Lake of Dracula (1971)

A doctor investigates the murders of several women at a lakeside resort. His investigation leads him to believe that a vampire is responsible for the murders. He sets out to track the vampire down.

Director:

Michio Yamamoto

Writers:

Ei Ogawa, Masaru Takesue

Stars:

Midori Fujita, Chôei Takahashi, Sanae Emi

Cast

Credited cast:
Midori Fujita	...	Akiko Kashiwagi
Chôei Takahashi	...	Dr. Takashi Saeki
Sanae Emi	...	Natsuko Kashiwagi
Shin Kishida	...	The Vampire
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tadao Futami	...	The Truck Driver
Mika Katsuragi	...	Patient , Farmer's Daughter
Setsuko Kawaguchi	...	Nurse Kondô
Tatsuo Matsushita	...	Professor
Yasuzô Ogawa	...	Angler
Haruo Suzuki	...	Guard in the University Hospital
Fusako Tachibana	...	The Dead Body in Front of Piano
Kaku Takashina	...	Kyûsaku
Michiyo Yamazoe	...	Young Akiko Kashiwagi
Wataru Ômae	...	Angler
Hideji Ôtaki	...	Old Man

Storyline

After a coffin is delivered to a sleepy little Japanese town, one of the locals discovers that its occupant isn't dead yet. Unfortunately, the only witness to the vampire invasion gets bitten, along with several other people in town. Only one woman, Akiko, knows the truth, but even she doubts what she is seeing. Can the village be saved before it's too late?

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | second part | impalement | hospital | lake | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

31 August 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dracula's Lust for Blood

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Alternate Versions

In the Japanese cut, the vampires are shown disintegrating at the end of the picture. The American version, as with Nosutoradamusu no Daiyogen (1974), is loaded with fadeouts for television.

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Connections

References Kwaidan (1964)

User Reviews

Solid enough if a slight let down

Arriving at a small lake-side town, a new teacher comes to suspect that someone is behind the strange incidents and dead bodies piling up around town, and when she learns that a master vampire has moved into the area she sets out to stop his blood-soaked reign against the villagers.

This was a decent enough if slightly flawed vampire effort. One of the few solid points involved here comes from the way this goes about trying to instill the idea of the vampire in the area as the build- up here is somewhat credible. Building the strange crate delivery alongside her arrival at the same time is quite nicely handled, and the first attacks, as well as the discovery of their aftermath, all come off rather well as the mystery starts to unfold. Even some of the fine action scenes throughout here, from the abduction in the woods before being startled away and the hospital resurrection of the first body to the idea of the nightly romps through the woods where he's able to feast on her friend despite continually denying it all makes for a rather fun time here and sells the idea of her mental competence rather well which runs through the first half of the film. Once it's confirmed that there are vampires involved, things pick up far more here with the Gothic action scenes really enhancing this one from the ambush in the car at the same time the two of them trap her in the home and begin tormenting her or the hospital awakening sequence give this some really energetic and lively moments. However, it's really the big confrontation at the end which really works best here with the Gothic imagery and action really making for a great finish and gives this one a lot to really like here with the way it all wraps up inside the basement and spreading throughout the rest of the house. Still, while these are the film's good points there are a few negative issues. One of the main problems is the fact that the film really suffers from a stiff and dragged out beginning where not a whole lot really makes an impact. Despite the series of events that play out here detailing the emergence of the vampire around the village, it's still a somewhat dull and dragged-out effort where those brief spurts feel like exceptions to the bland dialogue-heavy sequences that are much more commonly featured so this one really feels like it takes a while to get going. By focusing on her burgeoning mental instability doesn't make for a fun time here regardless of how well the vampire storyline is built through these events, this one really takes more time than it should in letting loose with its story and comes across as somewhat duller than it should be considering what goes on. Likewise, there's also the rather economical manner this one manages to make the heroine think of her predicament and how she buys into it all, as a few throwaway lines regarding the Western methods of dealing with vampires and yet it's completely bought into without so much as a real questionable thought. This makes for a tough time overall, although it does still have its moments.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and violence-against-animal aftermath.