The Wizard of Gore(1970)

7.5/10 

A while back, I got the chance to interview Herschell Gordon Lewis. Ever since that day, I wanted to be able to review one of his movies. Now thanks to Amazon, I have this opportunity.  "The Wizard of Gore" is one of the most iconic films that Lewis made, because of its dark nature and extreme gore that had never been seen before. I liked the movie a lot, because it was very original, and it had pushed boundaries like no other. 

The beginning of the movie introduced the viewer to Montag the Magnificent; a magician on tour. He raises the question of what magic really is, and engages the audience instantly.  He then does a shocking trick with a guillotine, and appears to take his own head off. To the audiences' surprise, the head wasn't real, and he was completely fine. After this, he announces his next trick, which is to saw a living woman right in half. He takes a volunteer from the audience, and completes the illusion. The weird thing is that we don't actually know if it was just a trick, or if it was real.  Even though all of the blood and gore is right in front of us, the woman appears completely fine moments later.  The next thing we know is that this same woman is found dead of the same wounds at a restaurant went she to. This intro was pretty thrilling, because everything as macabre and dark, and it was just really well done. 

The rest of the movie follows this pattern, where a seemingly harmless trick by Montag actually ends up being a secret murder. I find this plot extremely original, and it's weirdness intrigued me. I honestly don't think anything like this was done before, and even if someone tried to repeat it in the future, it couldn't be the same. I think the craziest element is that the audience of the magic show never really sees how morbid he is being, because it brings a supernatural idea that bends things a lot. 

The movie really lived up to its title, because even 45 years later, this film is still outrageously gory in all standards. Guts fly, and blood pours, and in the most morbid ways too.  I can't believe that any man could've thought of being this innovative, and it impressed me a lot with how much he pushed the boundaries. Even though the blood looks fake, it doesn't take away from the nastiness at all, and I find it to be one of the craziest movies ever. 

Along with the blood, the tactics of killing were extremely brutal and sadistic. Punch presses were used, mallets, swords, etc, and they were done in ways most people wouldn't even think of.  Herschell did an amazing job with spicing up the genre with these ideas, because I feel that they influenced a lot of people in the future. 

The acting was nothing spectacular, as it was obviously low on the agenda for Lewis' vision. Regardless, there were still some good performances that worked well for the movie. The greatest of all was Ray Sager in the lead role of Montag. He did a really awesome job at portraying the sadistic nature of the magician, because I could sense the darkness from a mile away. His voice in the monologues was very powerful also, and he was just really professional. 

The film was on a very low budget, yet Lewis did a great job of making the product look pretty amazing. I thought the red tinted graveyard scenes were a great touch, because it made everything much more psychedelic, and it also made things more mysterious.  The idea of switching back in forth from seeing a murder, to going to what looked like the harmless stunt was not easy to complete without looking dumb. I thought this was done well, because it had a very eerie and disturbing way about it that successfully made the viewer extremely confused. 

The ending of the movie was quite a surprise, and while it could've been better, I still liked it a lot.  I thought that the last minutes were very worthy of leaving the viewer in shock, because it was a plot twist that I wouldn't have expected at all. 

The only thing that I thought the film was lacking was its pacing. Sometimes the story went too slow for my taste, and in others it really breezed through important things.  For instance, the movie spent way more time with dialogue than showing scenes in graveyard, which could've possibly added to the suspense with more screen time.  While this did not ruin the film at all for me, I just think that it was something that could've definitely been improved upon. 

Overall, this was a very fun movie.  It wasn't the best I've ever seen, but it was an original, extremely gory, and crazy movie. I definitely recommend it to all horror fans that can take the violence, because it was pretty iconic in the genre's history for sure.  It has also made me look forward to watching many more Herschell films in the future, because it was a piece of art for sure. 

Gamera Vs. Guiron(Attack of the Monsters)

5.5/10

"Gamera Vs Guiron" was a 1969 entry in the Gamera series. It took a very bizarre plot, and made it B-Movie fun. I personally can't put this movie even close to the original, but it is still a fun movie about one of the greatest monsters ever. 

