Scars of Dracula poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews, Patrick Troughton ... see more see more... , Michael Gwynn , Wendy Hamilton , Anouska Hempel , Delia Lindsay , Michael Ripper , Richard Durden , Morris Bush , Margot Boht , Toke Townley , David Leland , Bob Todd

One of a handful of Hammer "Dracula" films starring Christopher Lee, The Scars of Dracula begins as Count Dracula (Lee) rises from the grave once again. Buckets of blood and vats of violence will deli... read more read more...ght fans of horror. A young man and his girlfriend find themselves in Dracula's castle where Dracula sinks his teeth into five victims and tortures a servant in a graphically violent scene. A priest is attacked by a bat and meets his maker much earlier than anticipated. Naturally, the girl is soon coveted by Dracula, and the heroic young man must come to her rescue. There are typical scenes of religious defilement, arson, and the requisite wooden cross that wards off the evil bloodsucker. Dracula meets his fiery demise (yeah, right) when the foreboding castle is torched. No matter how he meets his end, rest assured Dracula will rise once again from any grave he finds himself in at the end of every film. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Flixster Users

46% liked it

3,033 ratings

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Roy Ward Baker

Release Date: December 23, 1970

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 7, 2001

Stats: 143 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Scars of Dracula Scars of Dracula Scars of Dracula Scars of Dracula Scars of Dracula Scars of Dracula Scars Of Dracula (wallpaper) Scars of Dracula Scars of Dracula
Upload a Photo | View All Scars of Dracula Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (143)

  • matertenebraum
    February 10, 2011
    matertenebraum
    A village girl found murdered, could it be that Dracula is back? Playboy Paul Carlson is about to find out.

    A bat hovers over a concrete slab, blood frothing from its mouth, the drops of which are reinvigorating the Prince Of Darkness. Yes, Dracula is back, bloodier than usual a... read morend even kind of chatty! Directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Christopher Lee in his fifth outing as Dracula, Scars Of Dracula, hamstrung by low budget as it is, is one of the better efforts in the Hammer Horror Dracula cycle.

