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"Doctor Dracula" carries a 1981 copyright but was composed of footage delivered by two different directors between 1974 and 1977, the final result ending up in a television package from Samuel M. Sherman's Independent-International distribution company. Originally completed and briefly released in 1974 as "Lucifer's Women," this version by Paul Aratow was highly charged erotica with explicit nude scenes, a lesbian love affair, and a Satanic orgy for its literal climax. Sherman and partner Al Adamson saw something in it that they could use, deleting all the R-rated material for a more family friendly overhaul featuring Adamson veterans John Carradine, Donald Barry, Susan McIver, Regina Carrol, and Geoffrey Land as a totally ineffectual Dracula, posing as psychiatrist Anatole Gregorio (making one long for Zandor Vorkov in "Dracula vs. Frankenstein!"). "Lucifer's Women" was deliberately paced yet not that bad, Larry Hankin's John Wainwright a stage magician claiming to be the reincarnation of renowned mesmerist Svengali, here blessed with his own lovely Trilby in Jane Brunel-Cohen, who pulls off her character's naivete while simultaneously sleeping with every man who desires her. Both titles share the same 90 minute running time, Adamson shooting an additional 54 minutes to remove all the best aspects of Aratow's cut, Hankin the only returning cast member, his Svengali easily outclassing Land's meager Dracula. Former screen and stage Dracula Carradine misses out on the vampire but receives top billing for the last time in an Adamson picture, a decent sized role as Hadley Radcliff (11 minutes screen time), leader of the cult of devil worshippers who need Trilby to prolong their existence, before their enemy can deny them the satisfaction. It's not so difficult to follow for an Adamson mishmash, yet still inferior to its source material, building up the Svengali character at Trilby's expense, the new stalking scenes for Dracula stopping things dead in their tracks. Adamson's routine footage is strictly by-the-numbers, and one tends to miss the frequent absences of drop dead gorgeous Jane Brunel-Cohen, especially those well shot nude seduction scenes. No backstory to display how a centuries old vampire becomes a successful doctor, and his targeting of a cult seeking immortality could have been the germ of a great storyline, but not in this director's hands. Paul Aratow's 1974 original is now easily available for comparison, a pleasant surprise on an obviously skimpy budget, by filmmakers skilled in the adult film industry.

1985's "Day of the Dead" came third in director George Romero's initial trilogy, in the wake of 1968's "Night of the Living Dead" and 1978's "Dawn of the Dead," as downbeat as the former, as gruesome as the latter, interiors filmed in an abandoned mine in Wampum PA, plus location shooting on Florida's Sanibel Island and Fort Myers. This time our protagonists are divided in two, burned out scientists conducting research against impatient soldiers eager to pull the trigger, and the heated clashes that result from isolation in close quarters. Budgetary limitations forced Romero to tone down his initial vision, the most progressive notion the education of undead Bub (Sherman Howard) by certified 'mad scientist' Frankenstein (Richard Liberty), using human flesh as treats when Bub responds accordingly to stimuli (continuing on from "Dawn of the Dead" with its human protagonist retaining living memories after death). Top billing rightly goes to Lori Cardille Rogal, the daughter of Pittsburgh TV host Bill Cardille (channel 11's Chiller Theater), who had been convinced to portray himself back in the 1968 original (receiving special billing in the process). Once again, characterizations are expertly drawn and performances uniformly excellent, special praise going to Sherman Howard, whose silent mime and facial expressions compare favorably to Boris Karloff in the 1931 "Frankenstein." His wide eyed wonder examining everyday items like a telephone, and genuine anguish in finding his mentor's lifeless corpse, help offset the relentlessly nihilistic narrative. With the walking dead acknowledged to outnumber humans 400,000 to one, where do you go from here? (Romero's answer would have to wait 20 years for "Land of the Dead").

1978's "Dawn of the Dead" was the long awaited sequel to George A. Romero's iconic 1968 "Night of the Living Dead," which famously transformed zombies from old fashioned voodoo legends to modern day gut munching, raising the ante on graphic, realistic violence due to Tom Savini's breathtaking makeup effects (as a former Vietnam photographer, he merely recreated the horrors of what he'd seen overseas). Taking place weeks after the events in the previous film, the proliferation of walking dead has escalated to the entire nation, our quartet of protagonists utilizing a helicopter to make their way to Canada by way of Pennsylvania, keeping away from urban areas but in urgent need of gas and supplies. Monroeville Mall east of Pittsburgh offers refuge from the horror, and the longer they stay in this safe space the more they appreciate the goods present at their fingertips, with food and drink, money and clothes, and finally guns and ammo. The opening reels establish the growing horror, audiences stunned to see these ghouls actually bite pieces of flesh from their warm blooded victims, a head exploding from a well timed gunshot, television and radio virtually abandoned as society breaks down in horrifying fashion. From this Romero offers up a humorous satire of consumerism, zombies drawn to the mall after death because it meant something to them in life, with financial support from Italian director Dario Argento, and full creative freedom to compose his screenplay. Just as he did ten years before, Romero draws us in with three dimensional characters that we root for, here reversing the temptation of a downbeat ending because he too grew to deeply care for them. Issued with a rating to avoid drastic cuts, the 127 minute theatrical print has since been expanded upon by an additional half hour, between 140 (VHS) to 155 minutes (Blu-Ray), a massive success that virtually created the whole 'flesh eater' subgenre born in Italy with Lucio Fulci's grueling Richard Johnson vehicle "Zombi 2" aka "Zombie" (US tagline: "We Are Going to Eat You!"). Romero completed "Knightriders" and "Creepshow" before returning to the franchise with 1985's "Day of the Dead."