The movie begins in space, as the narrator tells about the many stars, nebulas, etc in the sky. After describing them all, he said "a star is in trouble."  The movie then cuts to the opening credits, and some very trippy scenery of lava fills the screen. I thought this was pretty neat, because it had the very cool vintage 60's feel, and I was drawn in. After the credits, the narrator then talks about satellites, and how they get messages that may be from outer space. After the narrator is done, the movie goes into a huge astronomic meeting, where many questions are asked about these signals and space.  Soon after, the scene cuts to two boys named Akio and Tom looking through a telescope, where they see a spaceship.  These boys go to the spaceship after it lands, and they fly it around. In space, they find their friend Gamera, and he helps them fly around. Suddenly, Gamera gets freaked out, and they think that he is trying to help them stay away from something. The boys then land on a planet, and it is an interesting place where water runs backwards, and monsters take over the land. One of these monsters is named Guiron, and he is a unique looking monster with a knife for a nose, and strong body.  He has the power of shooting lasers, along with stabbing creatures.  After Guiron goes back into his home, the boys become curious, and they go into a mysterious building on the planet. This was a mistake though, as two women take control of them.  These ladies hypnotize the boys, in preparation to eat their brains.  The boys have no hope, except for Gamera. Luckily, Gamera attempts to save them, but it won't be easy, because first he has to fight Guiron...

Being the original Gamera film was the only one to have the monster as a villain, this one especially shows him to be a hero, and "child's best friend."  Personally, I don't find this isn't awful, but I thought that the character was much cooler as the bad guy. In this movie, he is basically like the dragon from "The Neverending Story," because he just flies around saving the kids. Personally this really took the series from its original horror background to being a "kiddie flick."  This was also very apparent in the writing, because of how ignorantly literal the dialogue was. One of the funniest lines was "I just found out that these people are cannibals."  It does fit the mouth of the young people well, but I just wish that the movie had a more mature way about it. 

Even though Gamera is good now, he still has some pretty cool battle scenes with Guiron to save the kids.  The fights were very exciting, as the monsters brutally threw each other around, and just smashed each other into a pulp. It was also cool to see the individual creature use their different powers at times, because it made them stand out more. I found it pretty awesome when "Guiron" shot ninja stars out of his head. I also thought it was good that their was a lot of concern as to whether Gamera could win, rather than it just being an easy match, because it gave some more suspense to the story, and made the movie cooler.  

I was quite surprised by some of the Communist undertones that came up in the film, because you would think that they would be better hidden. One of the most alarming lines showing this was, "when someone is useless, it is time for them to go." Even though a naive person could see this as a line to spice up the movie, I personally saw it as an extremist line that may have been sadly true to nations under the political method. 

The movie's budget was obviously very low, and it added to the hilariousness of everything. The costumes of the cannibals ladies were pretty corny, because they looked like silver Martians, and rather  than being scary, they were just goofy. I don't see this as bad in my eyes though, because I love the cheesiness, and it makes the movie more fun.  The movie had the typical voice dubs of foreign films, and they were actually pretty good. I don't know if it was that the amount of words in the Japanese language were closer to English or what, but the lips matched up pretty well, and it were easy to follow. The costumes of Gamera and Guiron were your "basic man in suit," and they were pretty sweet because of it. I especially liked the look of Guiron, because he had a campy menace to him. Overall, this low budget was a helping factor to the movie, because it was a silly premise overall, and would've been innapropriate as a big money film. 

The climax of the movie was pretty exciting, because the lives of the boys and Gamera were really at stake. Things looked terrible for all three of them, and many crazy fights take place. I was pumped by all of this, because the battles became more and more brutal, as did the pressures for the children. The ending was obviously happy, and this wasn't good or bad for me, because I knew it was going to happen, and it was the appropriate thing to do for a film of its nature. It would've been cool for a surprise ending though, because it would've really shocked people.  The message conveyed by the boys at the very end was so corny, and I was laughing my head off from their words. 

Overall, this movie has no merit to be a masterpiece at all. It is very cheesy, and it was nowhere near the quality of the original. Regardless, the movie was still enjoyable, and I spent a lot of the time with a smile on my face. The absurd plot, cool monsters, and laughable acting all make a fun B-Movie experience for all fans, and it is definitely worth a watch. 

