A Law Unto Themselves

It has long been lamented that Bela Lugosi only donned the cape once as Universal’s Dracula (excluding the much later comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein), whereas their two other most famous creatures, the Frankenstein Monster and Wolf Man, were brought back to life a number of times by Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. respectively. Instead, for budgetary reasons, they cut Lugosi out of the sequel (Dracula’s Daughter – reviewed here on Filmizon this month), eventually giving the role to other actors (Chaney Jr. and John Carradine) until he finally returned to the role in 1948 in the above mentioned comedy. Yet, to say there is no true sequel to Dracula is not completely true. Columbia Pictures, looking to capitalize on the horror craze, aimed at producing a sequel to the Universal product. . . after being threatened with a lawsuit, they went ahead anyway – simply changing the Dracula name. Titled The Return of the Vampire (1943), B movie specialist Lew Landers was put in charge of directing the low budget fare.

A bit like Rosemary’s Baby on Viagra – well, not really. . . there’s no way this quickie production could afford anything other than no name brand, 1978's Satan’s Blood, written and directed by Carlos Puerto (uncredited direction comes from producer and horror auteur Juan Piquer Simón), brings horror sexploitation all the way to a bloody climax. It's also a wonderful guide in what not to do in a horror movie:

Part 2 of my Missed the Bloody Cut horror selections, here are some more horror movies that did not meet my strict criteria (a rating of 7.0 or higher). . . but are still entertaining films (horror fanatics may enjoy) that do not deserve to be forgotten like that spooky attic (that may be hiding more than just dust) – and that they are definitely worth a watch (just maybe not several re-watches).

A melodramatic horror thriller with more than a tinge of romance, 1951's The Strange Door, directed by Joseph Pevney, and based upon Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Sire de Maletroit’s Door”, pairs together two all-time legends to great effect. Set outside of Paris in the 17th century, Charles Laughton is Sire Alain de Maletroit, the fattest cat in the region. Prancing around his expansive castle (adorned with a trap front door that cannot be opened from the inside – talk about strange), he is, in fact, quite like a feline – hopping up onto furniture, leaning against walls, demonstrating a playful if menacing flamboyant attitude to anyone he meets. Surrounded by a group of equally as vile ‘yes’ men, they thrive off of Maletroit’s malice.

Five years after one of its two gargantuan horror hits of 1931, Universal finally released its long awaited sequel. . . rather surprisingly, without the original film’s star making a return appearance. Dracula’s Daughter (1936 – celebrating its 85th anniversary this 2021), takes the bold stance of starting up immediately after the previous film’s conclusion (90 year old spoiler alert), where Bela Lugosi’s Dracula has just been killed by Dr. Von Helsing (Victor Van Sloan). Directed by Lambert Hillyer (a late replacement for A. Edward Sutherland – who moved on after delays), we pick up with poor Von Helsing being arrested by the police for the ‘staking’ murder of Count Dracula. Transported to Scotland Yard (along with the bodies of Dracula and equally as dead Renfield) by two cops, the pretending not to be scared Hawkins (Halliwell Hobbes) and the bumbling and utterly petrified Albert (Billy Bevan), the less than dynamic duo soon lose the body of the infamous Count.

A tradition every October here on Filmizon.com, I’ve decided that I would highlight some of the horror movies that did not meet my strict criteria (a rating of 7.0 or higher). . . as I realized that they are still entertaining films (horror fanatics may enjoy) that do not deserve to be like an unseen spirit, never to be noticed again – and that they are definitely worth a watch (just maybe not several re-watches). As the introduction to my month (and a bit) of horror reviews, I’ve already been powering through a plethora of horror features as we speed towards Halloween, and, instead of posting one massive selection of Missed the Bloody Cut reviews at the end of October, I have decided to break it into several parts.