Review of Son of Dracula (1943) by Tim S — 14 Sep 2014

Sucking out whatever blood remained in the inspired and inspiring original, this oftentimes silly creature feature turns a Gothic classic into classic Southern-fried camp. Of course, when the antagonists name - Count Alucard - is Dracula spelled backwards, you know youre in trouble. The film doesn't spool out but one reel before gifting audiences with the following line of dialogue: "There's no magic in dried lizards and dead chickens." It's an unfortunate line spoken by an unfortunate actor. Bestowing doltish supporting roles on a third tier HWood cast doesn't help matters either.

In this unrated continuation of Universals Dracula series, a mysterious count (Lon Chaney, Jr.) finds his way from Budapest to the swamps of the Deep South and finds himself fighting a medical doctor, a university professor, a jilted fiancé and the woman he loves.

The worst part of this flick ends up to be the lead performance. In taking over the role that his father was suppose to make famous before cancer took him, humdrum vampire Lon Chaney, Jr. brings about as much terror to the proceedings as fuzzy Muppet Count Von Count on Sesame Street. Oh, his tenure as a werewolf shows that he's capable of such range but there's none of that evident in this monstrously unscary Dracula follow-up. Robert Siodmak, who directed undisputed horror classic The Wolf Man in 1940, brings a great deal of atmosphere to the photography but not so much to the script. Rather than the sequel that Dracula deserves, he turns out some vamped up voodoo phooey. J. Edward Bromberg even sports an Eastern European accent in his thankless role as Professor Lazlo, a discount bin Van Helsing.

Bottom line: Slow Count.