Gammera the Invincible

7.5/10

Are you one of those people that gets all gushy at the sight of a turtle? If so, your opinion might be changed after your first encounter with "Gammera." "Gammera the Invincible" is a 1966 film from Japanese director Noiaki Yuasa, and it tells the story of a killer turtle that tries to take over Tokyo. I personally find this movie to be one of the most enjoyable monster flicks of all time because of it's awesome action, great creature, and hilarious elements of creativity. 

To start the movie off, there was just about the campiest and most hilarious theme song ever.  "Gammera..... Gammera.... Gammera." When this happened I was laughing so hard, and was drawn into the movie immediately. After this, the movie randomly goes to some Eskimos, and then a second later at a military base. Personally, even though this fast pace is mildly hard to follow, it also is kind of symbolic to the panic taking place in the scene. It also makes things more interesting. In the military base, the leaders are informed by the Air Force that the world is under "Red Alert," because of threat of atomic warfare, and that they need to take action right away.  As all of the planes fly around, the scene cuts to a sheet of ice that breaks from the explosion, and out of it comes "Gammera," a giant turtle that will take over the Tokyo as revenge for this interruption his two million year hibernation.  Now the people of the world must fight for their lives, or be done forever.....

While this movie is basically a "Godzilla" copycat, I really still thought it was cool in its own way. I think that the fact that "Gammera" is a turtle is quite hilarious, because in our real world, the animal is the most harmless and slowest creature, yet in this movie, it has the capability of making the world Hell.  I also like that there is a reason for the monster terrorizing the world, instead of just doing it for the film.  Something that is also original about the character is that he can make himself look like a UFO and fly. I like this a lot it adds to the campy outrageousness of the movie, and helps out stand out from its inspiration.  The movie has a political undertone like the former film, but in this one, it is much more isolated and conflict driven. In "Godzilla," the monster's attacks were just a trigger to memories of the 40's in Japan, but in this one, there is actually war taking place, and the fighting actually caused the problems with Gammera. The  For all of these reasons, I personally had more fun watching this movie than "Godzilla." 

In movies, the military meetings are often very boring for me, because of their lack of emotional connection. In this movie, this was different for me, because it was all very interesting. I like the fact that the leaders are skeptical about "Gammera" being real, because it makes the movie authentic since the idea of this creature is also unlikely in our society. It is also cool to see everyone butting heads, since they're from all over the world. This shows some cultural diversity in the movie that wouldn't be dared shown very often in the era. 

The acting in the movie is good for what the movie is, but not anything special. I think it is pretty amazing that all of the actors could keep a straight face while talking about the turtle, because honestly their lines are so hilarious that I would've broke. Everyone also gives a lot of emotion in their performance, and definitely put a lot of effort into their job. Albert Dekker was the standout for me as "Secretary of Defense," because he portrayed a tough man that can get things done very well. 

Watching the movie, I really appreciated practical effects even more than before. Gammera's costume was so cool, because even though it is a man in a suit, I would never believe it since he looks gigantic compared to everything else. This camera work was very skillful in my opinion, and I feel that is is much more impressive than using CGI to get things done. The scenes where the character fly are also pretty sweet for its time, because even though it's very fake, it still has a nice and vintage look that people like me really appreciate.  The action scenes were pretty fantastic in the movie, because they were full of destruction, and the monster showed a lot of threat. Buildings crashed, and fire flew through the air, and I was highly impressed in all ways. 

The climax of the movie is very cool, because it portrays the military doing everything they can to dispose of this monster.  While Gammera is obviously the villain, these scenes really gave a little bit of empathy for him, as the viewer doesn't want him to do(nor does some of the characters). These scenes are very action packed, and full of laughs the whole way through, and they kept me excited constantly. I thought that the ending was pretty awesome, because it was extremely outrageous and absurd, yet it was exactly what was needed for success. 

"Gammera the Invincible" is definitely not a cinematic masterpiece in any standard, but it is one of the most enjoyable movies ever. There are so many moments where I was sucked in by the action, and laughing at the goofiness of the filmmaking. I definitely recommend this movie to all fans of the classics, because it is one of the greatest monster movies of the "golden era." 

Carrie(1976)

10/10!!!!!!!!!

