_**Adds some needed pizzazz to the Hammer series**_ A young man (Christopher Matthews) running from the law ends up at an ominous castle and goes missing. Thus his brother and a friend (Dennis Waterman & Jenny Hanley) travel to the dubious dwelling to find him, but come face-to-face with a formidable fiend (Christopher Lee). “Scars of Dracula” (1970) is a sort of reboot of the Hammer series in that it’s basically a redo of Lee’s first two stabs at the undead Count: “Horror of Dracula” (1958) and “Dracula, Prince of Darkness” (1966), not to mention it mixes in aspects of “Dracula Has Risen from the Grave” (1968) and, most significantly, the plot of “Psycho” (1960). For those who question the latter, just reread the plot description above. Some viewers gripe that this one doesn’t fit the chronology of the series for a couple of reasons, yet these supposed conundrums are easily explained: Dracula was reduced to dust at the end of the prior film, “Taste the Blood of Dracula” (1970), but Klove had instructions to seek out and acquire the Count’s ashes if he was ever slain and bring them back to the castle in Transylvania where one of his creatures of the night would supply the blood necessary to resurrect the Prince of Darkness. As for the differences in the look of the castle, Hammer had moved to a different studio and so of course it looks different than it did when they made “Horror of Dracula” thirteen years earlier. Although marred by the cheesy bat sequences, “Scars of Dracula” is one of the more entertaining installments due to the spirited Paul, a bit o’ genuine amusement in the first act and a generally compelling story (hey, it worked for “Psycho,” why wouldn’t it work here?). The female cast doesn’t hurt, particularly the lovely Hanley as Sarah, but also Anouska Hempel (Tania), Delia Lindsay (Alice) and Wendy Hamilton (Julie). For those interested, Hammer did nine Dracula-themed films from 1958 to 1974 as follows: Horror of Dracula (1958); The Brides of Dracula (1960); Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966); Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968); Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970); Scars of Dracula (1970); Dracula AD 1972 (1972); The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973); and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974). Lee plays Dracula in all of them except “Brides” and “7 Golden Vampires” while Peter Cushing appears in five of them as a Van Helsing. The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot at Elstree Studios & nearby Scratchwood, just northwest of London. GRADE: B
Somehow, the sound of Dennis Waterman with a plummy accent doesn't quite work in this standard Hammer production. He is "Simon" who is keen on "Sarah" (Jenny Hanley) who is, in turn, rather keen on his Lothario of a brother "Paul" (Christopher Mathews). When the latter man's antics cause him to flee the anger of the burgomaster, he alights on a fire-damaged castle where he is soon, well... "Simon" and "Sarah" along with the local priest (Michael Gwynn) are soon on the trail but can they rescue him - or, indeed, save themselves from the evil that is "Dracula" (Christopher Lee)? Patrick Troughton is quite effective as the put-upon factotum "Klove" and Lee does just enough but the rest of the cast are really pretty lacklustre as the story follows a predictable pattern - complete with bat-on-a-string and plenty of ketchup and Ribena. It's watchable, but there's way too much dialogue and not enough action until the very last few moments - and even that is too heavily dependent on a thunderstorm to create any sense of impending menace.
Between the events of 'Saw' and 'Saw II', a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer, only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps.
A nightmare come to life, the Spiker is a massive pink-eyed albino and a maniac killing machine whose physical endurance borders on the fantastic. He escapes from an asylum and returns to the small town he terrorized years before, where he slashed his victims to pieces with railroad spikes and buried the bodies under the train tracks outside of town. When a group of local teens decide to camp out at an abandoned house, they are attacked by the Spiker and discover a web of terrible secrets hidden there.
After failing to kill stubborn survivor Laurie and taking a bullet or six from former psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis, Michael Myers has followed Laurie to the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, where she's been admitted for Myers' attempt on her life. The institution proves to be particularly suited to serial killers, however, as Myers cuts, stabs and slashes his way through hospital staff to reach his favorite victim.
Just when you thought it was safe to sleep, Freddy Krueger returns in this sixth installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, as psychologist Maggie Burroughs, tormented by recurring nightmares, meets a patient with the same horrific dreams. Their quest for answers leads to a certain house on Elm Street - where the nightmares become reality.
Mark 13 is a government-built killing machine programmed with artificial intelligence, able to repair and recharge itself from any energy source. Through a series of coincidences, the cyborg's head ends up in the home of a sculptress as a bizarre Christmas present from her boyfriend. Once inside its new home, the cyborg promptly reconstructs the rest of its body using a variety of household utensils and proceeds to go on a murderous rampage.
The story of the early, murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer, Hannibal Lecter – from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the repulsive lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his sojourn in France, where as a medical student he hones his appetite for the kill.
"Lesbian Warriors" shows the fate of two warrior lovers who kill a monk and are cursed to die at each other's hands for all eternity! In "Shoot and Strangle the Lesbos," a woman's lust for another woman may lead to death, not only for herself, but also for her lover, when her husband learns the truth! And finally in "Vampire Lesbians," a none too bright guy meets up with a pretty girl in a seedy bar where two lesbian vampires overhear their conversation and then decide to turn the girl into one of their own!
In Japan, the vampire-hunter Saya, who is a powerful original, is sent by her liaison with the government, David, posed as a teenage student to the Yokota High School on the eve of Halloween to hunt down vampires. Saya asks David to give a new katana to her. Soon she saves the school nurse Makiho Amano from two vampires disguised of classmates and Makiho witnesses her fight against the powerful demon.
When old-school monsters Frank, Drac and Wolf are deemed "fun" by a court of elders, they're ordered to scare a suburban family or risk a sentence of party entertainers for eternity.
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
When a heavyset girl discovers that whatever she does to her body physically affects her bully, she has to decide how far she's willing to go to exact revenge.