SpecialsTarget
Disturbing yet enthralling
Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Derrick Gibbons
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
John Seal
The films of Jesus Franco are loved and hated in almost equal measure (well, perhaps hated a bit more than loved), but few drive viewers to extremes the way Dracula contra Frankenstein does. The haters tend to view the film as a terrible 'tribute' to the Universal horrors of the '30s and '40s, and perhaps it is (gotta love those rubber bats), but there's more going on here than a salute to glories past. There's a dreamlike quality to Dracula contra Frankenstein that, intentional or not, helps me overlook a lot of the film's sins and concentrate on its virtues. The film opens with a virtually dialogue-free first half hour that allows Franco to play to his strengths: outdoor scenes and shots of strange or unusual architecture. When people finally DO start talking, the film is barely more coherent than before, with Rainer von Frankenstein (which relative was he?) expounding on how he will bend Dracula and his vampire slaves to his will. Franco does use the zoom lens, but he tends to use it with a purpose this time--he uses it to draw particular attention to his characters' eyes, and the score (apparently co-composed by Bruno Nicolai and Daniel White) is repetitive but well applied. Look past the bats and the terrible special effects, and appreciate this film for what it is: a psychedelic monster rally, Franco-style.
Michael_Elliott
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972) ** (out of 4) This Franco product, also known as Dracula CONTRA FRANKENSTEIN is perhaps one of his most seen films because with a title like this, people are going to check it out. In what was rumored to have been his attempt at a HOUSE OF Dracula remake, Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price) brings Dracula (Howard Vernon) back to life so that he can use him as a slave. At the same time he creates a monster and soon everyone is doing battle as a female vampire (Britt Nichols) also shows up. Oh yeah, a werewolf shows up out of nowhere as well. Those going into this expecting a pure homage to the early Universal films are probably going to be disappointed because this aspect of the film doesn't happen until the final five minutes. For the most part this film comes off as an attempt for the Spanish director to make a silent film because there's very little dialogue here. I've heard some say this was to make the film more marketable around the world but I doubt this since dubbing wouldn't have been that big of an issue. The film doesn't really work for several reasons but the biggest is that it's never quite clear what's trying to be done. As I said, the first seventy-five minutes features very little action while the final five minutes goes into overdrive in terms of camp. The final showdown between Frankenstein's monster and the werewolf is bound to get many laughs as it's extremely funny especially the sequence where the werewolf goes to jump on the monster but misses. The fake bats used here are among the worst I've ever seen and why Franco uses a real bat shown drowning to death is beyond me. The make up on the monster is pretty bad but it's unique in a strange way. Vernon looks the part of Dracula but he doesn't really do too much. Price, who would die the following year, doesn't look too good as he comes off ill and doesn't get to do that much either. Nichols is always easy on the eyes even though she actually doesn't get naked here for a change. In the end, most people are going to find the film extremely boring and I really don't blame them. I do respect what Franco was going for in regards to the silent nature of the film but in the end it just doesn't work.
mido505
Jess Franco's strangely sedate monster bash is not one of his indispensable efforts, but will hold your attention if you catch it in the right mood. Defiantly cinematic, Dracula contra Frankenstein contains very little dialog, forcing the viewer to actually pay attention to what is happening on the screen in order to follow the narrative. The problem is that the mise en scene is scrappy, poverty stricken, and erratic; dominated by pointless, jerky zooms; and offering none of the colorful wide angled delirium that makes Franco's follow up film, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, such a mesmerizing experience. Franco does manage to conjure up a somewhat dank, depressing atmosphere, and provide the occasional interesting image, such as Dracula being revived by slowly submerging a bat in a jar of blood, but Dracula contra Frankenstein plays for the most part like a trial run for his later masterpiece.Of course, Dr. Frankenstein is really just Dr. Orloff under a different name; the ubiquitous amoral ubermensch is this time seeking to enslave humanity by reviving Dracula and the Frankenstein monster in order to create an army of the undead subject to his superior will. A sick and possibly drunk Dennis Price fails to make much of an impression as the good Doctor, but Howard Vernon gives an interesting performance as Dracula, playing him like Morpho from The Awful Dr. Orloff, slack jawed, bug eyed, and mute. The great Britt Nichols is also on hand as a very fetching Vampire Girl.As I stated previously, this is lesser Franco, but like most Franco films, good and bad, it contains interesting, original elements that simply cannot be found elsewhere. Dracula contra Frankenstein is a film made by a man who loves the movies for people who love the movies. It shows. Sure, I drank most of a bottle of wine while I was watching it, which may have colored my judgment, but when I tried the same thing with Poseidon I fell asleep.
horrorbargainbin
At first the movie appears to be mainly strange images shot up close, but then the narration kicks in and the plot begins to make some sense. At two times the narration is ahead of the action. I'm sure the technique is done on purpose, but it's unusual. There is very little dialogue otherwise.Ok, there is lots of memorable material in this movie. Blood is drained from a captured woman and poured onto a live bat that actually drinks the blood (juice?). Dracula's eyes are always open, even when he sleeps. Very creepy and accented by the red eyeliner. In my favorite scene the Wolfman is called by a Gypsy curse and returns from "beyond the grave". A bloody Wrestlemania ensues with the Frankenstein Monster.Recommended if you like twists on the old tales.