In 1976, Brian De Palma directed the first ever adaptation of a Stephen King book. "Carrie" too the world by storm with its shocking content, and it's realistic look at the angst of teenagers. This movie is tied with "The Shining" as the best Stephen King movie, and I can't ever see any other being better. 

The movie begins at a volleyball game. At this tournament, we meet Carrie White. Carrie is an outcast, a "weirdo," and she is picked by everybody.  After the game is over, all of the girls go into the locker room to shower. This scene was so masterfully done, because everything is in slow motion, and there is a beautiful soundtrack in the background. Every shot of the camera is so intricate and beautiful, and it shows how careful of a job the filmmakers did.  Even though everything seems fine at first, Carrie then has her period, and everyone starts throwing tampons and such at her.  She then has a nervous breakdown as this happens, until her teacher Miss Collin saves her.  Miss Collin and her principal allow Carrie to go home, and this is much to her reluctance. We then meet Carrie's crazy and abusive mother Margaret, whom is a radical "Christian," yet she basically tortures her own daughter.  With all of these horrible things happening in her life, there is also something very weird taking place. Carrie worries that she may be a telekinetic. She is able to shatter mirrors, move objects, etc.  She learns that she can use these to her advantage, as a way to get back at all of the people that had been cruel to her.  This results in one of the most shocking proms to ever exist, and a change in the life of many.

The cast in this movie is one of the most superb lineups ever.  Sissy Spacek blew me away as Carrie, because she is such a likable girl, and one really feels so much sympathy for her during all the hardships she goes through. She also really knows how to portray so many emotions, whether they are kindness, panic, or complete insanity.  Piper Laurie really freaked me out as Mrs White, because she was so convincing in the role of a mentally imbalanced woman.  She would try to act kind at moments, but then she would be completely psychotic with her brutal behavior toward her daughter. The way that she projects herself is truly scary, because it almost seems like the behavior is natural for her.  I really liked William Katt as Tommy Ross, because you could really sense the good in his personality, even though he is one of the populars that picked on her. He just had a very charismatic presence to him in the way he acted, and seemed to care a little for Carrie. Betty Buckley was exceptional in her role of Miss Wilson, mainly because of her ways to realistically change personality. There are moments where she will be the sweetest and most laid back person in the world, and then in a split second she will become completely furious. Amy Irving was pretty cool as Sue, because much like Tommy, she was completely likable, and she really let off the vibe that she liked Carrie. The most hated character of the movie is Chris, and she was played by Nancy Allen. Even though she was attractive by looks, she had the worst personality in the world, and Allen portrays this perfectly. She played the role of a cruel, heartless, and shallow girl that wanted nothing but to ruin the life of Carrie. John Travolta came in as a close second as the biggest jerk in the school as Billy. He was a rude, abusive, and dumb punk that had no redeeming qualities. I thought that Travolta did a good job at the role, because he is usually so likable, but in this one one can't help but hate him. 

I mentioned earlier that the cinematography in the opening scene was amazing, but this actually takes place throughout the entire movie.  Mario Tosi had such a genius way of capturing the mood and environment in his camera work.  When there was peace, the lighting was bright, which made it feel like a dream(or actually one). I think the most clever use of this was when Tommy and Carrie dance at prom together, because she must've felt like it was unreal.  When the darkness of Carrie's revenge came about, the screen tinted red, which made it scary as can be.  During the scenes where Carrie gets very scared, the camera really zoomed into to her expression, because the look on her face showed better than anything of how she felt. Overall, I think that this aspect of the film was brilliant, just like "The Shining," and it is really a big part of why the movie is still a masterpiece now. 

Being the movie was released close to 40 years ago, there are many activities that take place that are extremely dated. The first is the fact that Miss Wilson has the ability to strike her students, which would not fly now.  The next is when Billy drinks and drives casually. Even though this still happens now, it would not be shown as lightly as it was in the media. While none of this hurts the film in any way, shape or form, I just found it funny to compare society in present to then. 

