Although portions of this Dracula entry revert back to the original novel by Bram Stoker, the rest of this Hammer production holds only marginal interest. Christopher Lee is once again featured in the titular role (the fourth time in one year he appeared as the Count), but the frightened lovers who have invaded Dracula's castle searching for a lost relative are brash and boring. Film opens with Dracula being resurrected by a vampire bat spitting blood; later, bats wreak bloody vengeance on a village after the men have set fire to Dracula's lair upon finding a dead maiden in the woods. Lee looks terrific in costume, of course, and he gets a fairly imaginative sendoff here. Still, nearly every scene without him is obvious and 'ominous', punctuated by James Bernard's incessant scary music and thunderous sound effects. Patrick Troughton gives a fine performance as Dracula's servant, there's a funny scene with a naked wench claiming she was 'interfered' with, and the picture looks handsome enough except for the rubbery bats. It's also very bloody. *1/2 from ****
Review of Scars of Dracula
