Doctor Dracula

Doctor Dracula (1981)

BOMB (out of 4)

In 1975 director Paul Aratow made a film called Lucifer's Women but not too much is known about it. It's not clear whether the film was completed and never released or if it was never completed. It's one of those mystery films that ended up being released in 1981 as this film, which features drive-in maverick Al Adamson filming new scenes with John Carradine and throwing it all together. The film never makes too much sense but it has something to do with Dracula working as a shrink so that he can bite on women but there's another man, trained by Svengali, to do battle with him. Dracula vs Frankenstein this is not but I must say Adamson did a very good job at adding the new stuff in because the new scenes really don't stick out and they mix well with the original film. With that said, the film is deadly dull from start to finish without any energy in the movie. The film tries very hard to be dark and mysterious but it never comes off that way. It seems the original film is mainly to blame because we get long dialogue scenes where nothing ever happens. The added scenes at least feature John Carradine hamming it up a little bit. Apparently Adamson also cut out all the nudity from the original film, which certainly wasn't a good thing to do considering how dull the film turned out to be. This is a pretty worthless film but hopefully the history about the original film will come out at some point.

This is a very scary movie. It is a true horror classic. It is not a 2. 2 is just underrating it. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It also has great special effects. Dracula (Marsh 1931) is better. Dracula (1992) is also better. But still this is a great movie. If it does not scary you know movie will. Dracula (1958) is better. Still the movie is scarier then The Shinning. And that is not easy to do. Don Red Barry was a great actor. Nosferatu (1922) is also better. But still this is one of the better Dracula sequels. There have been a lot of Dracula sequels and most of them are great movies. This is one of the scariest movies from 1978. It is a must see.

I've been on a quest to see all of Adamson's films for years and so imagine my surprise when this rarity turned up on local TV before Halloween. This is another of Adamson's patchwork features cobbled together using an older unfinished film (LUCIFER'S WOMEN) mixed with newer footage featuring Adamson regulars John Carradine and Regina Carroll. During commercial breaks the host of the show mentioned the overabundance of blue eyeshadow used in the movie and how it doesn't make sense that a person can be possessed by a fictional character (Svengali). Unintentionally funny is the deep voice used by a possessed woman which makes her sound like she's been possessed by the spirit of Suzanne Pleshette. Be sure to take a nap before watching the movie because it may put you to sleep.

I own the one-sheet and press book for Lucifer's Women but I've never been able to locate the actual film. Of course I have seen the trailer on the Dr Dracula DVD but I would like to see how it differs from the original.

Some say Lucifer's Women was unfinished, I don't know. Has anyone ever seen the original movie? If so, was it in a theatre or on television? I'm desperate for information regarding its existence or better yet-- a copy of the film on any format. Hint, hint...

Any further writings about this or Anton's involvement is much appreciated!

Not a very well known title in my native UK, but then anything which isn't a Hammer Dracula isn't well known over here. Having just recently watched Doctor Dracula, and knowing nothing about the format I thought this had to be a TV-Movie. While enjoyable, there are some really hammy lines in the dialogue. The character, Svengali, has to steal the show, if even for that beard!

On the whole, this is quite an enjoyable presentation, with an occasional appearance from the soundman's boom, and very little blood. Found the ending quite original though...who would have thought of destroying ..Al Adamson obviously.