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The Scars of Dracula

The Scars of Dracula

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: I really enjoyed watching this movie. For one, Christopher Lee is the Best Dracula in this movie compared to all of his other dracula movies because he has the best lines. In addition, he is even a gentlemen at a point when he offers his guests some wine and a room to stay. But even so, as another viewer pointed out, this dracula movie does have the most violence compared to Lee's other dracula movies - but it just adds to the character of dracula - that he is evil!

Also, my husband noticed that this dracula movie has the most beautiful women. If you like dracula movies, especially the ones with Christopher Lee, then you have to get this one. It has a great story. Buy it now before it goes out of print - it's such a good movie. I watched the movie twice already for two days in a row.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Underrated
Review: I'm commenting on the EMI old VHS edition, as I only have this at the moment. I found it at a pawn shop for cheap as I was looking to own a complete set of the Hammer series. Well, then...

This directly follows up where Taste the Blood of Dracula left off. A menacing (not fake as some would have you belive) killer bat drips blood on Dracula's dead remains, thus reviving him. This seems to come out of nowhere - where did the bat and the blood come from. Well it's never answered where the bat comes from, but (SPOILER AHEAD...) the killer bat destroyed the survivors of Taste the Blood of Dracula, and munched on those already deceased!!!

Another thing comes out of nowhere- Dracula has a servant, and it's not Renfeld. At the beginning the new guy is at the castle doors, where it is stormed and burnt, but not destroyed. Then a is in bed with his girl, and leaves to cheat on her, mistakingly ending up at Dracula's castle! He finds where The Count rests, but can he subdue him?... (SPOILERS...) Some friends of his return to find him dead, and enlist the help of the priest. The priest, too, finds Dracula too bid a foe, killed by his bat. In one of the most fantastic endings, his servant turns on him, and Dracula gets a rod thrown into him by the hero, takes it out, and a lightning bolt hits the rod, sending Dracula in flames over the cliff.

It's not bad, not bad at all. Some suspense scenes include the bat, the glowing sleeping eyes, and the wall climbings. It's one of the most violent, if not the most violent, of the series, with bat killings, burnings by a scorching hot sword, an impalement, and a knife killing. There's much nudity on this edition, except a butt, but (no pun intended) there's two bed scenes and some biting which is metaphorical sexual awakening I guess. I would rate this as the third best sequel behind Prince of Darkness and Taste the Blood, and I've yet to see Risen yet. Those who criticise it don't know what they're talking about. It again shows Victorians as hypocrites. There's also an underlying Christian theme of "good" prevailing over the "embodiment of all that is evil."

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nice DVD, but poor Hammer fare
Review: If you're a fan of Christopher Lee's Dracula, than you'll probably want a copy of this film on DVD to complete your collection. The transfer looks and sounds pretty good and is on par with the other Anchor Bay Hammer releases. The film itself is the last of the Hammer Dracula's set in "Victorian" times before the update in "Dracula AD 1972". The plot is typical Hammer vampire fare, and Dracula has very little to do here but bare his fangs and snarl. Lee, as always, invests his portrayal of the Count with glaring evil...but he seems tired of the entire affair. The film is considered by many to be the nastiest of the Hammer Dracula films, which may be true. Overall, it is a very average film and it you are not a serious Lee/Hammer/Dracula collector, you might prefer the DVD version of "Dracula, Prince of Darkness".

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: hard to believe this is a Hammer film
Review: Inexcusably cheap looking, this is easily the worst in the series and possibly the worst Hammer horror ever. Uncharacteristically flat photography gives the film the look of a television production, sets are tacky, a fact that is only heightened by the photography, dialogue laughable (just try to make it through the scene with the barmaid and the dashing young rascal without groaning), poor effects, stupid, uninvolving plot that lacks any of the social commentary of the previous entry, gratuitous nudity, annoying performances by most of the cast, etc, etc, etc...The only reason this gets two stars is Christopher Lee. Not only does he look fantastic as Dracula, he actually is given more to do and more dialogue than usual in this entry. Unfortunately the script calls for him to do things like stab a female vampire and take a burning sword to the back of his dim-witted servant. Groan. On the positive side, though, he does get to crawl up the castle walls in a scene straight from Stoker's novel. Without Lee, this would be irredeemable, because of him it is (barely) tolerable. For series completists only (that's why I bought it).

