Scars of Dracula
Below the high mountain cliffs, beyond the forest, the villagers have lived in relative peace since the death of Count Dracula, yet the scars remain, the fear persisting until the death of a local girl forces them to take reluctant action; storming the castle and pushing past Klove, the sole remaining servant, they light fires in the courtyard to destroy the monster but high above in his sealed crypt, accessible only from a single window, the Count remains safe.
His brother Simon celebrating the birthday of his fiancée Sarah Framsen, Paul Carlson arrives late and pursued by the authorities having enraged the Bürgermaster of Kleinenberg; fleeing into the night, Paul seeks shelter at a tavern but is turned out by the landlord, wandering lost until he finds a carriage in the woods which brings him to the gates of a castle where he is given a strange welcome by a beautiful woman and the sinister master…
Released in 1970 as a double bill with The Horror of Frankenstein, Scars of Dracula was the sixth of nine films released by Hammer between 1958 and 1974 in their Dracula sequence, all but one starring Christopher Lee in the title role though here in a diminished part of only a few scenes, though unlike his debut where he hisses and glares before leaping from the shadows at least he has spoken dialogue in addition to dominion over beasts.
Red-eyed swooping bats doing his bidding, attacking villagers who oppose him and snatching the cross from the exposed neck of Sarah (Jenny Hanley), other than some day-for-night induced continuity issues Scars of Dracula is technically a step up, with impressive matte shots of the castle and the sheer drop to the misty crevasse below, but while the attacks are considerably more bloody Dennis Waterman’s Paul is a damp excuse for a hero though in an interesting reversal Christopher Matthews’ irresponsible Paul takes the role of scantily clad easily seduced victim usually occupied exclusively by women.
Patrick Troughton’s tortured and conflicted Klove by far the most interesting character, though it would seem more practical for him to have taken the body downstairs for dismemberment rather than dragging an acid bath up to the guest suite, Scars of Dracula sees writer Anthony Hinds attempting to push a harder edge in an attempt to modernise Hammer, more apparent with the next in series, set in contemporary London of 1972, but as yet unwilling to push the envelope of their established style and struggling to compete with the more explicit imported cinema of the time.
Given a 4K restoration, the new edition of Scars of Dracula is supported by an interview with Dacre Stoker, great grand-nephew of author Bram Stoker, an archive commentary featuring director Roy Ward Baker and Christopher Lee, recollections from Christopher Matthews, Clarisse Loughrey and Isaura Barbé-Brown in conversation about the film, a 2017 featurette, galleries and a trailer, new essays and a reproduction of the original press kit.
