HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945)
Tagline : Horror upon horror in the house of Dracula!
Dracula (Baron Latos played by John Carradine) ends up going to Dr. Edelman's (played by Onslow Stevens) office asking for a cure to his vampirism but he’s a crafty creature of the night. He’s definitely in this movie a lot more than he was the last one, but it’s not close to enough. Lawrence Talbot (played by Lon Chaney Jr.) actually still does want a cure, and ends up going to the same doctor. I guess he’s like a magnet for weirdos. They end up running into a cave where Frankenstein’s monster is encased in mud. If you didn’t watch HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, then you might want to do that to find out how the heck he got there. Dr. Edelman is trying out a fungus to cure the Wolfman but the results take some time to get back from the hunchback lab. The monsters fight for their own priorities as the plot moves along because getting Frankenstein’s heart going full blast again, seems to be everyone’s favorite idea in these movies. Frankenstein is one again played by Glenn Strange.
What is strong in this movie, is the creepy factor, not only regarding atmosphere, but even the acting. There is one dude that would have made a perfect Gollum in a yesteryear LOTR series. Just the weird dream or vision sequence that Dr. Edelman has is pretty haunting for a film in this era. Onslow Stevens performance is top notch and he is able to take the character from being kind to absolute madness effectively. Lon Chaney Jr. definitely perfected the role of the Wolfman and he is given quite a bit of dialog in this one.
Odd – In this movie the Wolfman has grown a mustache and for some reason when he becomes a werewolf, his mustache actually disappears? What the heck? Everywhere on his body is getting “more” hair, except his upper lip? Bloody hell? Also I am guessing there must be a “hunchback store” for all these crazy basement doctors to go hire hunchbacks? This is the second hunchback in 2 movies in this series. This one is a woman played by actress Jane Adams. The last one got thrown out the window by Frankenstein’s monster. Finally, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN was adequately titled. The movie does take place at Dr. Frankenstein’s old ruins, and lab, but this freakin movie has nothing to do with Dracula’s house.
Overall I actually liked this movie more than its prequel and everything flows pretty well. Unfortunately like some of the other movies in the series, the ending is just too abrupt. I would have loved to see more of Dracula as I mentioned earlier, it’s not enough in a movie that features his namesake. Frankenstein’s monster is also absent for too much of the movie. For me this gets a 4 out of 7, but a few minor changes could have made this a 5.
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