After a very silly opening sequence, in which Dracula is revived by a rubber bat regurgitating blood onto his dusty remains, this movie, the sixth in Hammer's Dracula series, quickly gets into gear and delivers plenty of what fans expect: handsome heroes, beautiful women (in cleavage enhancing dresses), an overload of Gothic atmosphere, some bright red gore, and Christopher Lee at his creepy best.
A young man, Paul Carson (who has been run out of town for banging the Burgomaster's daughter), seeks shelter in a ruined castle where he is surprised to find it inhabited by a busty brunette (Anouska Hempel), a mono-browed manservant (Patrick Troughton), and the Count (Lee). After unwisely accepting his host's offer of a room for the night, he (not surprisingly) meets a rather sticky end.
Disconcerted by his brother's strange disappearance, Simon Carson (Dennis Waterman) decides to go in search of his missing sibling, and, accompanied by his pretty blonde girlfriend Sarah (Jenny Hanley), follows a trail that ultimately leads him to Castle Dracula, and a deadly battle against the evil Count.
Despite being very reminiscent of the first Hammer Dracula movie plot-wise, and having the aforementioned silly opening (and an equally daft ending in which Dracula is conveniently hit by lightning and set on fire), Scars of Dracula is a very watchable effort that benefits from some nice little creative touches (Dracula's almost impenetrable daytime retreat is pretty cool), some fairly bloody moments, and several tasty Hammer babes (Hanley's heaving bosom was particularly hypnotic, although I did find it rather strange to be lusting after the woman who presented TV's Magpie when I was a kid!).
A young man, Paul Carson (who has been run out of town for banging the Burgomaster's daughter), seeks shelter in a ruined castle where he is surprised to find it inhabited by a busty brunette (Anouska Hempel), a mono-browed manservant (Patrick Troughton), and the Count (Lee). After unwisely accepting his host's offer of a room for the night, he (not surprisingly) meets a rather sticky end.
Disconcerted by his brother's strange disappearance, Simon Carson (Dennis Waterman) decides to go in search of his missing sibling, and, accompanied by his pretty blonde girlfriend Sarah (Jenny Hanley), follows a trail that ultimately leads him to Castle Dracula, and a deadly battle against the evil Count.
Despite being very reminiscent of the first Hammer Dracula movie plot-wise, and having the aforementioned silly opening (and an equally daft ending in which Dracula is conveniently hit by lightning and set on fire), Scars of Dracula is a very watchable effort that benefits from some nice little creative touches (Dracula's almost impenetrable daytime retreat is pretty cool), some fairly bloody moments, and several tasty Hammer babes (Hanley's heaving bosom was particularly hypnotic, although I did find it rather strange to be lusting after the woman who presented TV's Magpie when I was a kid!).