14 October 2024
The Return of Dracula (1958)
77 min.
Directed by Paul Landres.
With Francis Lederer, Norma Eberhardt, Ray Striklyn, Virginia Vincent, Greta Gransted, Gage Clarke, John Wengraf, Jimmie Baird.
There's a vampire in suburbia!

The evil Count Dracula (Lederer) seeks fresh feeding opportunities, and so he leaves his ancestral home in eastern Europe and chooses a small town in California for his new digs.

Once there, he poses as 'Bellac Gordal,' a distant relative of the sweet Mayberry family.

He takes up residence with the Mayberrys in their humble abode. But in reality he's set up his own vampire lair in a nearby abandoned mine.

Thankfully, it's not long before his kind-hearted hosts begin to suspect the new houseguest isn't their beloved Bellac...but is really a nocturnal, bloodsucking demon!

Will lovely Rachel (Eberhardt) be able to stop the maniacal Drac before he sinks his teeth into her?

Minor - but enjoyable - vampire flick comes off surprisingly well, thanks to a spirited performance from Lederer, and the straight-faced way it treats it's tried and true subject matter.

There's a few standout moments, such as the scene in which Dracula turns one of Rachel's blind friends into the undead.

Also worth mentioning is the quick burst of blood red color that heightens one of this B&W horror's best shock moments.

Also known as Curse of Dracula, this 1958 terror makes fine midnight viewing.

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