[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Scars of Dracula (1970)

A film which entertains throughout and belts on at a fair pace. Dennis Waterman is pretty good as the hero Simon and Jenny Hanley is drop dead gorgeous in the role of Sarah. For me the film is notable and verges on greatness as it includes Dracula scaling the castle outer walls as he does in Stoker's original novel and also having Christopher Lee portraying the character as a gracious and accommodating host to travelers which had been lacking since Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966).

The title is also rather apt as this id the goriest of the Hammer Dracula films and in fact ranks as one of their bloodiest ever. The scene showcasing the very gory after effects on a group of worshipper's in a church following a vampire bat attack is practically pornographic with director Roy Ward Baker practically caressing the corpses with his camera.

There are minus points to Scars no doubt about it. An almost Carry On smattering of silly nudity, as well as a bat prop that looks very unconvincing. Perhaps the main problem in my view is the way Dracula is portrayed as a sadist. He whips and tortures his servant Klove (Patrick Troughton) with gleeful abandon and also uses weapons. Sorry, Dracula doesn't need weapons to kill. However these issues and a very daft way in which Dracula is killed don't really distract from what is another very enjoyable slice of Hammer Horror.