The climax of the film really starts at prom, where life is looking good for Carrie. The romance between her and Tommy begins, and it really felt good for her to find someone to be close with. The scenes where they dance and such really gave me chills, because they were both so happy, and the chemistry between the two actors was absolutely priceless. Sadly, the happiness can't be forever, and some unnamed characters do something horrible to Carrie. My heart literally split in two when this happened, because Carrie was so likable, and the fact that I had to see her be hurt again was just awful. I loved how even though people talked, all of the sounds were drained out. Because of this, all we see is lips moving, and I feel that this really shows the shock that people were feeling at the time. Right after, the iconic scene takes place. Carrie gets her revenge..... This scene was so shocking that my eyes bulged out of my head.  Everything turned into a disaster, and it was like hell broke loose. Even after she leaves the dance, the vengeance takes place.  This really effects everyone that surrounded her in life, and even herself. I really found this climax and ending to be perfect, because every moment was unexpected, and they engrossed my emotions majorly. 

"Carrie" is much more than your typical movie, because it is also a movie about adolescent life. You get both spectrums of these years, which are the magical moments, and the times of great pain. Even though Carrie's life is probably a lot harder than most, there are still little things that everyone can relate to. Whether it's bullying, abuse from family, or just pure loneliness in the world, everyone has experienced at least one of those.  Outside of the negative moments, we also get to see Carrie go through her first love, which is something that everyone does at some point. The girl also witnesses /causes death in the film, and this is relevant because every teenager goes through loss. So overall, the underlying messages of the movie helped it set itself apart. 

It is rare for me to feel the way that I did after watching this movie. I was completely flabbergasted by what I had seen, yet totally in love with the masterpiece I had experienced. "Carrie" is most definitely one of the best horror movies ever. I would actually go as far as to tie it with "The Shining," because they both gave me the same effect. I highly recommend this movie, because it will be a movie that makes you cry, a movie that makes you cringe, and a movie that will freak you out in every possible way. 

The Brain That Wouldn't Die

6.5/10

What would you do if a love one was injured in an accident? Would you do anything to help them be better, even kill?  This 1962 classic tells this story to high extreme, and while I enjoy it a lot, it definitely isn't as good as "The Killer Shrews, and other films like it. 

The movie begins by showing Dr. Bill Cortner attempting to save a man in operation. Sadly, this does not work, and the man dies. Cortner is broken up about this, and he decides to try something different on the body.  Miraculously, he actually saves the man, and is applauded for it. The only man that seems to be against Bill's methods is his own father, who believes that experimenting on a human is wrong. After leaving the office, Bill and his fiancée Jan drive home, and they get in a terrible car crash.  In the accident, Jan is decapitated, and Cortner is absolutely heartsick.  The only thing he can think of doing is bringing the head back to life, and making a new body for her.  He would die to do this for her, and even kill.....

The plot is very cool in my opinion, because while some aspects of it are absurd and familiar, it is also very dark and interesting.  I think it is very cool to see how Cortner's love for Jan drives him to his insanity, which gives him the idea to make this new body.  I feel like this is kind of a less scientifically accurate version of the Frankenstein plot, but it gives its own twist. It was definitely more complex than most storylines to B-Movies, because it had many unexpected elements that threw me off the first time I saw the movie. On the other hand, I kind of feel like this movie was made to show off a bunch of hot womens' bodies, being that is basically what 90% of the movie is about. 

The cast in the movie is good for the most part, and while no one was Oscar-winning performances, they all do there job, and convince the viewer that they are their character.  Jason Evers is amazing at the character of Bill, because he has such a downfall from the nice guy he was in the beginning. One can really tell this in the hardness he gets in personality. Even as becoming a potential murderer, he still keeps a suave way to his talking to the women. His character almost reminds me of Macbeth for all of these reasons. Virginia Leith did a good job as Jan, but it was uncomfortable to watch her the whole time. The fact that her head doesn't move around much was very hard, because it is almost claustrophobic to see her. Leslie Daniels was very likable as Kurt, because he was the very happy go lucky sidekick to Dave. He portrayed the intelligence of the character very well, and gave some great emotions later on in the film. Adele Lamont was very unique as Doris. She had such a seductive way about her, yet at the same time she portrayed insecurity that made her character very bitter. I'm pretty sure she was one of the first open lesbian characters in movie history. 

While there isn't a plethora of violence in the movie, the scenes that featured it were actually surprising for their time. One scene involved someone's arm getting ripped off, and there was blood all over their arm as they struggled. While everything was extremely fake, it was still somewhat shocking, and I liked it a lot. 

