Blood of Dracula (1957)

Touches You

The Age of Commercialism

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Beware! Misleading title here! This movie has nothing to do with the Dracula character in whatever incarnation, despite some semi-vampiric presence in the plot. A better title would have been 'I was a Teenage Dracula', considering this was produced by the same company behind I was a Teenage Werewolf, also released in 1957, to which it bears more than just a coincidental resemblance story wise as it tells of a troubled teenage girl (Sandra Harrison) dumped at a boarding school by her father, who finds herself subjected to hypnotic experiments by the evil headmistress (Louise Lewis), that turn her into a vampire at her behest. This results in a few suspenseless murders here and there and a dull subplot about police investigators trying to find out what's going on. This movie was released as a double bill for drive-ins with I was a Teenage Frankenstein. Production company American International Pictures (AIP) was responsible for many a lousy B-movie in the latter half of the fifties (many of them with overly grandiose, incorrect and thus irresponsible titles): though this flick is far from good, it's by no means the worst of this extensive bunch.

I found this movie at a sale for just almost no money. That's the reason I bought it because I'm really not into the fifties. I can dig the old ones and the universal classic horrors but the fifties and also the sixties were a big let down for me. Why, because nothing really happens and if things happen it's all done off camera. The storyline is good in this flick but there are things that happen that make you want to push the fast forward button, for example, the scene were one of the guys start singing and that the whole song. The only good thing is the transformation from normal person to a vampire. Still, the vampire looks silly and really has to go to a dentist. When the vampire attacks it's all done off screen, no blood flows, no marks in the neck are shown. Glad that I have seen another flick from the fifties to confirm my statement...

It could not fail that after having taken the myths of the Werewolf and Frankenstein into the rock'n'roll era, producer Herman Cohen would eventually turn his attentions to another horror icon – the Vampire. Still, not only does Dracula have nothing to do with the film, but the bloodsucker here (a rebellious teen at an exclusive girls' school) is hypnotized into becoming one and even undergoes a hideous transformation (an image of which in an old genre-related reference book is how I first learned of this low-budget title) in the process!; besides, the script takes its feminist angle all the way by making the 'mad scientist' a woman too! Incidentally, the film is already half over before the first attack – having, in the interim, assisted incredulously at a teeny bopper number by one Jerry Blaine and oodles of tedious chatter (including the villainess' obligatory spouting of her misguided credo). Needless to say, little acting or style is required when the objective is solely exploitation; even the double come-uppance at the climax is dealt with rather abruptly! All things considered, at a mere 69 minutes, BLOOD OF Dracula is harmless enough (even if the copy I watched froze a couple of times!) – but it clearly rates as no more than a footnote in horror-film history; thankfully, however, the subgenre would soon be back on track with the seminal release of Hammer's HORROR OF Dracula (1958)

There is a sort of dance party, that's fun as are some of the usual "innocent" 50's kids talking crazy stuff. But most of these elements, though they add a bit of charm, can be found in much more entertaining movies. It's just that so little happens, it's like a film made years earlier. Should have really been called Teenage Vampire or something of the sort, but wow it's pretty dull.Concept is fun but the "terror" is so far from center stage. Decently produced but an off day for the creative staff--feels like everyone went home early no matter how short the shoot was.You'll need lots of strong 1950's coffee to get through this one even at the scant running time it feels padded. Twilight Zone length would have helped, though those episodes probably had the same budget as this feature.If you like 50's American horror stuff, and I do, then you'll sit through it and be amused mostly by the dancing and the hypnotic and vampire ideas that aren't really worked out or shown much at all. For those who want to say they have seen everything, for the rest...well...