Scars of Dracula, without a pre-sale agreement with the U.S. was therefore filmed on a low budget, and while this shows, it does not prevent this from being one of the most memorable and unfairly derided of the long-running vampire series.
Christopher Lee turns in an excellent performance as the Count, and has plenty of screen time and dialogue compared to "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" (1966), where the script was so woeful he refused to say any of it and ended up saying nothing at all. He is helped by an impressive supporting cast familiar to Hammer fans such as Patrick Troughton as Dracula's servant, and Michael Ripper as the local landlord. They outshine some of the main cast and give the film the depth it otherwise lacks. Director Roy Ward Baker has apparently said in interviews that Dennis Waterman was miscast, but he is really not too bad in his role as the more thoughtful and serious of two brothers (the other is played by Christopher Matthews).
The special effects are laughably poor as usual, especially the incredibly fake-looking bats on strings. Also it is not a good idea to look too closely into the plot, which is stretched and contains some noticeable holes. Unlike the other entries in the series, Scars of Dracula actually uses some scenes recognisable from the Bram Stoker novel, which is an improvement. The story holds few surprises for anyone who has seen any of the other films before as they tend to follow the same formula. Perhaps due to the era or the competition this film also features more sex and violence than most of the previous entries combined. The sets are quite impressive, as is the atmospheric score by James Bernard.
Though not the best of the Lee Dracula films, Scars is nonetheless an enjoyable watch, especially compared to the later efforts that showed a real decline in quality.
Christopher Lee turns in an excellent performance as the Count, and has plenty of screen time and dialogue compared to "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" (1966), where the script was so woeful he refused to say any of it and ended up saying nothing at all. He is helped by an impressive supporting cast familiar to Hammer fans such as Patrick Troughton as Dracula's servant, and Michael Ripper as the local landlord. They outshine some of the main cast and give the film the depth it otherwise lacks. Director Roy Ward Baker has apparently said in interviews that Dennis Waterman was miscast, but he is really not too bad in his role as the more thoughtful and serious of two brothers (the other is played by Christopher Matthews).
The special effects are laughably poor as usual, especially the incredibly fake-looking bats on strings. Also it is not a good idea to look too closely into the plot, which is stretched and contains some noticeable holes. Unlike the other entries in the series, Scars of Dracula actually uses some scenes recognisable from the Bram Stoker novel, which is an improvement. The story holds few surprises for anyone who has seen any of the other films before as they tend to follow the same formula. Perhaps due to the era or the competition this film also features more sex and violence than most of the previous entries combined. The sets are quite impressive, as is the atmospheric score by James Bernard.
Though not the best of the Lee Dracula films, Scars is nonetheless an enjoyable watch, especially compared to the later efforts that showed a real decline in quality.