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Vintage Hammer production that has Christopher Lee wearing his beloved black & red cloak and plastic teeth for the fifth (or is it sixth?) time already, only this time he gets to be really nasty and vicious! During the first ten minutes already, "Scars of Dracula" contains more gore and bloody make-up effects than all the previous sequels together and the set pieces are truly dark and grim, so…bravo Mr. Roy Ward Baker, you certainly pleased me! The script, on the other hand, isn't very impressive. There's no real story, there aren't any elements that connect this film with any of the foregoing Dracula-films and the pitiful budget limitations even seem to affect the continuity at times. It appears to be easier every time to resurrect Dracula from the dead, as he rises again when a ridiculously fake bat on strings pukes blood on the rotting leftovers of his corpse. The devilish count goes on terrorizing the petrified inhabitants of a nearby village (that set his home on fire) as well as a trio of youngsters that pass by the castle accidentally. There are two marvelous aspects that typify this particular sequel: minor scenes that indicate an obvious return to Bram Stoker's basic writings (Dracula clambering on walls and dominating animals with his mind power) and – especially – the genuinely sadistic nature of his character! Whereas Dracula too often was a neutral monster in the other films, he's now a truly sick puppy, who unscrupulously butchers young women and molests his servants with a whip. Due to this energy-boost in the series, veteran actor Christopher Lee seems to enjoy his repetitive role some more again, and his great performance contributes in making "Scars of Dracula" a sleazy and violent Hammer highlight. Let's all get scarred by Dracula!
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