Chi o suu bara

"Professor Shiraki" (played by Toshio Kurosawa) arrives from Tokyo to a new school for teenage girls in a small Japanese village. Upon checking in he learns that the principle's wife died a couple of days earlier and that a student named "Keiko Nonomiya" (Tomoe Mari) went missing about the same time. That night he has an encounter with a vampire that matches Keiko's description but dismisses the incident as nothing more than a dream. Not long afterward another student named "Kyoko Hayashi" (Keiko Aramaki) faints in his classroom and is taken to the school's doctor, "Doctor Shimimura" (Kunie Tanaka). During Kyoko's examination two small "needle pricks" are discovered but neither Professor Shiraki nor Doctor Shimimura are able to figure out their significance. Since she appears to be tired, they send her back to her dorm room to recover with her two roommates, "Yukiko Mitamura" (Mio Ohta) and "Kumi" (Mariko Mochizuki) promising to take care of her. All hell breaks loose after that. Anyway, having outlined the first part of the story, I'll stop here so I won't spoil everything for any viewers who wish to see the rest. Now, although this is a "standard" vampire story, the fact that it is entirely Japanese results in a few curious details. For example, a white rose is seen by the bedside of each of the females who have been bitten. Once they drink blood the rose turns red. I thought that was an interesting touch. Having said that though, I thought there were a couple of faults as well. First, the dialogue was awful. But the movie I saw was originally in Japanese and dubbed in English and it is quite possible that much had been simplified or even lost in translation. Likewise, the acting was also quite bad. Even so, this film had a different flavor than most other vampire movies and I thought some of it was actually quite good. Obviously, there will be people who might not like this film. Like I said, it has its flaws. But I think fans of this genre might be pleasantly surprised.

Third of the trilogy of Hammer inspired Japanese 70s movies. Not quite as good as the first, this is an improvement on Lake of Dracula, with much better photography helping this become a very good looking film and adding interest to some of those middle sequences. Starts very well indeed and the finale certainly has some vigour, even if you are urging someone to construct a crucifix to bring things to a more urgent ending. Actually, total absence of use of the crucifix to save the day is presumably something to do with the Japanese not wanting to elevate the importance of such alien paraphernalia, but thats just a guess. So, bit more action here, bit more colour and a bit more sexed up too with small amount of nudity here and there.

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")

I recently watched The Evil of Dracula (1974) on Tubi. The film centers on a school led by a principal who is revealed to be a vampire, with his wife residing in a coffin at home alongside three vampire mistresses. When a suspicious teacher begins investigating the principal's home, he risks disappearing forever.

Directed by Michio Yamamoto (known for The Vampire Doll & Lake of Dracula), the film stars Kunie Tanaka (Sanjuro), Katsuhiko Sasaki (Terror of Mechagodzilla), Midori Takei (Brain 17), and Shin Kishida (Shogun Assassin).

While The Evil of Dracula maintains a high standard, it doesn't quite reach the level of its predecessors in the trilogy. The film excels in its elite attire, settings, and background music, while the blood-drinking scenes are effectively executed. However, the mind control elements lack the intensity seen in previous installments, and I found myself missing the distinctive "crazy eyes" of the vampires from Lake of Dracula. Despite this, the dialogue and storyline remain engaging, with standout sequences depicting stabbings, corpses, and the aftermath of vampire destruction.

In conclusion, while The Evil of Dracula may not surpass The Vampire Doll or Lake of Dracula, it still offers enough compelling elements to warrant a viewing. I'd give it a 6.5-7/10 and recommend watching it at least once.

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.