Chi o suu bara

Evil of Dracula is the third and last entry in the Bloodthirsty Trilogy centered around American-styled horror movies in a Japanese context. Released a whopping three years after the previous output Lake of Dracula and four years after The Vampire Doll, this story is centered around a psychology teacher who assumes a job at an isolated private school. Upon arrival, he learns that the principal's wife died in a tragic car accident two days earlier. When the teacher respectfully asks if he could visit her grave, he is told by the principal that her body hasn't been buried or cremated yet and is instead kept in a coffin in the basement for a whole week according to an ancient local tradition. The surprises don't stop there for the young teacher when he is told that the principal would like him to be his successor. At night, the young teacher has a haunting nightmare of the principal's wife and an unknown girl attacking him. He is stunned when he learns that the girl in his nightmare is in fact a student who mysteriously disappeared and that several students indeed run away from the old school every single year. The teacher realizes that something is afoul and starts investigating.

Horror movies that are set in high schools don't seem to be original anymore but Evil of Dracula was released two years before Carrie, three years before Suspiria and even decades before the Whispering Corridors series. Setting a gothic horror movie at an old private school for girls was a clever idea back then and the movie's familiar yet unsettling settings still work perfectly four and a half decades later. The isolated railway station, the bumpy country road with the carwreck, the elegant principal's mansion, the gloomy forest and lake next to the school, the big classrooms and the modest dorms make for diversified locations.

The movie also convinces with a gloomy atmosphere. Right from the start, viewers might sense that something is wrong. The teacher arrives at a completely isolated railroad station. The staff is very rude. The person who was supposed to pick him up arrives late. The first thing he sees on his way to the school is the horribly burned carwreck. The tension intensifies from there on and will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Even though Evil of Dracula is a good horror movie that has aged surprisingly well, it isn't as great as The Vampire Doll with its outstanding acting performances and Lake of Dracula with its mysterious and surreal vibes. The acting performances in Evil of Dracula are solid but not outstanding. The principal's characteristics are a little bit too similar to those of the main villain in Lake of Dracula. Lead actor Kurosawa Toshio looks stylish but his acting performance lacks depth and emotions. The characters of the three students who decide to stay at the school during summer break are promising but not fully developed. If the movie had been a little bit more detailed, it could have been much more intense.

The final showdown is also less convincing than in the two predecessors. There are a lot of things going on but the action looks unintentionally humorous at times and feels completely exaggerated by the end. This rather recalls The Rocky Horror Picture Show than an actual horror movie, even though said was also released one year after Evil of Dracula.

In the end, Evil of Dracula is an atmospheric and intense horror movie that gets even closer to American-styled horror cinema than the two predecessors. However, the acting performances are only slightly above average and the film is at times lacking depth. If you have watched the first two entries, you will also like this film. If that isn't your case, watch the Bloodthirsty Trilogy chronologically.

Professor Shiraki (Toshio Kurosawa) travels from Tokyo to the countryside by train to work as a psychology teacher in the Seimei School for girls. There is a driver waiting for him and he sees a car accident on the road. He learns that the principal´s wife died in the accident. When they arrive at the school, the Principal (Shin Kishida) welcomes him and Shiraki offers his condolences to him. He tells that the coffin of his wife will stay in the basement for seven days as per the local costume. He also tells that Shiraki was chosen to be the next principal of the school. During the night, Shiraki has a dreadful nightmare with the principal´s wife. Soon he befriends three students and learns that a roommate has disappeared and other students are also missing. What is the mystery of the Seimei School for girls?

"Chi o suu bara", a.k.a. "Evil of Dracula", is the third vampire film by Toho Studios. There is no Dracula in the story despite the American title. However it is cult and does not disappoint the fans of a vampire movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição de Drácula" ("The Curse of Dracula")

Taking a job in a remote village, a man is promoted instantly to be principal of the all-girls school he teaches and comes to learn that the previous boss was a vampire still lurking around the school grounds and must find a way to stop him before he claims more of the student body.

This was a highly enjoyable and engaging effort in the series. What tends to give this one a lot of it's best qualities is the fact that there's quite a creepy atmosphere developed from the very start. The ride to the school where they witness the damaged car on the side of the road gets this off to a nice bit of foreshadowing, especially once the real motivation for his arrival is given which is what really starts this one off. Moving into the school's bunkers is where this one starts in on the Gothic atmosphere that's present throughout here in his first encounter with the three brides in his room which is full of tense Gothic images as they chase him around as well as the later scene in the basement where he discovers the coffin of the dead wife unknowingly turned into a vampire. That they appear so early into the film help make the film's tangent into the mysticism and lore of the backstory for the main villain all the more interesting as there's quite a large influence of Western mythology which readily enhances this as a whole. As that itself leads into their behavior later on when they start attacking the schoolgirls in much more frantic encounters out in the woods attacking the transfixed girls or brawling with the faculty chasing after them which feel far more commonplace in Western efforts rather than these Eastern tales which adds immensely to their appeal. Once we get into the finale where the bodies of the students under his control come out and are shown to attack the others in his basement, this one becomes quite fun with the added fun of some cheap-looking gore to enhance the experience while giving this one some nice action to close it out. Along with the chilling look to the vampires and the way it moves rather nicely along, there's enough to like here to hold this one up over it's few minor flaws. The film's biggest issue is the way it resorts to lengthy, somewhat drab dialogue-heavy scenes to tell a vast majority of its plot points, as rather than feature them battling each other or investigate anything it's all driven by speaking to everyone and then drawing conclusions based on that so it tends to run into sections where it's not nearly as exciting as the events that are supposedly being put forth end up being. Likewise, there's also the fact that this one does look rather cheap at times, especially in the bloody kills which are like colored water in their consistency and the day-for-night scenes in the woods are somewhat obvious and embarrassing. These are the film's only real problems, though.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.

Swell filming locations and set design are rounded out with fine detail of decorative elements, giving some great imagery to serve as the setting. Even in building a sense of mystery, the writing is rather direct, and at times a bit over the top, and in this instance composer Riichiro Manabe's score echoes that slant. Still, 'Evil of Dracula' also carries a minor sense of atmosphere that's gratifying, and growing suspense. Though broadly declining genuine fright or thrills, this is pretty entertaining throughout.

The cast do well to embody their roles, embracing every shift in demeanor and doing a fine job of bringing their characters to life. That said, I'm not sure that the screenplay provides a lot of room to explore parts freely; suitable as they are, performances feel relatively straightforward and scripted. Of anyone on hand, Shin Kishida is most notable in his part as the principal - here leaning much further into an exaggerated, overt portrayal of a very particular creature of the night, alternately echoing classic interpretations, and straight-up chewing scenery.

Somewhat unremarkable overall, there's nonetheless some fun cleverness to the narrative that differs from other vampire flicks. Though maintaining the air of the slightly overdone approach, the climax is especially well done, producing the most substantial excitement of the film. It seems quite certain that this is where the most energy and resources were devoted as great care is given to the choreography, stunts, and special effects.

Smart as some plot points are, 'Evil of Dracula' doesn't wholly stand out among the wealth of other vampire movies in the world. Of the trio of features Toho produced in the early 70s, this strikes me as being in the middle of the pack: more carefully considered than the often middling 'Vampire doll,' but also definitely less sharp and stimulating than the superb 'Lake of Dracula.' That said, this is most assuredly far from a bad movie - just not the utter cream of the crop, either.

There's little about this picture that impresses outright, and for whatever it does well, the level of enjoyment to be had doesn't mark this as a film to proverbially write home about. But it's consistent and crafted well, with a measure of greater intelligence around the edges. 'Evil of Dracula' isn't absolutely essential, but it's capably entertaining, and worth watching should you come across it.

The last part of Yamamoto's Vampire Trilogy has been described as the worst, but it's still very entertaining. The main problem is that it obviously tries to copy the Hammer Vampire movies, and the man with the cape always looks a little bit out of place. Otherwise, most 'scary moments' are carried out in the `Kaidan Eiga'- fashion with slow camera movements and impressive lighting. Here, and in some beautiful long shots, it shows that some skill was involved, and that the movie could have become a minor classic if it had stuck to the Japanese tradition of the Horror Film. The sound track sounds too European, too and the dubbing is a total nightmare, but I think, a subtitled version recently got released in the U.K. Recommended viewing for fans of offbeat seventies horror.