House of Dracula
Year: 1945
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Written by: Edward T. Lowe Jr.
Threat: Vampire
Weapon of Choice: Sunlight
IMDb page: 
House of DraculaYear: 1945 Director: Erle C. Kenton Written by: Edward T. Lowe Jr. Threat: Vampire Weapon of Choice: Sunlight IMDb page: |
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Other movies in this series:
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Bride of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Wolf Man
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
House of Frankenstein
Rish's Reviews
Universal's Monster cycle, begun in 1931 with Dracula,
reaches its ignoble end here in 1945. Oh, what a long, strange trip it's been.
When Count Dracula arrives at a scientist's home, it is not to kill, but to be cured of his
vampiric state. Or is it? When the Wolfman arrives, he also seeks a respite from his
monstrous condition.
Lon Chaney Jr. plays his greatest role, one second-to-last time. The cast also includes
John Carradine as Count Dracula, Lionel Atwill as the police inspector, and Glenn Strange
once again playing Frankenstein's Monster. Onslow Stevens plays the skeptical Doctor
Edelman, approached to cure the monsters. Frustratingly, the doctor believes vampirism
and werewolfism to be all psychological, even when he sees some of the changes with
his own eyes. When he becomes vampiric (still without sharp teeth), he's actually quite
menacing. In this one, Dracula infects someone via a blood transfusion. And he has the
power to hypnotize women, which has got to be nice. Oh, and there's a Hunchback
nurse character, also quite sympathetic.
Say it with me: "Poor Larry Talbot." Well, he's certainly consistent. But hey, here's a
new twist: Count Dracula says he also wants to die. Another twist is that they actually
manage to help Talbot here.
Erle Kenton, who directed over a hundred films, also helmed Ghost of and the
excellent House of Frankenstein
(that one also written by the screenwriter of this film). While I was vastly entertained
by most of the other films in these three series, this one seems kind of dull to me.
Though it shouldn't surprise me when the villagers form a murderous mob, it's still kind
of disappointing when they do. Unfortunately, the film is just too simplistic (it's a whole
sixty-six minutes long), the challenges are too easily overcome. Though the Hayes
Code probably had something to do with that (they had silly, nonsensical rules about
who could live and who could die, and how), this feels lazier than the last film, and was
apparently hurt by budget cuts during filming.
Ultimately House of Dracula is not a very good film. Apparently this is the
last of the series, unless you count Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein. I
wonder if we should.
Line To Remember: "My soul and mind have been seized by some nameless horror."
I'd Recommend It To: If you simply gotta see 'em all, then go ahead.
Posted: March 8, 2006
Total Skulls: 7
| Sequel |  |
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| Sequel setup | ||
| Rips off earlier film | ||
| Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie | ||
| Future celebrity appears | ||
| Former celebrity appears | ||
| Bad title | ||
| Bad premise | ||
| Bad acting | ||
| Bad dialogue | ||
| Bad execution | ||
| MTV Editing | ||
| OTS | ||
| Girl unnecessarily gets naked | ||
| Wanton sex | ||
| Death associated with sex | ||
| Unfulfilled promise of nudity | ||
| Characters forget about threat | |
|
| Secluded location | ||
| Power is cut | |
|
| Phone lines are cut | ||
| Someone investigates a strange noise | ||
| Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door | ||
| Camera is the killer | ||
| Victims cower in front of a window/door | ||
| Victim locks self in with killer | ||
| Victim running from killer inexplicably falls | ||
| Toilet stall scene | ||
| Shower/bath scene | ||
| Car stalls or won't start | ||
| Cat jumps out | ||
| Fake scare | ||
| Laughable scare | ||
| Stupid discovery of corpse | ||
| Dream sequence | ||
| Hallucination/Vision | |
|
| No one believes only witness | |
|
| Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth | ||
| Warning goes unheeded | ||
| Music detracts from scene | ||
| Death in first five minutes | ||
| x years before/later | ||
| Flashback sequence | ||
| Dark and stormy night | ||
| Killer doesn't stay dead | ||
| Killer wears a mask | ||
| Killer is in closet | ||
| Killer is in car with victim | ||
| Villain is more sympathetic than heroes | ||
| Unscary villain/monster | ||
| Beheading | ||
| Blood fountain | ||
| Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc. | ||
| Poor death effect | ||
| Excessive gore | ||
| No one dies at all | ||
| Virgin survives | ||
| Geek/Nerd survives | ||
| Little kid lamely survives | ||
| Dog/Pet miraculously survives | ||
| Unresolved subplots | ||
| "It was all a dream" ending | ||
| Unbelievably happy ending | |
|
| Unbelievably crappy ending | ||
| What the hell? |