The ending of the movie is pretty cool, because it was something that had been built up the entire time, yet it was even more shocking than I would have ever thought it to be. I think the sudden change in course during the movie was pretty cool, because it saved the film from going into the typical happy ending. 

The weaknesses of the film were existent too, sadly. The first is that while the plot is very cool, there are a few scenes that get very boring.  Things get too talkative, and there isn't enough action.  The next weakness is that the music was a little out of place, being the same theme was used at least ten times, even though it's context was only good for three. While these weaknesses weren't movie ruiners, they were definitely things that the filmmakers should've been more careful with. 

Overall, this movie is good, but not the best. As a B-Movie, there are a lot of impressive qualities, but at the same time there were flaws too. I definitely recommend giving the movie a chance, because it's one that you'll love or hate. 

The Killer Shrews

8/10

Anyone afraid of rodents?  After watching this movie, you will either find them to be the scariest thing ever, or the funniest. "The Killer Shrews" is a 1959 movie that was directed by Ray Kellogg. It is a very underrated movie, and it doesn't deserve the bad reputation people have given it. I personally love it for its hilarious nature, great climax, and likable cast. 

The movie begins on a boat, with two men named Thorne and Griswold sailing to an island. When they arrive at their destination, they meet a couple other people. Their names are Dr. Marlowe and Ann Cragis, and fiancée Jerry Farrell. The three veterans to the area are concerned when they find that the pair aren't leaving, because their is apparently going to be an invasion of animals. Knowing that their minds won't be changed, the civilians decide to welcome them into their home, and they introduce him to their colleagues Mario and Dr. Radford Baines.  Baines shows the men his idea to test shrews, and for serums.  After a while if socializing happens, the movie cuts to the woods, where a mysterious creature attack Griswold. We are later to find out that these monsters are....the killer shrews..

One of the reasons that I love this movie is its low budget. It may not be scary, but I have more fun watching it than most other movies. It is absolutely hilarious, and surprisingly cool at the same time. The giant shrews are one of the funniest practical effects ever, because they were both hand puppets and dogs in a costume. I think that rather than this being a weakness, it really shows how inventive the filmmakers were, and it brings a lot of campiness to the movie that made it more engaging. What is even crazier is the attack scenes. When the shrews bite, they don't even connect, yet a big bloody wound is shown. I honestly laughed so hard at these scenes that I almost cry. I personally like this fairness a lot because it is way more fun than some of the brutally realistic movies. 

For a B-Movie, the acting was actually a little better as expected.  James Best took the lead of Thorne, and even though this movie was made decades before, you can really feel the Roscoe in his character(except not as dumb). He is a very likable guy, and has the perfect way of portraying the tough character.  Ingrid Goude was your typical scream-queen as Ann, but she had a great chemistry with Best, and was highly enjoyable. The one trip up she made was trying to hold back a laugh after the death of a character. I honestly can't blame her, because she was looking at the puppet, but it was quite apparent. Ken Curtis was the usual jerk fiancée that gets in the way of the ️love story, and he did a great job of making the viewer hate him.  Gordon McLendon and Baruch Lumet were the weak links in the cast as the doctors, because they didn't have much depth to their acting. Even so, they still did their job, and were likable enough. 

I feel like the climax of the movie was impressing in the way that it was actually pretty suspenseful. As the characters try to barricade the area for their own safety, while the shrews come from everywhere. I almost forgot how stupid they looked, because they started to really impose some threat to the people. I also like the how arrogance of Jerry becomes a huge indicator of his fate, because it is actually quite real to life. The ending itself was happy(for some of the characters), and even though it was predictable, it was the typical B-Movie ending that I have grown to love. 

If there was one weakness(not counting the low budget that I like), it would be that the movie was too fast. At 69 minutes, I felt robbed about how quickly things flew by me. I wish there could've been more scenes with the shrews, because there could've been at least 10-15 more minutes worthy. 

Overall, while extremely cheesy, this movie has always been one of my favorite B-Movies. It is fun, hilarious, and actually executed quite well. I definitely recommend it to all fans of cinema, because it is one of the great monster movies of the 1950's.  

