October Movie Reviews: Dracula AD 1972 (1972)

It's Disco Dracula! Well not really, but it is the first Hammer Dracula set in the 1970s.

This movie reunites Lee and Cushing as Dracula and Van Helsing for the first time since Horror of Dracula.

Dracula AD 1972 (1972)
We begin this one with Dracula and Van Helsing (oddly name Lawrence, but that is fine I think I see what they are doing here) fighting on a coach.  They crash and both die.  One of Dracs followers collects the Count and buries him near Van Helsing.

Ok a minor stop here.  Normally I don't quibble about continuity, especially one in a horror film.  But if this takes place in 1872 and the event of Dracula (the book and supposedly the movie) in 1897 then...ok, repeat to yourself it is only a show...

Fast forward 100 years (to the day-why does it always happen like that?) we meet up with hipster 70s teenage set, Jess (Jessica Van Helsing) and her friends which includes a Johnny Alucard.  Jessica is the grand-daughter of "Lorrimer" Van Helsing, who is in turn the grand-son of Lawrence.  Johnny proposes this new way to "get some kicks" (it's the 70s) and that is a Satanic rite (yeah, the 70's).  The rite brings back Dracula (of course) and the first victim is Caroline Munro.
Her body is found the next day and the police seek out Van Helsing on the matter since they think there may be a ritual slaying angle.

Soon Van Helsing is on the trail but not before we get a few more bodies.  Dracula is after Jessica of course, but wants to get Lorrimer too.   Big battle in the unsanctified Church and Dracula is killed, once again by Van Helsing.

Ok.
I have some issues with this movie.

First, it was not as bad as I was lead to believe.  Yes, it's not very good and the plot in not that different than what we saw in Taste the Blood of Dracula.  The count is still chasing after pretty girls, he is still hunting down people named Van Helsing and really all the is changed is the setting.
Speaking of which, I know it's 70's London, but did we really need the band going through TWO whole songs in the beginning?  It would have been ok if they had been someone, or even good, but we got a third-rate Sly and the Family Stone that I have never heard of before and doubt neither has anyone else.  edit: ok, they have their own Wikipedia page.

The Satanic angle was interesting, but un-needed,  Dracula is evil enough on his own without worrying about being upstaged by the Devil.

Like the Universal movies before it the Hammer Dracs are beginning to show their diminishing returns with sequels.  Granted Lee never had the indignity of facing off against the comedic duo of the time like Lugosi eventually did, but taking out a group of English Mods is almost as bad.

What I do like is the idea that Van Helsing family has been doing this for years. There is room in my games for a Lawrence, Lorrimer, Jessica, Abraham and even Rachel Van Helsing.  Not so sure about a Gabriel though.

In the end this movie was a disappointment in terms of lost potential.

Games Plus Auction Haul, part 2: Back to Basics

So I went back for a another round at Games Plus last night and I am SOOO glad I did.

Here is my second, but smaller haul.

So FINALLY a Mentzer boxed Basic set, complete with both books (in mint shape) and dice, still in the bag with a crayon.  Second Ed Vampire the Masquerade (that I got for 1 buck), and the "new" D&D Basic game; which if it came out today would send people into paroxysms of bitching about how it was too much like a board game (it comes with paper figures and poster map dungeon).  I got it for 2 bucks.

Now I think my Basics Sets are complete.

All are in pretty good shape too.

Of course I have to do this:

Here is part of my collection now.

My D&D "Core" collection all together.  Yeah I have 2 Holmes set, one is in sorta sad condition though. And yes D&D4 is on the next shelf over.

I have a lot of gaming to do!

October Movie Reviews: Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

For my October Reviews I continuing the Hammer Horror Dracula Collection with the first entry of the 1970s..

Christopher Lee has returned in the next Hammer film and it starts as the previous one of completing.  Dracula is struggling on the cross he was impaled on and  soon dies, leaving his cloak, ring, and blood.  A passerby witnesses this and we are off an running.

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

This one begins as Dracula has Risen From His Grave ends. So timeline wise we are still just around 10 years from Van Helsing's destruction of Dracula.  A passerby, Weller, sees Dracula die so he collects Dracula's clothes and blood.  We switch to a church scene where we meet the principle families.  The father, Mr. Hargood scolds his daughter later for "flirting" with a young man before he heads out for his end of the month "charity work".  In reality he, and the other men from the church, Paxton and Secker, have formed a small club where they partake in prostitutes.  Now here I want to point out that while Dracula's castle seems just down the raod a bit, this all looks like 1890s London.  I know I should not quibble.
Anyway they meet up with a disgraced Lord who plans to show them all sorts of pleasures.  He purchases Dracula's blood and makes a drink of it using his own blood.  The others do not drink and it kills the Lord.  Later Dracula rises up, transforming the dead body into his own.  Neat trick that.
Dracula vows to kill those that have killed his servant.
He attacks Hargood first, convincing his daughter to beat him in the head with a shovel. He get's Paxton's daughter and she kills her father and likewise with Secker and his son.  Dracula is about to get rid of Alice Hargood when her boyfriend shows up, now armed with knowledge left to him by her father, to destroy Dracula.  He puts a cross in the door (Dracula should really get that door changed, people keep doing that) and blesses his coffin.  Dracula falls from a balcony and lands on alter turning to dust.