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Never, never visit the Count while he rests!!!
Review: Oh boy, what can I tell you? Well, it's a sequel to many other sequels from the Hammer House of Horror.

As I warned you in my opening: "Never wake the Count while he's asleep". You may pay the consequences by watching a harmless and almost motionless Count Dracula, much less threatening than in his heydays.

I must admit I bought it because I am a faithful follower of Christopher Lee's career and as such it's part of his resume.

Unfortunately, someone decided to make him speak in this one.
Mind you, his voice is commanding as a bass-barytone and very suggestive, but Dracula seldom talks, he just commands by hypnotising his victims.

As the story goes, a young fellow has in mind to travel and stops at Castle Dracula for a night. Wrong choice of time and place...

Very soon a lovely (and voluptuous) girl begs him for help in order to escape the Count's attentions. The guy agrees and attempts to make love to the girl who very soon grows fond of his jugular and would like to take a bite, suddenly though, Dracula appears and a blood bath starts.

Change of scene. Next morning, everything is normal, no girl, no blood, but the young guy is obsessed with the idea of destroying Dracula.

He's so stupid as to lower himself, aided by the Count's manservant, into Dracula's Crypt. Guess what? He lands up spiked as a lamp post...

From there it's up to you to guess what else happens.

The attempt as being a "Gothic" version of the tale is not enough anymore. If the younger generations of the Victorian Age, as depicted in this movie, were truly such a bunch of stumbling and idiotic morons (which obviously they weren't), no wonder I was cheering all the time for the Count.

It's a mindless chapter in the Dracula/Lee series, only suited for those who follow the actor or are absolute fans of Dracula movies and must have it in their collections.

Otherwise stick to "Horror of Dracula", "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" and "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave". And only because it's the ideal continuation of the latter one, also "Taste the Blood of Dracula". But then just put a stake through his heart and throw the carcass to the wolves...

The three last installments including "Dracula, A.D. 1972" and "The Satanic Rites of Count Dracula" were just pale examples of movies made for the 1968 rebellious generation who wanted to part with the past and despised any authoritative figure, including The Prince of Darkness himself...

Unfortunately for them Dracula still lives and does what he does while they just became older if not ridicolously decrepit in their utopic views. Some even went so far that they replaced the old establishment with a much more devious and ruthless one. Exactly what Dracula stands for: bloodsucking and exploitation.

Think about it, it's very emblematic.

If you despite all that still love the blood sucking Count, then serve yourselves, but be warned, it's really what you pay for...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good, but easily could have been better
Review: Scars is the final gothic entry in Hammer's Dracula series. The film starts with the towns people setting fire to castle Dracula in an attempt to kill him. A young man fleeing the law comes to the castle seeking refuge for a night, he is taken in, but we do not learn his fate at this point. The man's brother and his girlfriend go in search of the missing man and they to end up at the castle where Dracula greets them and sets his sights on the women. The main stregnth of this film is that Dracula was given a lot more to do than in the three previous movies and Christopher Lee makes the best of it. The overall plot is simple, but effective and the film has a very strong ending. The problems with this film are the horrible rubber bats, the overuse of day for night scenes and even the fog behind the castle is an unmoving backdrop that looks like a leftover from a high school play. The makers of the film tried to cut corners and their cheapness hurts this film because it detracts some from the story. This film is still very worthwhile and probably the third best in the series behind Horror and Brides.
Above is what I wrote about the vhs tape, but I have since gotten the dvd. If you already think it is a confused mees than this will not interest you. The dvd provides a very sharp version that puts the vhs version to shame. The extras include trailers, stills and a commentary with Roy Ward Baker and Christoper Lee. The commentary has some interesting comments early on, but quickly strays from the film and turns into Lee ranting about how "they don't make horror films like they used to". The bonus Christopher Lee biography disc is very well done as it touches on a number of his movies and he reflects on them. A good job by Anchor Bay.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the best in the hammer dracula series
Review: scars of dracula is the best in the dracula series by hammer. the film is well acted and lee gives his best performance he stands tall and is seen as a god to clove until he starts to help simon and sara escape from dracula. i think it is the most gothic version to date. the castle is a true representaion of castle dracula the effects are great but i am disappointed with draculas demise( not by traditional methods) never the less the film is one for late night viewing when in the vampiric mood. one not to be missed buy it today