    Standard rules apply, buxom wenches are ripe for slaughter and the guys are a mixture of village yokels and posh gentlemen. Lee as ever is charming and carrying his air of nastiness, and the story leads us nicely to a castle top finale of some standing. There's also some nice visual flourishes and memorable scenes along the way. Blood drips onto white candles that segue into red ones and Drac walks up walls. While the redness in the piece has never more been so vivid thanks to Moray Grant's impacting photography. The cast reads like a who's who of British television, you got a Doctor Who {Patrick Troughton with the worlds scariest eyebrows}, Minder {a badly miscast Dennis Waterman}, a Bond girl and presenter of Magpie {the lovely Jenny Hanley} and Lord Melbury from Fawlty Towers {Michael Gwynn}.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    October 31, 2008
    cancercapricorn2002
    People who enjoy Hammer horror movies seem generally to have deemed 'Scars of Dracula' to be the poorest offering in the Hammer/Lee Dracula catalogue (1958-73), based on a paucity of originality. I would disagree and whilst the film may have more flaws than most Hammer films in t... read moreerms of not so special effects, it has considerable merit and, in my view a good deal of originality. Firstly, one is struck by the peculiar physiognomy of Lee - his face drawn and ashen, almost as though he has been drained of blood, and definitely looking more like one of the undead than in previous films. In tandem with this new image, Lee carries out unprecedented acts of violence: in one maniacal scene, repeatedly stabbing one of his female cohorts with frenzied aggression when he discovers her in bed with an equally doomed guest, and in another scene, sadistically branding his man-servant (Patrick Troughton/Klove) across the back with a glowing sword, drawn from hot coals. In another scene, we find the previously mentioned guest hung like a piece of meat on a hook, which impales his chest. Such violent visuals do not, of course, necessarily add merit to the film (and Christopher Lee later commented that he deplored the violent contents of this particular sequel), but again represent an unprecedented aspect of the Dracula perennials. Possibly the most original and pleasing merit of the film is the location of Dracula's sleeping chamber and the way in which only he can access it. The chamber is set high up in the castle and can only be accessed by a window overlooking an abyss, hundreds of feet above the ground. This literally is the only access, as inside we find that there are no internal doors - only walls of stone. Drawing inspiration from the original Stoker novel, we come to see how Dracula comes and goes from his chamber, as at nightfall he emerges from the window and defies all the laws of physics by crawling up the wall to a window above. Marvellous. There is also an interesting addition where we find Dracula to have developed an ingenious defence mechanism to prevent him being staked while he slumbers. Though his eyes remain closed, the lids are superimposed by glowing red eyes which, understandably, startle and ward off the would-be 'staker'. As said, the film does have its flaws, not least in that it contains more than its fair share of Hammer hum-drum (Carpathian landlords with Cornish accents type-of-thing) and visually there is much to evoke laughter rather than fear. Rubber bats proliferate the film from start to end and the shoe-string sets also inhibit proceedings. There is one point when the 'solid stone' wall of Dracula's sleeping chamber containing the window wobbles momentarily as an intruder (who has managed to gain ingress by means of a bed-curtain hung from the window above) rushes to it, on seeing the curtain being pulled back up. And, though we are given an original demise for the Count, as he bursts into flames whilst holding an iron rail when it is struck by lightening, this sequence is itself shot down in flames as we see that the figure besieged by the inferno is clearly not Christopher Lee, but a masked stuntman. But then it is goofs like this which elicit such affection among Hammer aficionados. This film is well-deserving of a place in a horror film collection and though not great, it does have aspects which make it good.
  • drblood
    June 24, 2007
    drblood
    This is the closest Hammer ever came to reading Bram Stoker's novel and Dracula's climb down the walls of the castle is one of the results!.
  • monkeybobbob
    January 6, 2011
    monkeybobbob
    Classic Hammer vampire action. When a charismatic young man gets forced into spending the night in a castle he is eventually murdered by Dracula. Things later get dangerous as the mans brother and the girl both brothers want a piece of try and find him. Their hunt eventually lead... read mores them to the castle where the lord of the undead awaits. This is probably the goriest of Christopher Lees Draculas(not that thats saying much by todays standards) but as with all Hammer horrors, this carries an element of class that made Hammer so successful. Yes, the bats are so clearly fake it looks a bit silly but Scars of Dracula is a good horror tale and carries on Draculas story well.
  • littlecharmer1959
    May 8, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    I always love a good Hammer Horror, this however doesn't fall into that category. The acting is pretty awful and the plot is nothing special. Even for a small budget early 70s film the effects are bad, although the sight of those incredible fake looking rubber bats spitting red p... read moreaint does raise a few laughs. On the plus side Christopher Lee does get more screen time than any other of the Dracula flicks, which is always a good thing.
  • threefolddado
    June 17, 2008
    threefolddado
    Nice atmosphere in this excellent Christopher Lee Dracula outing.
  • dragon1464
    January 18, 2010
    dragon1464
    A wonderful old Hammer Studio's Production. Classic less than Hollyweird standards but enjoyable flick.
  • RCMerchant
    August 3, 2008
    RCMerchant
    Usually panned by mainstream critics as "too sadistic" and "cheesy". I like it. Christopher Lee gets much more screen time than in the other Hammer Dracula films. And he IS sadistic! He's cold,brutal,and just plain EVIL! He's fuckin' DRACULA,man! Whatta you want?
  • futsin
    July 11, 2007
    futsin
    If you can, get the version of this that has the AWESOME interview with Christopher Lee on a seperate disc. :D

    The movie itself is kinda meh, but is fun and enjoyable Hammer fare. It could be better, however. :\
  • tk7and7is
    April 8, 2007
    tk7and7is
    Hunt down the two-disc set with the Christopher Lee music videos. No, I'm not smoking crack. It has Christopher Lee music videos.

View All Scars of Dracula Reviews

Critic Reviews

Tim Brayton
October 21, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

A rattling collection of warmed-over ideas filmed on a paltry budget...doesn't do anything that Dracula and Prince of Darkness didn't already do better. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 7, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Yet another Chris Lee Dracula picture

Howard Thompson
May 10, 2005
Howard Thompson, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Jeremy Heilman
January 12, 2002
Jeremy Heilman, Apollo Guide

Click to read the article Full Review

Derek Adams
February 9, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Fright Night
    Fright Night (0%)
  • Dracula A.D. 1972
    Dracula A.D. 1972 (100%)
  • Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
    Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (0%)
  • Once Bitten
    Once Bitten (0%)

More Movies like Scars of Dracula

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Scars of Dracula : Watch Free on TV

Scars of Dracula Trivia

  • Scars Of Dracula- Simon Carlson was played by Dennis Waterman. Who recommended him for the part?  Answer »
More Scars of Dracula Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Scars of Dracula. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Scars of Dracula to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?