Lake of Dracula

On the age of five, Akiko Kashiwagi had a weird dream that has traumatized her life. Eighteen years later, Akiko Kashiwagi (Midori Fujita) is a school teacher that lives with her younger sister Natsuko Kashiwagi (Sanae Emi) and their dog Leo in an isolated house by a lake. Her fiancé Dr. Takashi Saeki (Chôei Takahashi) visits her every now and then when possible. When a coffin is delivered in the boat house of her acquaintance nearby her house, he is subdue by a weird man (Shin Kishida). Soon victims without blood and two holes on the neck arrive in the hospital and Dr. Takashi Saeki is attacking them at the lakeshore where Akiko lives and he decides to investigate.

"Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me", a.k.a. "Lake of Dracula", is another vampire movie produced by Toho studios. The flawed plot is entertaining and is funny to see Akiko and Takashi going to the vampire house during the night without any weapon. The age of the dog Leo is also intriguing. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Lago de Drácula" ("The Lake of Dracula")

Since the mid-sixties until mid-seventies were made thousand Vampire movies around the world, this wave came from Hammer and many countries used to mimic this successful genre ever since, therefore the Japanese Horror already had his own roots and style, this production made by Michio Yamamoto isn't useful, actually is a fine endeavor, about a young woman who has a memory from the past of a strange happening, when she went in a countryside house near a lake, she and his sister faces the unpredictable events, just as she had as child, a pale vampire appears again, valuable efforts to make something alike of Hammer, it were made as trilogy and apart some mistakes are pretty convincing productions, recommended for all fans of horror pictures!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

Okay, color me intrigued when I happened to come across this 1971 Japanese movie titled "Lake of Dracula" (aka "Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me"). At first I thought it was a spoof, because Dracula in Japanese cinema, come on... But my curiousity won the better of me, and I ended up sitting down to watch this movie from director Michio Yamamoto.

It actually turned out to be an entertaining movie, and the fact that it was from 1971 almost didn't show on the screen. Writers Ei Ogawa and Masaru Takesue definitely had to have been heavily inspired by the old classic Hammer Horror movies, because "Lake of Dracula" definitely had that particular style and quality to it.

I must say that I was adequate quite entertained by "Lake of Dracula", despite it being a bit odd to have Dracula pop up in a Japanese setting. It worked out well enough, actually, maybe because I didn't really see the vampire character as the mythical Dracula himself, despite his name being mentioned a single time in the movie. I suppose I just saw him as a generic, nameless vampire, which worked out quite well actually.

The storyline was good and entertaining, just as it was interesting and enjoyable. It was, however, a stereotypical approach to the vampire genre that writers Ei Ogawa and Masaru Takesue had taken on for the storyline, but it worked out well enough, because the movie had a good flow to it, and you got submerged into the storyline right away.

The acting in the movie was good, although I can't honestly say that I was familiar with any of the actors or actresses that performed in the movie. But they were well-cast for their individual roles and characters.

For a vampire movie from 1971 and from Japan nonetheless, then "Lake of Dracula" is actually well-worth watching for any fans of the older vampire movies. I am rating "Lake of Dracula" a six out of ten stars.

Arriving at a small lake-side town, a new teacher comes to suspect that someone is behind the strange incidents and dead bodies piling up around town, and when she learns that a master vampire has moved into the area she sets out to stop his blood-soaked reign against the villagers.

This was a decent enough if slightly flawed vampire effort. One of the few solid points involved here comes from the way this goes about trying to instill the idea of the vampire in the area as the build- up here is somewhat credible. Building the strange crate delivery alongside her arrival at the same time is quite nicely handled, and the first attacks, as well as the discovery of their aftermath, all come off rather well as the mystery starts to unfold. Even some of the fine action scenes throughout here, from the abduction in the woods before being startled away and the hospital resurrection of the first body to the idea of the nightly romps through the woods where he's able to feast on her friend despite continually denying it all makes for a rather fun time here and sells the idea of her mental competence rather well which runs through the first half of the film. Once it's confirmed that there are vampires involved, things pick up far more here with the Gothic action scenes really enhancing this one from the ambush in the car at the same time the two of them trap her in the home and begin tormenting her or the hospital awakening sequence give this some really energetic and lively moments. However, it's really the big confrontation at the end which really works best here with the Gothic imagery and action really making for a great finish and gives this one a lot to really like here with the way it all wraps up inside the basement and spreading throughout the rest of the house. Still, while these are the film's good points there are a few negative issues. One of the main problems is the fact that the film really suffers from a stiff and dragged out beginning where not a whole lot really makes an impact. Despite the series of events that play out here detailing the emergence of the vampire around the village, it's still a somewhat dull and dragged-out effort where those brief spurts feel like exceptions to the bland dialogue-heavy sequences that are much more commonly featured so this one really feels like it takes a while to get going. By focusing on her burgeoning mental instability doesn't make for a fun time here regardless of how well the vampire storyline is built through these events, this one really takes more time than it should in letting loose with its story and comes across as somewhat duller than it should be considering what goes on. Likewise, there's also the rather economical manner this one manages to make the heroine think of her predicament and how she buys into it all, as a few throwaway lines regarding the Western methods of dealing with vampires and yet it's completely bought into without so much as a real questionable thought. This makes for a tough time overall, although it does still have its moments.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and violence-against-animal aftermath.

A young painter has recurring dreams about an experience she suffered as a child.

Though, she seems to have repressed the memory of it having actually occurred.

Fast forward a number of years later, and this dream is starting to manifest itself in her waking life.

All after of one of her friends receives a mysterious delivery, which just so happens to be a coffin.

Now her dog is dead, her friend tries to attack her, and a farm girl has been found near her house drained of blood.

It's all the work of the Japanese Dracula, who has returned to finish what what he had failed to complete when she was a child...to turn her into a vampire...and make her his bride.

Her best friend, however, doesn't believe her, and convinces her doctor boyfriend that it's all in her head.

But that's probably because Dracula has already turned her.

Interestingly, though, the people he bites don't actually die...or fully turn, it seems...as they can still walk in the daylight.

Rather, they just sort of take on an odd demeanour.

As to their master's bidding, they keep trying to get the young woman alone, so that he can sink his fangs into her.

For he has become obsessed with her, ever since she escaped him as a child.

It's not until one of them tries to kill her boyfriend, that he finally realizes that something is actually up.

Which only acts to confirm that it's not all in her head.

He uses hypnosis to help her bring forth the repressed memory, in order to figure out if her childhood trauma was, in fact, real.

And deduces that because no one believed her as a child, she convinced herself it was all a dream.

Now, they must re-enact the experiences from this dream, in order to find Dracula, so that they can kill him once and for all.

Only then, will her friends (that are still alive) be freed from his curse.

As far as Asian vampire films go, it's no Mr. Vampire, but it's still a pretty decent flick.

It's more of a mystery, than an action film.

But there are a couple instances of cool special effects.

Dracula, here, is more of a pale blue, than the normal off white.

So, he's more intimidating through his strength, than he is his from his slightly comic appearance.

I wasn't totally satisfied with the ending...which seems to have been a bit of a cop out.

But overall, it's an interesting little vampire film, that differs from the norm.

6.5 out of 10.