Dracula's Dog (1978)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Albert Band

Writer:

Frank Ray Perilli (writer)

Release Date:

11 March 1981 (France)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Man's best friend is now man's worst fiend...

Plot:

Russian soldiers accidently unleash the servent of Dracula, as well as his dog, during excavationss of Romania...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Dracula | German Shepherd | Hearse | Vampire

Cast

Michael Pataki	...	Michael Drake / Count Dracula
Jan Shutan	...	Marla Drake
Libby Chase	...	Linda Drake
John Levin	...	Steve Drake
Reggie Nalder	...	Veidt Smith
Cleo Harrington	...	Pat Parks
Tom Gerrard	...	Maslov, the guard
Bob Miller	...	Lieutenant
Gordon McGill	...	Second Officer
Al Ferrara	...	Al, the deputy
Roger Pancake	...	Sheriff
Sally Marr	...	Camper
Merryl Jay	...	Camper
Jackie Drake	...	Camper
John Kirby	...	Traveller

Also Known As:

Dracula contro Zombi (Italy)
Zoltan il cane di Dracula (Italy)
Zoltan, Hound of Dracula (UK)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15 (re-rating) | Australia:R | France:-16 | Norway:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

EMI Television

Goofs:

Plot holes: Michael Drake is referred to as the last heir or Dracula, but he has 2 children.

Bark at the moon...

Also known as "Zoltan, Hound of Dracula" (the DVD title).

Grim, if not altogether effective, cheap little B-horror film where the Russian Army (most of whom don't have Russian accents, by the way) unearth the tomb of Dracula and his kin. Among the corpses are Veidt Schmidt (Reggie Nalder), the half-vampire servant of the original Dracula, and Schmidt's faithful Doberman Zoltan, who was turned into a vampire himself once upon a time.

Schmidt and Zoltan are resurrected, and head for America to locate Dracula's last living descendant, family man Michael Drake (B movie veteran Michael Pataki), followed by Van Helsing wannabe Inspector Branco (Jose Ferrer).

Zoltan sinks his teeth into the necks of the Drake family's dogs, including one puppy (now THAT's hard to watch), creating a little family of blood-sucking demon canines.

Nalder, who proves that he doesn't need a makeup job to look really creepy, and Ferrer are dependable, distinguished actors who give this admittedly minor-league horror movie a little bit of professionalism, while veteran director Albert Band does what little he can. The gore is by future Oscar winner Stan Winston, in one of his earlier gigs.

"Dracula's Dog" is not really scary, but as a dog lover I found it hard to stomach. I found myself caring more for the canine co-stars than any of the human actors. That whole business with the puppy is really unnerving (it leads to an open ending that I find to be saddening and spooky).

One sequence, with Pataki trapped in a car and besieged by the killer canines, works as a precursor to "Cujo".

The film isn't really that GOOD, but I must say that I didn't come away unaffected. At least it offers a minor twist on the usual vampire saga.

6/10