Blood Of Dracula's Castle!

What a movie this is!

I've never seen this 1969 drive-in B-movie before yesterday evening. I was waltzing through my local Wal-Mart and checked out the discount movies and found a wonderful collection of trash called Gorehouse Greats and was especially attracted by the movie title The Blood of Dracula's Castle. When I saw the name John Carradine I knew I had to watch.

It was fantastic! Fantastically bad that is, in a wonderful wacky way. First let's assert that there's nothing remotely scary about this movie. It has a castle located somewhere either in a forest or a desert (it changes) occupied by Count Dracula (not played by Carradine for goshsakes) who goes by the name of "Townsend". He and his wife live a life of repose like some Florida retirees or something drinking blood from goblets supplied by their butler George (Carradine) who gets the stuff from girls chained in the basement and watched over by giant Fankenstein wannabe "Mango". There's also another member of the brood named Johnny who escapes prison and after much running ends up back at the castle in time to meet the new owners. They are a hip young couple who have just inherited the castle and want to take possession. Needless to say they don't know what they are in for. Johnny may or may not be a werewolf, the version I have doesn't show that, but apparently one version does. So this is for all intents and purposes a late 60's "Monster Rally" movie.

The fact that no scene really takes place at night really undermines any meager attempt there might be at tension or suspense. There are some passable stunts and the guy playing Johnny is way over the top and neatly so. The movie has the young couple touring Marineland at the beginning of the movie and I'm sure this is probably the only movie that has Dracula and a dolphin in the same flick.

One thing I'll give them points for is the way it starts. There's this upbeat music playing as a girl drives along carefree. We listen to it for a long time then she breaks down and it continues right up until she meets Mango, the tune and tone shift if only briefly before we go to Marineland. These shifts are peculiar and offer at least a smidgeon of surprise. If somehow you didn't know you were watching a horror flick at the beginning you might be a wee bit surprised by the abrupt change.

John Carradine is perfectly okay in this. He does what he's asked and lives up his dual role as immoral butler and apparent priest of "Luna" the Moon god he and apparently the Draculas worship. It's out there man for sure.

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