A firm sequel to Dracula and Dracula'S DAUGHTER with the then-hot Lon Chaney Jr. taking over the title role. This movie succeeds because of the firm basis in characterisation - a flaw sadly marring the later "monster bashes" like HOUSE OF Dracula. Here, the plot involves real, fleshed-out and three-dimensional characters, from the morbid Katherine Caldwell who has an uncanny fear of death and strives for immortality, to the intrepid Frank Stanley who manages to defeat the evil despite doubting his own sanity and being in intense fear. The unpredictable plot takes a different route from the norm in concentrating on the effects of vampirism on a loving couple instead of focusing on Dracula for the most part - the main conceit of the story is a love triangle involving Katherine, Frank, and Dracula himself!
Although sadly lacking in horror (any attempts are destroyed by a patently unrealistic rubber bat which flaps through most of the proceedings) this film has plenty of the spooky atmosphere that popularised the Universal monster movies. In particular a number of scenes take place around a creepy swamp which Alucard has made his own. Although the film has obviously dated in the sixty years or so that have passed (most of the vampirising is kept hidden; one character has to write down 'Alucard' on paper to realise that it's 'Dracula' spelled backwards), it's certainly a lot less dated than the original Dracula. In the twelve years that separate the two movies, special effects, pacing, and music are now added which make the film a lot more enjoyable and speedy. The special effects are primitive but still cool to watch. Mainly they consist of Chaney turning into a bat and vice versa. Plenty of writhing mist is also added in to make things that little bit spookier. Only the bat itself is cheesily unrealistic. Most of the film takes place at night, to give it that dark surrounding which adds a lot to the atmosphere.
Lon Chaney Jr. may not be everybody's idea of a suave vampire; he certainly isn't mine. To be fair, under the pasty-face make-up he puts in a pretty good performance; he fails to be frightening or very intimidating but he acts like a vampire, speaking in a cultured fashion. What comes as the biggest surprise is the acting of Robert Paige who excels as hero Frank. Whereas the heroes were usually bland and boring in these older movies, Frank is a motivated character whom we actually feel sorry for as he realises that his girlfriend has succumbed to the vampire. Paige gives Frank that extra bit of emotion that makes us watch out for him; he's also thankfully less of the "couldn't put a foot wrong" school of dashing heroes, instead he is willing to bash a prison guard on the head to make his escape. This makes his character a little more interesting than most.
Louise Allbritton succeeds in looking quite creepy as the "morbid" Katherine, but I found her to be cold, quite selfish, and unsympathetic. Thankfully the ever-lovely Evelyn Ankers is around to shine radiantly, sadly though she is relegated to a supporting role here. Frank Craven is pretty good as a doctor who is at first sceptical but comes to believe, while J. Edward Bromberg has a ball in the Van Helsing type-role. Even though he doesn't actually do anything but commentate on the proceedings, he's great! In all, SON OF Dracula won't tax the mind or offer up much in the way of new stuff, but it's an admirably spooky little movie in its own right and an acceptable sequel to the classic.
Although sadly lacking in horror (any attempts are destroyed by a patently unrealistic rubber bat which flaps through most of the proceedings) this film has plenty of the spooky atmosphere that popularised the Universal monster movies. In particular a number of scenes take place around a creepy swamp which Alucard has made his own. Although the film has obviously dated in the sixty years or so that have passed (most of the vampirising is kept hidden; one character has to write down 'Alucard' on paper to realise that it's 'Dracula' spelled backwards), it's certainly a lot less dated than the original Dracula. In the twelve years that separate the two movies, special effects, pacing, and music are now added which make the film a lot more enjoyable and speedy. The special effects are primitive but still cool to watch. Mainly they consist of Chaney turning into a bat and vice versa. Plenty of writhing mist is also added in to make things that little bit spookier. Only the bat itself is cheesily unrealistic. Most of the film takes place at night, to give it that dark surrounding which adds a lot to the atmosphere.
Lon Chaney Jr. may not be everybody's idea of a suave vampire; he certainly isn't mine. To be fair, under the pasty-face make-up he puts in a pretty good performance; he fails to be frightening or very intimidating but he acts like a vampire, speaking in a cultured fashion. What comes as the biggest surprise is the acting of Robert Paige who excels as hero Frank. Whereas the heroes were usually bland and boring in these older movies, Frank is a motivated character whom we actually feel sorry for as he realises that his girlfriend has succumbed to the vampire. Paige gives Frank that extra bit of emotion that makes us watch out for him; he's also thankfully less of the "couldn't put a foot wrong" school of dashing heroes, instead he is willing to bash a prison guard on the head to make his escape. This makes his character a little more interesting than most.
Louise Allbritton succeeds in looking quite creepy as the "morbid" Katherine, but I found her to be cold, quite selfish, and unsympathetic. Thankfully the ever-lovely Evelyn Ankers is around to shine radiantly, sadly though she is relegated to a supporting role here. Frank Craven is pretty good as a doctor who is at first sceptical but comes to believe, while J. Edward Bromberg has a ball in the Van Helsing type-role. Even though he doesn't actually do anything but commentate on the proceedings, he's great! In all, SON OF Dracula won't tax the mind or offer up much in the way of new stuff, but it's an admirably spooky little movie in its own right and an acceptable sequel to the classic.