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 3 1/2 stars for under rated late period sequel
Review: SOD has always been under rated. I, too, saw this (along with Dracula Has Risen From The Grave) on t.v. when I was a kid and enjoyed it. The production values aren't as grand as earlier Hammer films, but the performance by Lee and scenes borrowed from Stoker's novel give this film considerable power. Roy Ward Baker does an admirable job stepping into Terry Fisher (or Freddie Francis) shoes. Baker, who directed the classic Hammer film Quatermass & The Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth--a bizarre title for such a fine film)creates considerable tension in some of the most powerful scenes in the film

Anchor and Bay have done their typically meticulous job in restoring the film. The bonus of having both Lee and Baker for the audio commentary makes this a great addition to any Hammer film buff's collection. I'd have to rate this just behind Horror of Dracula (still not available on DVD--are you listening Warner Brothers?)and just before Terry Fisher's fine sequel Dracula Prince of Darkness.

After this film the Count was in need of a transfusion. Sadly, it was the wrong blood type. Hammer chose to bring the Count into the 20th century. It could have been a brave move if Hammer had chosen quality writers and directors to work the material. Dracula became little more than a glorified Fu Manchu in the rest of the films and, by the end, Lee could have sleepwalked through the roles despite the return of Peter Cushing. It was another missed opportunity.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Underrated and Truly Chilling!
Review: The first time I saw this movie was many years ago and I still remember being in complete awe over the fact that it was so different than what I had expected. It was so incredibly dark and sadistic (which was very uncharacteristic for Hammer Studios, let alone any other film of this period) and it actually left a lasting impression on me for days. The entire look and feel of the movie was somehow EXACTLY the way I had always pictured old horror movies to be. I feel this is one of Hammer Studios best films and one of the best Dracula movies ever made. (which unfortunately isn't saying much.)

For once, Dracula gets to deliver some good dialouge and do some pretty cool things like scaling his castle walls, torturing his nim-witted servant, and might I also mention the inclusion of the most dramatic "Dracula demise" in the entire series. Christopher Lee will always be the irreplaceable crown prince of terror and the one and only Dracula! However, one has to wonder why Peter Cushing wasn't cast as the village priest. His great acting and charisma always added a lot of needed credibility to these so called "B grade" imported horror films.

So if you like castles, costumes, and old fashioned gothic horror films you need to give this one a try! Just don't get yourself too upset over the fake looking bats!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Underrated and Truly Chilling!
Review: The first time I saw this movie was many years ago and I still remember being in complete awe over the fact that it was so much different than what I had expected. It was so incredibly dark and sadistic (which was very uncharacteristic for Hammer Studios, let alone any other film of this period) and it actually left a lasting impression on me for days. The entire look and feel of the movie was somehow EXACTLY the way I had always pictured old horror movies to be. I feel this is one of Hammer Studios best films and one of the best Dracula movies ever made. (which unfortunately isn't saying much.)

For once, Dracula gets to deliver some good dialouge and do some pretty cool things like scaling his castle walls, torturing his nim-witted servant, and might I also mention the inclusion of the most dramatic "Dracula demise" in the entire series. Christopher Lee will always be the irreplaceable crown prince of terror and the one and only Dracula! However, one has to wonder why Peter Cushing wasn't cast as the village priest. His great acting skills and shiny charisma always added a lot of needed credibility to these so called "B grade" imported horror films.

Anyway, if you like castles, costumes, and old fashioned gothic horror films you need to give this one a try! Just don't get yourself too upset over the fake looking bats!


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