BEFORE: It seems like Dracula was a busy man, in addition to a son he also had a daughter. I still have so many questions about this, like about whether vampire reproduction is the same as it is with humans, or is it different? And if so, how? Does this mean Dracula mated with another vampire, or with a human? Does this mean some lady gave birth to a vampire baby, or would that be a half-vampire? Are the living and the undead even compatible when it comes to reproduction? Like, I guess vampires are still the same species as humans, but their bodies don't work the same way, so what gives?
Or are the terms "son" and "daughter" used more in the spiritual sense than the literal sense? Could they just be chief followers of Count Dracula who see themselves as his son or daughter as some kind of honorific term? I'm not getting any clear answers here.
This is the only film that's a true sequel to the 1931 "Dracula" film with Bela Lugosi, at least where continuity is concerned. All other sequels just threw that first film out the window, something that was really ahead of its time, because that's what happened later on with the James Bond franchise and, more recently, with the "Halloween" films.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "Dracula" (1931) (Movie #2,746)
THE PLOT: Hungarian countess Marya Zaleska seeks the aid of a noted psychiatrist, hoping to free herself of a mysterious evil influence.
AFTER: Once again, no actors carry over - it's just a quirk of fate that no character actors from the 1930's appeared in both this film and "Son of Dracula". However, the character of Dracula makes a brief appearance here, in the form of a corpse. Can that count?
I'm out of luck, we don't get any answers here about how this woman could be the daughter of Dracula, or whether that term is meant to be taken literally or figuratively. She's a Hungarian countess, so what does that mean? Was her mother Hungarian royalty that fell for Dracula, and somehow she had a relationship that went beyond letting him drink her blood? And if so, what made her more special than all of Drac's other victims?
She's a vampire, too, so the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but does that mean vampirism is passed down from parent to child, or was she born normal, or as a half-vampire, and converted later? Dammit, I want more of a back-story, with clearer answers about how she came to be who and what she is. All we know is that she shows up after Dracula dies - just minutes after the ending of the 1931 film, which allows us to see Von Helsing arrested for Dracula's murder. (I know, he was Van Helsing in the last film, but here he's "Von", with no explanation.)
The Countess wants access to Dracula's body, because she believes that if she can destroy it, she can get away from his influence and live as a human. Nice try, honey, but we all are what our parents made us, and it takes a few decades to get rid of their influence. True change comes from within, not from destroying your father's body, though it may feel cathartic to do so. Perhaps she realizes this, because she turns next to psychiatrist Jeffrey Garth, who's been called to the scene to prove the innocence of his old teacher, Von Helsing.
When the Countess can't get herself free of her vampiric urges, her weird manservant Sandor hires a young girl to model for her, and this is where we learn that the Countess inherited her father's interest in young ladies. It's also the first of MANY cutaways, because it was 1936 and showing a woman biting another woman in the neck would just a bit too close to two women kissing, and they sure couldn't show THAT. Jeez, they barely get away with that NOW on TV, and we're supposed to be much more understanding and accepting and stuff. I saw a commercial on TV the other day with couples out on dates using their credit cards to pay for stuff and get 4% cash back or something, and I barely noticed that one of the couples was too women, it's no longer a big deal, sponsors aren't afraid to lose business by showing two women on a date in an ad. (I noticed there were no couples with 2 men in that ad, but progress happens slowly I guess.)
They also cut away when the Countess stepped out of her coffin - there was a shot of her hand pushing open the coffin lid, and then the camera sort of drifted away, and when it came back to her, she was standing outside the coffin. This could mean that this particular actress had a fear of closed spaces, so it was a different actress' hand pushing open the coffin, or it could mean that there is just no graceful way for a woman to climb out of a coffin. After all, they weren't designed with that purpose in mind. If you think that's bad, there was a moment in "Son of Dracula" where the vampire bat attacked the old Gypsy Queen, and since they cut away from the moment of the attack, I'm guessing they didn't get the shot that they wanted. Either the actress couldn't pretend to be attacked by the bat convincingly, or they couldn't get the puppet bat on a string to attack her in a realistic manner.
NITPICK POINT: I've said it time and time again here, hypnotism is a bunch of B.S. But they believed in it back in the 1930's, especially in movies. In fact, the main reason that people today believe that hypnotism works is because it's so often used as a plot point (crutch) in cinema. There's no mind control in real life - but the main question here is, if Countess Zaleska is a true vampire, why does she need to hypnotize her prey with her gem? Dracula never needed a shiny ring, he just used the power of his mind. Is her mind not as strong as his? Did she never finish the lessons about how vampire mind control works? Because it should be all in the eyes, right? So what's with the ring?
Also starring Gloria Holden (last seen in "Dream Wife"), Otto Kruger (last seen in "Another Thin Man"), Marguerite Churchill, Irving Pichel (last seen in "I'm No Angel"), Gilbert Emery (last seen in "Sherlock Holmes in Washington"), Edward Van Sloan (last seen in "Dracula"), Halliwell Hobbes (last seen in "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death"), Billy Bevan (last seen in "Terror by Night"), Nan Grey, Hedda Hopper (last seen in "The Patsy"), Claud Allister (last seen in "The Private Life of Henry VIII"), Edgar Norton (last seen in "Top Hat"), E.E. Clive (last seen in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"), Vernon Steele (last seen in "Mrs. Miniver"), Hedwiga Reicher, Christian Rub (last seen in "You Can't Take It with You").
RATING: 4 out of 10 clueless constables
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