I actually like this one quite a bit. The bat effects are ludicrous (as they are in all Hammer films). But this is by far the most mean-spirited of the Hammer Draculas. It's fun to see Lee wielding daggers and scorching hot swords. And he looks particularly cadaverous. I'd definitely put it on par with A.D. 1972 and Satanic Rites. Scars would make a good double feature with Count Yorga, Vampire. They share similar early 70s sensibilities even though Scars is a period piece.
Yeah it's mean spirited, but it's also a movie where Dracula stabs someone. What a waste of good blood! The whole thing looks cheap and my god Dennis Waterman is a charisma vacuum. I watched all 10 Hammer Dracula movies in the space of a week, and this was by far the worst; even Legend of the Seven Golden Vampire, without Lee but with kung fu, was better.
To each their own. I find a lot more to nitpick in AD 1972, Satanic Rites, and even Taste The Blood Of Dracula--which is hardly a Dracula movie at all. I wouldn't single out Waterman for abuse either. This series isn't especially notable for its male leads. Cushing is fantastic across the board. And the other Van Helsing stand-ins are all good to excellent. But the romantic male leads are usually proper and dull English gentlemen, there just to move the plot forward. Even the usually fantastic Michal Gough turns in his worst work in this series. Check out the Horror Of Dracula Blu-ray commentary to hear him get justifiably skewered.
