Evil 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.

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.

Taking a job in a remote village, a man is promoted instantly to be principal of the all-girls school he teaches and comes to learn that the previous boss was a vampire still lurking around the school grounds and must find a way to stop him before he claims more of the student body.

This was a highly enjoyable and engaging effort in the series. What tends to give this one a lot of it's best qualities is the fact that there's quite a creepy atmosphere developed from the very start. The ride to the school where they witness the damaged car on the side of the road gets this off to a nice bit of foreshadowing, especially once the real motivation for his arrival is given which is what really starts this one off. Moving into the school's bunkers is where this one starts in on the Gothic atmosphere that's present throughout here in his first encounter with the three brides in his room which is full of tense Gothic images as they chase him around as well as the later scene in the basement where he discovers the coffin of the dead wife unknowingly turned into a vampire. That they appear so early into the film help make the film's tangent into the mysticism and lore of the backstory for the main villain all the more interesting as there's quite a large influence of Western mythology which readily enhances this as a whole. As that itself leads into their behavior later on when they start attacking the schoolgirls in much more frantic encounters out in the woods attacking the transfixed girls or brawling with the faculty chasing after them which feel far more commonplace in Western efforts rather than these Eastern tales which adds immensely to their appeal. Once we get into the finale where the bodies of the students under his control come out and are shown to attack the others in his basement, this one becomes quite fun with the added fun of some cheap-looking gore to enhance the experience while giving this one some nice action to close it out. Along with the chilling look to the vampires and the way it moves rather nicely along, there's enough to like here to hold this one up over it's few minor flaws. The film's biggest issue is the way it resorts to lengthy, somewhat drab dialogue-heavy scenes to tell a vast majority of its plot points, as rather than feature them battling each other or investigate anything it's all driven by speaking to everyone and then drawing conclusions based on that so it tends to run into sections where it's not nearly as exciting as the events that are supposedly being put forth end up being. Likewise, there's also the fact that this one does look rather cheap at times, especially in the bloody kills which are like colored water in their consistency and the day-for-night scenes in the woods are somewhat obvious and embarrassing. These are the film's only real problems, though.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.

Swell filming locations and set design are rounded out with fine detail of decorative elements, giving some great imagery to serve as the setting. Even in building a sense of mystery, the writing is rather direct, and at times a bit over the top, and in this instance composer Riichiro Manabe's score echoes that slant. Still, 'Evil of Dracula' also carries a minor sense of atmosphere that's gratifying, and growing suspense. Though broadly declining genuine fright or thrills, this is pretty entertaining throughout.

The cast do well to embody their roles, embracing every shift in demeanor and doing a fine job of bringing their characters to life. That said, I'm not sure that the screenplay provides a lot of room to explore parts freely; suitable as they are, performances feel relatively straightforward and scripted. Of anyone on hand, Shin Kishida is most notable in his part as the principal - here leaning much further into an exaggerated, overt portrayal of a very particular creature of the night, alternately echoing classic interpretations, and straight-up chewing scenery.

Somewhat unremarkable overall, there's nonetheless some fun cleverness to the narrative that differs from other vampire flicks. Though maintaining the air of the slightly overdone approach, the climax is especially well done, producing the most substantial excitement of the film. It seems quite certain that this is where the most energy and resources were devoted as great care is given to the choreography, stunts, and special effects.

Smart as some plot points are, 'Evil of Dracula' doesn't wholly stand out among the wealth of other vampire movies in the world. Of the trio of features Toho produced in the early 70s, this strikes me as being in the middle of the pack: more carefully considered than the often middling 'Vampire doll,' but also definitely less sharp and stimulating than the superb 'Lake of Dracula.' That said, this is most assuredly far from a bad movie - just not the utter cream of the crop, either.

There's little about this picture that impresses outright, and for whatever it does well, the level of enjoyment to be had doesn't mark this as a film to proverbially write home about. But it's consistent and crafted well, with a measure of greater intelligence around the edges. 'Evil of Dracula' isn't absolutely essential, but it's capably entertaining, and worth watching should you come across it.

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")