Taste the Blood of Dracula: Movie Review

7/10

In 1970, Christopher Lee was back at it for a fifth Dracula movie from Hammer. "Taste the Blood of Dracula" is a very good movie, and while it has its weaknesses, there is also a lot of great things that make it a worthy horror film for all fans.  

The movie begins quite strangely on a stagecoach. There is three men riding, and two of them gang up on the other and throw him out. This stranded man named Weller then travels alone in the woods, where he hears screams. Running to find what was happening, he finds Dracula with a stake through his heart. I found this beginning pretty cool, because it helped the audience remember where the last film took off, and it was quite intense. 

The movie then skips time a bit, and we meet a girl named Alice, along with her family. Right off the bat, we see conflict between her and her father, because of the man she likes. We also get introduced to three men(one being Alice's father) that are looking for a good time. Their idea is to go to a cathouse, and mess around a bit.  After some time with the ladies, they go out to eat where they speak about dark things like "selling your soul to the devil."  They then meet Weller, and he shows them the ring, cloak, and container of blood that he had from Dracula. After finding these items, the men meet up with a man by the name of Courtley in an abandoned church. Courtley is a man of black magic, and they are quite skeptical about him.  They show him the objects, and he tries to make them drink the blood.  They refuse, and tell him to ingest it. Courtley then reluctantly does this, and it turns him into a vampire.  As he tries to attack the men, they beat him to death. What they didn't know was that Courtley was a servant of Dracula's, and after his death, his body turns into Dracula. Right after this change, Dracula expresses his anger, and sets out for revenge on everyone one of the men. 

The cast in this film was very good, because of their convincing portrayals of the characters, and their depth in talent. Christopher Lee was great as always, and even though he wasn't at his best in this, he still kicked butt. In this movie, he showed even more that words don't matter at all for his performance.  Lee may have spoke twenty words in the whole movie, yet he draws the audience in right away. There is just something special about his intimidating personality, and his way of giving off animal magnetism to women immediately. Geoffrey Keen really excelled in the role of William Hargood, because he really shows Hargood's downfall as realistically as possible.  Whether it was his abusive behavior, or the indulgences in alcohol, he makes it as perfectly executed as possible, and I really respect that. Linda Hayden was pretty awesome as Alice Hargood, because she was extremely sexy in looks and personality, and she had a great way of changing her emotions quickly. There were some scenes where she was happy, some scared, and some where she is seduced intensely. Isla Blair was pretty cool as Lucy Paxton, because she was much like Hayden with her emotions, yet there was also a little bit of darkness that one could see right out the bat. The last standout in my opinion was Ralph Bates as "Lord Courtley." He have such a dark and insane performance, that you could really believe he was part of the black magic cult. 

I thought that the cinematography in the movie was particularly good, because it had a grainy tone to it that helped portray the dark nature needed. It also gave a very authentic feeling that impressed me. One of the great examples of this is a scene where Secker walks into his house. There was such a high definition look to this scene that it looked like an old documentary. 

There was some very cool scenes in this movie, and they were both gruesome and just plain awesome. There was wooden stakes used, biting, etc. Part of the whole idea I liked was how two of the main characters became vampires too, and they were extremely evil because of their slavery to Dracula. It definitely gave an overall creepy tone, because they were very innocent people at first, and now they were harming others sadistically.  

The ending of the movie was pretty weird, but also amazing at the same time.  It was something that hadn't really been done before in the series, so it was much fresher than the typical stake through Dracula schtick. It was also pretty trippy at the same time, which I really liked and appreciated. I was definitely like in a state of being like "what the heck?" so it was a success in my eyes. 

The only weakness I could see in this movie was that their was a lack in the intensity compared to the others. While there was exceptions in a couple scenes, I just didn't get the same feeling of being drawn into the suspense, because there wasn't at much threat.  While this didn't ruin the movie in a big way, it definitely kept it from being one of the better in the series. 

Overall, this movie is one of the weaker in the Hammer Dracula series, but it is still a pretty enjoyable movie. There is some great acting, and some awesome scenes of violence. I definitely recommend watching the movie, because it will be enjoyable like all of the others, but don't expect it to be anywhere near the content of "Horror of Dracula" and "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave."