In honor of the recently knighted Christopher Lee, I declare it Hammer time at Slammed & Damned. In my opinion, you can’t touch Sir Christopher’s portrayal of Count Dracula in the films produced by Hammer studios. So today, we’re going to look at what is usually thought of as the last of Lee’s truly great Dracula movies, Taste the Blood of Dracula (filmed in 1969, but released in 1970), though calling this flick “truly great” might be overstating it a bit. Lee played Dracula in seven Hammer films, and Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968) is the only one I would call truly great. Horror of Dracula (1958), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) and Taste the Blood of Dracula are all solid films, but the others—Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)—are definitely lesser films, each more embarrassing than the one before.
Taste the Blood of Dracula is not at all a bad film. Consumer Alert: If you read the Netflix description of this flick (Count Dracula is back in action when three swingers turn to black magic to boost their sex-drive slump), you will definitely get the wrong impression. That makes this sound like a soft-core porn movie, and nothing could be further from the truth. The setting is Victorian England, and the “three swingers” in question are actually three middle-aged men who are pillars of their community. But on the last Sunday of each month, they gather in a brothel on the wrong side of town to enjoy whatever salacious delights are available—the more bizarre, the better. This being 1869 by way of 1969, “bizarre” equals topless women and a belly dancer wrapped in a boa constrictor. Now, for a Hammer film, this is racy stuff (we actually see a bare breast or two), but these gentlemen are growing bored with it. Enter the arrogant Lord Courtley.
Young Lord Courtley promises the men delights previously unimagined, if only they trust him and pony up 1,000 guineas ($5,250). For this then-kingly sum, they will purchase Dracula’s cape, signet clasp and a vial of his powdered blood. With that, they will supposedly be able to resurrect the Master by performing a satanic rite and, apparently, enjoy pleasures not of this world. Granted, it’s all rather vague but they go along with it, fools that they are. And as any sane person might expect, these fools are soon in fear for their lives as an annoyed Dracula hunts them down to take vengeance for Lord Courtley, who died in the ceremony. Here’s the twist: Dracula uses the men’s teen children to exact his revenge.
I suppose this is Hammer trying to impose a socially relevant metaphor into its flagging Dracula series. I don’t know if it boosted the movie’s commercial potential upon release, but in 2009 it’s fun to watch these hypocrites get their comeuppance from the younger generation. Sure, these guys can hang out in bordellos, but they won’t allow their kids to go to a party? Well, Count Dracula has something to say about that. Hungry freaks, daddy, indeed!
Taste the Blood of Dracula, directed by Peter Sasdy, picks up right where Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (directed by Freddie Francis) ends, and it’s an interesting contrast. Sasdy started directing in the late ‘50s and Taste the Blood of Dracula looks like a film directed by a journeyman trying to adapt to a new era. It moves slowly, but has a few of the “freak-out” camera moves popular at the time. Freddie Francis got his start as a camera assistant in the ‘30s and moved up to cinematographer, working on classic films such as The Innocents before he began directing, and Dracula Has Risen From the Grave is a better film for his extensive experience.
Sir Christopher Lee has had an amazing life and career. Sure, there have been lean times, but how many actors have been able to reinvent themselves and establish a new persona for several new generations? Think about it for a second. Lee has played Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Fu Manchu and the Mummy. You youngsters out there might know him as Count Dooku (he battled Yoda, fer chrissakes) or Saruman. He was in the original version of The Wicker Man and was a Bond villain in The Man With the Golden Gun—he’s also Ian Fleming’s step-cousin. Directors he’s worked with include Laurence Olivier, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg. He actually knew J.R.R. Tolkein, and he is on the cover of Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run album. He’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as “tallest leading actor.” He has even hosted Saturday Night Live. And, as if that’s not enough, he’s now been knighted by the Queen of England—talk about an overachiever.
But even if he becomes king, Sir Christopher Lee will always be Count Dracula to me. His Dracula wasn’t the suave bloodsucker that Bela Lugosi gave us. Lee’s Dracula was a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” fanged feral animal. He might not have been politically correct, but he knew what he wanted and he got it. Actually, his Dracula really did get it. I believe he died at the end of each of his films but, like Jason Vorhees today, he always managed to come back. Now that I think of it, that’s not a bad description of Christopher Lee himself.
~Theron Neel
Our next entry in 
Invasion! is a clever little film. I was surprised when I learned it was written for the screen—it feels very much like an alternative theater piece that’s been opened up for the screen. John Paisz has given us an affectionate send-up of those wonderfully terrible 1950’s atomic-age sci-fi/horror movies we used to watch on lazy Saturday afternoons. The movie’s era is hard to pin down. It feels like the ‘50s, but the décor is ‘60s kitsch and we hear ‘70s music played, all of which adds to the anachronistic atmosphere created by Paisz. The script is loaded with understated, witty wordplay: Exceptional Vista is located in the “Western Central Northeast.” It’s located near the villages of Bladder Town and Fetus. The “dead remains of a human corpse, deceased,” are found in the “hilly, lumpy bumpy part of town outside of town.” In my favorite quote, Dr. Lamonte opines on the possible killer, “A genetically engineered band of devil-worshipping serial killers or a sasquatch-type thing—I don’t like the sound of that.”
As we all know by now, any good ‘50s sci-fi parody includes a degree of campy sexuality, and Invasion! is no different. But as with its humor, the perverse edge is played subtly for the most part. Sexual identity is subverted through the character names: men are named Karel, Michel, Claire, Dana, Kim, Jan, Leslie, Gayle and Pat. The most masculine male name is Guy, belonging to Sandy’s brother, a man-child to whom Dr. Lamonte grows (ahem) confusingly close by the movie’s end. Dr. Lamonte is also quite fond of his customized blow-up doll (see photo).
The people at production house Trash Film Orgy seem to know what they’re doing. Hell, the name of their company could serve as their mission statement. And TFO’s latest release, Monster From Bikini Beach, illustrates my point perfectly. Combining ‘50s monster movies, ‘60s bikini/beach movies, ‘70s sexploitation flicks and more, this movie is pretty much a trash film primer. In fact, the film’s tag line tells you all you need to know: “The blood is fake, but the boobs are real!”
Director/writer Darin Wood and Christy Savage, his producer and cinematographer, have given us an almost perfect example of the beloved Three B’s: Blood, Boobs and Beasts. It could even be said that this film is ambitious—and that’s pretty much the only problem I have with Monster From Bikini Beach. Don’t get me wrong. I love an ambitious movie, but Wood has taken a perfectly good beach party/monster flick and gummed it up with an inane film noir side story. Consequently, the film is three movies in one, but only two of them are executed well. As long as the film concentrates on the bikini go-go girls covered in day-glo body paint or the giant walking catfish creature that feeds upon them, it’s amazing. But as soon as Sammy Payday shows up with his muddled scheme to cash in and get out, accompanied by wooden, rambling voiceovers, the film stops dead. Also, a major part of the movie is spent setting up and building to the go-go dance contest. But when the contest finally occurs, we don’t really see it, which is a major let-down. Why would a bikini movie with a dance contest as a major plot point squander the chance to show groovy chicks dancing in the contest? Sure, there already is plenty of dancing in the film, but this time it would’ve actually contributed “dramatically” to the story.
But let’s focus on what Monster From Bikini Beach gets right. There are lots of cute go-go girls in bikinis, and a majority of them lose their tops at some point. The cheesy mutant catfish creature is awesomely rendered. The flick gets better every time the monster rambles across the screen, chasing and mutilating sexy girls. Speaking of mutilation, there are some admirable gore effects and buckets of splattered blood on display. One thing that caught my eye was the remarkable look of the film. Sure, this is a very low-budget production, but Christy Savage has taken the time to include some superbly composed shots. The film looks just extraordinary. It has a soft glow and nice use of color that completely took me by surprise.
Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t single out a few of the performances. Stephanie Hyden may not make a convincing news reporter, but she’s an entertaining screen presence and, hey, she looks good in a shower. As her budding love interest, Galen Howard seems to be doing a fair impression of indie star Jeremy Davies…at least, his hands are. As Boom Boom, Laura Stahl is a bikini-clad sweetheart. All Boom Boom wants is to win the big dance contest and make her man proud, and Stahl crafts a fun, charming character here.