Blood of Dracula

In BLOOD OF DRACULA, Nancy Perkins (Sandra Harrison) is dropped off at her new boarding school by her father and his new wife. While Nancy is busy settling in, she is unaware that science teacher, Miss Branding is working on a bizarre experiment. She's also looking for a human subject, someone who has Nancy's rather explosive temperament! Mad science and the occult merge, resulting in horror beyond all measure!

Sort of.

This movie is another lump of Limburger from AIP distribution. Much like THE SHE-CREATURE or VOODOO WOMAN, it's a story about the unleashing of the savage side of female human nature, and the hideous consequences thereof. The title comes into play in an absurd, non sequitur way.

As cinematic nonsense goes, this example is quite enjoyable. Just wait until you see Nancy's toothy transformation scene!

WARNING: This movie contains the song "Puppy Love"...

1957's "Blood of Dracula" from AIP producer Herman Cohen cashed in on the success of Michael Landon's "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" with a simple gender reversal of both Landon and Universal's "The Mad Ghoul." Previous credits at Realart (Lon Chaney's "The Bushwhackers" and "Battles of Chief Pontiac," plus "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla"), Allied Artists ("Target Earth"), and United Artists (Abbott and Costello's "Dance With Me, Henry") led to Cohen's arrival at American International, where the youthful slant on a supernatural favorite led to a similar double bill pairing this picture with "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein," shot a month later. It's a shame that Cohen decided to use this title since there is no Dracula, it's not "Dracula's Daughter" nor even a male vampire; instead of a mad scientist using a moody teenager for experiments on regression (Bridey Murphy again), we have a female chemistry teacher taking advantage of a troubled girl student. Louise Lewis had played the school principal in "Teenage Werewolf" (as well as an unbilled part in John Beal's "The Vampire"), here second billed as Miss Branding, whose fanatical thesis has rightly been rejected by the male dominated scientific community, that each individual has a greater capacity for destruction than any 'A' bomb if the right techniques are used. Enter Nancy Perkins (Sandra Harrison), latest arrival at the Sherwood boarding school for girls, still grieving for the mother who died only six weeks before, and dismissive of her father's sudden decision to remarry. She is not as short tempered as Michael Landon's character, quite a sympathetic figure, especially after the other girls in her dormitory trample over her the first night. Nancy is bright and quick to be accepted (she chose not to snitch), but under the hypnotic influence of Miss Branding undergoes a physical transformation and incurable thirst for blood. The old bat brandishes an amulet from the Carpathian Mountains, which can either heal or destroy depending on its use, and guess which one is selected? The result is a wild hairy creature with pointed ears similar to Max Schreck's "Nosferatu," certainly making for a decent poster. Luckily, the lone male victim (Jerry Blaine from "Teenage Werewolf") is the dimwit who belts out the picture's embarrassing teen dance number, while the perfunctory police investigation only eats up time and goes nowhere, the one officer who suggests a vampire on the loose rapidly denounced as a crackpot (we at least get a mention of Transylvania). Despite Sandra Harrison's affecting performance she never went on to any prominence, director Herbert L. Strock asserting that the actress already considered herself a star. Among the cops we see Malcolm Atterbury (back from "Teenage Werewolf") and Richard Devon ("The Undead," "War of the Satellites"), but the picture is half over before the first killing, with little enough action as it is, one other attack claiming two victims before the predictable climax. One gorgeous student who disappears all too quickly is raven haired Barbara Wilson, soon to star in "Terror in the Midnight Sun," later reworked by director Jerry Warren into the John Carradine vehicle "Invasion of the Animal People," who also supplied the memorable opening sequence of Martin Kosleck's "The Flesh Eaters."

Yes...pretty much. It's very similar to "I Was A Teenage Werewolf." The real differences are that the protagonist is a female and of course the monster is a vampire instead of a werewolf. It's got pretty much the same ingredients: Teens, bad rock songs ( I personally think the songs are great ),hypnotism, monsters. Features a great opening scene and a cool graveyard attack set. I don't understand why this film is often pushed aside and seldom mentioned. Maybe it just needed to be called "I Was a Teenage Vampire." I think the atmosphere is pretty solid and I enjoy this picture enough to rate it an 8...yes an 8. Check it out.

Fairly amusing film about a girl in a reform school who's hypnotically turned into a vampire and sets out to kill a few classmates. Interestingly, this film reverses many horror movie cliches by making the young attractive heroine the monster herself. Some imaginative sequences, hokey dialogue with pretty good photography. Not as good as the more famous "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" or the much better "How to Make a Monster", but well worth watching for fans of drive in fun.

Don't be surprised if this DRACULA version made in the late fifties includes some teenagers elements. It is obviously destined to drive in audiences, young men and women kissing each other aboard their parents cars whilst the movie appeared on screen.... It is not that bad, because directed by Herbert Strock, a little horror master from this period, besides Gene Fowler Jr and William Castle. This is an agreeable horror film, one of the first evoking Halloween twenty years before John Carpenter's most known movie. Acting is pretty surprisingly good for this kind of B feature and the photography also excellent. But please, don't take it too seriously and you'll enjoy it. Excellent ending too, rather surprising. I love that.