Displaying items by tag: Roy Ward Baker

SCARS OF DRACULA

UK, 1970, 95 minutes, Colour.

Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews, Patrick Troughton, Michael Gwynn, Michael Ripper.

Directed by Roy Ward Baker.

Scars of Dracula is one of the least persuasive of Christopher Lee’s Dracula films. And there were many. From the 1950s through the 1960s and several in the 1970s, even Taste the Blood Dracula released in the same year as this one.

One can say that Christopher Lee would do the role of Dracula in his sleep – and, in fact, in the early sequences of this film he is asleep (and another is seen later). His presence is somewhat iconic (and remembering that he was in his late 40s and The Lord of the Rings was 30 years in the future). He stands, gazes, bloodshot eyes, moves slowly, gazes for the blood and sexuality of his victims…

In fact, the IMDb quotes Christopher Lee: During an interview, Christopher Lee expressed his well-known frustration with this film: "I was a pantomime villain. Everything was over the top, especially the giant bat whose electrically motored wings flapped with slow deliberation as if it were doing morning exercises."

The film opens with a frequent sequence for Hammer horror, a dead body, scars of Dracula, the village upset, leaving a revolt and storming the castle. But, this story focuses on two young men, not particularly well acted by Christopher Matthews and, especially in the hero role, Dennis Waterman, later to be so successful on TV and Minder and New Tricks.

There are some sex scenes, 1970s style daring, a runaway carriage, birthday party, the young couple searching for the disappearing rake of a brother, his climbing down the castle wall, the beaten servant of Dracula and harsh treatment, with the priest, rather more significant than in other at Hammer films, his willing self-sacrifice and the brutality of his death (IMDb noting that this was modified by the British censor at the time).

No particular reason to see this one except for completion of seeing all the films with Christopher Lee as Dracula.