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Christopher Lee dons the fangs for Hammer Films a fifth time, but to every-diminishing returns. Scars of Dracula has little continuity with previous installments, feeling more like a reboot than a sequel. The first half of the film mirrors Bram Stoker’s original story, with Christopher Matthews playing a young man who thinks he finds refuge at Dracula’s castle. But he soon learns he’s a prisoner, not a guest. After his disappearance, his brother (Dennis Waterman) searches for him with the obligatory busty girlfriend (Jenny Hanley) in tow. Despite warnings from the townfolk (including Hammer regular Michael Ripper as the local barkeep), Waterman and Hanley head for the castle. Bloodsucking shenanigans ensue.
It’s somewhat understandable that a horror franchise’s schtick would become stale after so many sequels, but Scars of Dracula drops off far more steeply than it should. It’s one of the first films Hammer produced after the dissolution of their co-financing deal with Warner Brothers, and it shows. Sets are smaller and less detailed, the photography less polished, and the execution feels particularly rushed. The most glaring consequence of the budget drop is the subpar special effects — particularly the bats. Scars of Dracula features the phoniest-looking bats on strings you can imagine — the kind you’d find on a cheesy horror host’s late night TV program. And these bats aren’t just in a scene or two. They’re featured throughout the whole movie, constantly ruining any drama or verisimilitude the film musters.
It’s a dull storyline with few surprises, despite being one of Hammer’s slightly more violent films. The most compelling part is the opening sequence, in which Dracula’s bats wipe out a church full of women while all the men are busy raiding the castle. The young leads, Waterman and Hanley, are too lifeless to carry the film, but Lee is still mesmerizing in the title role. While no one’s contribution is substantial enough to save the movie, a few supporting players make the most of it, including Ripper, Michael Gwynn as the town’s priest, Patrick Troughton as Dracula’s henchman, and Christopher Matthews as Waterman’s missing, far more charismatic brother.
Directed by Roy Ward Baker (The Vampire Lovers, Quatermass and the Pit). With Wendy Hamilton, Anouska Hempel, and Bob Todd (The Benny Hill Show).