as always, has treated the Hammer Horror fan with an exceptionally good product.