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Film: Blood of Dracula’s Castle
Year: 1969
Director: Al Adamson
Writer: Rex Carlton
Starring: John Carradine, Paula Raymond and Alexander D’Arcy
Review:
This film begins with a woman driving on a road that is surrounded on both sides by woods; she is played by Vicki Volante. She runs out of gas and goes into the woods to look for help. There she runs into a large man played by Ray Young. He grabs her and takes her to a nearby castle.
There he meets with the butler, played by John Carradine. They put her in shackles and chains in the basement. We see that there are other women there as well. The couple that is in charge is Alexander D’Arcy, who is Count Dracula, and his wife, played by Paula Raymond. They are given a taste of the new woman’s blood and they like it. To reward Young, they allow him to take one of the other young women.
The film then shifts to a water park, where Gene Otis Shayne who is a photographer is taking pictures of a model with various aquatic animals, the model played by Jennifer Bishop. We also learn that Shayne has just proposed to Bishop and she stated she would think about it. He believes that she will agree. Shayne also gets a telegram telling him that his uncle has died and he has been left a castle in the Arizona desert. The problem is there have been tenants there for about 40 years. The couple decides to go there to see if they want to live there and inform the tenants of the bad news.
It turns out the castle they are referring to is the one that D’Arcy and Raymond live in. They also get a similar telegram that the old man has died and that Shayne is coming to meet with them. We learn through this interaction that they are expecting another man to join them at the castle.
The other male is played by Robert Dix. He is currently in prison. We see him outside though and he attacks a prison guard, played by John ‘Bud’ Cardos. He escapes and we see him as he is chased through the woods. During this, he drowns a young woman who is in a pond played by Joyce King. He also kills a man for his car and drives off. Another man is hitchhiking and he meets a similar fate as Dix is trying to make a better disguise. He runs the car off a cliff and makes his way to the castle.
Once he arrives, he meets with Carradine and they play pool. They speak of the god they worship in the castle, Luna the moon god. Dix has another reason he has issues with the full moon as he states it makes him crazy.
Shayne and Bishop then arrive at the castle and they meet with those that are living and staying there. They inform Raymond and D’Arcy of their plans to live there while this couple tries to convince them to let them stay. They stated before they got there, they will try to continue to rent, see if they can buy the castle or outright kill them to take it for themselves. That night, Bishop hears screaming and she is nervous about staying there. She knows there is something not right about this place.
The next day, the young couple goes to the beach for a swim and as they come back, they meet with Dix. He tells them that there is an issue with their car and that the Count and Countess are throwing a dinner party for them later that night. Bishop is not interested in staying so they go to look at the car. Instead they find a door to the cellar.
They go inside of it and find the chained women. They also find the coffins with Raymond and D’Arcy. They now know why they still look so young. They are not the children of the former tenants, they are vampires. Shayne and Bishop are then chained up with the other victims. Will they get free and survive? Or will they become blood donors to the vampires? Or will they be sacrificed?
I do have to say that I have seen a lot of Dracula/vampire films. I personally like when they try to update it since there have been so many different versions of Dracula out there. I like the idea of them living in a castle out in the desert with helpers who bring them victims. I also like the idea that they are drinking the blood like they are high quality drinks and never drinking too much allowing the victims to survive longer. That really is unfortunately the end of what I liked about this film.
First off, the acting across the board was subpar. The best parts were that I believed Raymond and D’Arcy could be high class vampires living out in the middle of nowhere. The action scenes in this film are weak and poorly acted. I don’t understand how everyone in the castle knew that Dix would be there soon and that he would break out of prison. I learned there are two versions of this film, one where he is a werewolf and another where he is just a psychopathic killer. If he is a werewolf, how come he never changed in prison? I guess we would need to know how long he was there. I don’t believe the vampires who are supposed to have superhuman strength would be allowed to be tied up and ultimately killed. I also do not understand why they included the sacrificing to Luna scene either. It felt pointless and to add to the running time. Also the women who are locked up do not really seem like they want to get out, as they are so subdued. I don’t care how long you’ve been there, my goal no matter what would be escape.
I would not recommend seeing this film. Somehow this film was rated Mature, when the worst thing I saw was the women chained up and that the vampires drink blood. The acting isn’t good. The story isn’t much better outside of the concept of having vampires live in a castle in the middle of the desert during a more modern time. There are a lot of issues and questions that are left unanswered. Unless you like low-budget horror or films from the 1960s, I would avoid this one as there are better ones from the era and from the genre to watch with your time.
My Rating: 3 out of 10