Not Coming to a Theater Near You

The Drácula Saga / La Saga de los Drácula / Spain / 1972

Versatile director León Klimovksy has a go at the Dracula legend, employing a Hammer-esque atmosphere of gothic castles, mist-enshrouded cemeteries, and fearful villagers, and an intriguing plot that draws inspiration from the likes of Brides of Dracula, Rosemary's Baby, and even the great Dracula's Daughter.

The narrative begins with a variation on a well-worn Dracula scene: a young woman named Berta and her husband Hans traveling by coach through a rustic and foreboding landscape, the unsettling surroundings disturbing the horses. Soon enough, however, Emilio Martínez’s script gets interesting: for not only is Berta pregnant, she is carrying the potential heir to the Dracula line, and the enfeebled count has placed all his hopes of sanguinary immortality with his granddaughter. Somehow Berta managed to live her entire life as a Dracula without realizing the implications of the name, and is understandably discomfited to discover that her beloved grandpa is both undead and obsessed with passing on his hideous legacy to her unborn son.

As is the case with much of Klimovsky's work, the promising story here never quite coalesces into a completely satisfying film. The vampire attacks are generally uninspired, and the fascinating psychological implications of a daughter of Dracula compelled, more or less against her will, to succumb to the destiny of her ancestors is only hinted at. Yet Klimovsky and Martínez must be commended for even attempting to take the tale of the fabled count in a new direction, especially in light of Hammer's own Dracula effort of the day (the generally loathed, though not entirely worthless, Dracula A.D. 1972 ). And despite the film's shortcomings, it does offer a solid horror atmosphere, and several memorable set pieces, in particular the unexpected, and terrifying, appearance of the one-eyed mutant Valerio in all his webbed-fingered glory; and there are few moments in Dracula cinema as gritty and disturbing as the chilling climax featuring a dead-eyed Berta seeking vengeance on her accursed family…with an axe.

by Thomas Scalzo | Source: BCI Eclipse DVD
09 Apr 2008 8:51 PM | Submit Comment