This was a more interesting movie for a few reasons.  One, Dracula manipulates others into doing his killing for him, though he is not above doing some himself.  Plus this movie is the first that has Hammer pushing the boundaries some more.  While there was always beautiful women and sex-appeal, this is the first of the Dracula films with some nudity in it and explict references to sex.  It was 1970 afterall, but I think this was more due to the fact that audiences, now fat on American movies and American sex and violence, wanted more and Hammer needed to fill the seats.  So this does feel more like a "slasher flick" than some of the previous movies.
This was yet another movie where Lee nealry didn't reprise the role of the Count, but in the end he must have gave in.  This was also one of the last of the Victorian era Hammer Dracula movies (as far as I can tell).  After this (and Scars of Dracula, which I don't own) we move on to Dracula 1972 which sets it in the modern age.

I know I had never seen this one before, others I might not be clear about, but this was a first time viewing.

Games Plus Auction Haul

Went to the Games Plus Auction today.  Didn't stay too long, needed to get home and decorate for Halloween.  Here is what I got:

D&D4 Warlock cards ($1.00 for deck 1  and .50 for deck 2)
A box that only was sold at Premier Stores (50 cents)
D&D Basic set ($5.00)
4e Hammerfast ($2.00)
And the D&D 4 H series and P1 all for about $25.00.
D&D 3 Libris Mortis ($7.00)
And a bag of D&D mini tiles. ($6.00)

Not a bad day really.

October Movie Reviews: Dracula has Risen From His Grave 1968

For my October Reviews I continuing the Hammer Horror Dracula Collection.

Dracula has Risen From His Grave (1968)
This film takes place one year after the events of Dracula Prince of Darkness and the villagers still fear Dracula, though he is dead. An accident though causes a priest to bleed into Dracula's tomb and just like that he is back.

Though we spend the first 45 minutes or so dealing with the Monsignor and his family (his sister in law and niece).   We don't even get a victim till then.  That being said Dracula has still spoken more lines here than in the last movie.  The movie centers around Dracula's revenge on the Monsignor and getting his niece.
This movie did something very cool in it, Dracula was staked and before the hero could do anything else about it he pulled the stake out of his own chest.

I saw this movie, so long ago now that all I can recall of the movie the end scene where Dracula was impaled on the cross.  Though in the back of my mind I must have remembered the scene with the stake since I made an allusion to it in the Ghosts of Albion game.

In the end there was not much to this movie.  No creepy assistant, only one death due to draining by Dracula and two incidental deaths unless you count the girl in the beginning. No Van Helsing either.
Dracula didn't even burst into flames when he is impaled on a cross.  He just sorta died.

Certainly the weakest of the Hammer Dracula's so far.

The Dragon and the Phoenix: Episode 7

Episode 7: The Road to Hell


Tara: My whole life has been ‘Tara, don’t use your magic.’ ‘Tara, hide your powers.’ ‘Tara you will scare people or hurt an innocent.’ But you are not innocent are you? You tried to hurt and then kill Willow. So maybe it is time I showed everyone just how powerful I am.
- Willow and Tara: The Dragon and the Phoenix, Episode 7 "The Road to Hell"

Episode 7: The Road to Hell by ~WebWarlock on deviantART

March 15, 2003. 
Saturday

Buffy must make a pact with demons to fight Leviathan. Anya is ordered to kill the Cast. The Knights of Elohim are back, this time with a Tainted Fallen with them, but not before stopping off in LA to fight Faith. A group of demons, the Mormolycia (Mormo), go to the Slayer for aid in fighting him before he ignites the Hellmouth with his Taint. Yoln has discovered the final piece of Pillager. Cast discovers that he is nothing but pure will now, his body having decayed completely away by the mad god’s Taint. D’Hoffryn orders Anya to kill the Cast to prove her loyalty to him. When she doesn’t he strips her of her power and curses Xander. Tara defeats a newly resurected Warren, but she and Willow have a big fight.
The Cast learns that Faith is dying.
Story Arc elements: The Yoln arc is moved up, the Knights are killed finally, Buffy makes a pact with a dangerous group of demons, Anya rejoins the Cast, the Bronze is destroyed, Andrew dies a horrible death screaming and crying like the little b!tch he is. Buffy’s disconnection to others is more pronounced when the Mormo demons seem to have more in common with her and even call her “sister” when they call everyone else “monkeys”. Willow begins to take more of a backseat role as the group’s magic powerhouse. Tony Foster is introduced. Giles discovers the truth about Slayers and the Watchers council.
Game design elements: Taint rules for Cinematic games, new group of demons, more on Fallen Angels, rules for curses.
Soundtrack: Chris Rea “Road to Hell”


Notes and Comments:
This one is huge. The biggest adventure to date actually takes place, game time, in the shortest amount of time. We have Warren coming back, summoned by Andrew. Warren kills Andrew and takes his skin. And believe me fewer things were more enjoyable to write than Andrew dying like a little stuck pig. Warren-in-Andrew's skin now works on getting the Knights of Elohim back into town. They have brought one of their own who is now Tainted; think of the Hulk with greasy black wings. The Knights want the Slayer, but Warren wants Willow. At the same time someone or something (Yoln) has been killing all the supernatural creatures in town looking for the last half of his sword (which Warren has). There is a scene in the begining when the cast goest to the Wharf Bar because they hear the Hellions are back. They are, or were, but when they get there they are all dead including two of the Knights.

We also introduced a new race of the demons, the Lilim. One sub-race, the Mormolycia, are a group of warrior demons, normally they all look like stunningly attractive 6ft tall women in green armor. Their true form is so horrifying that other demons fear them. The Mormo make a pact with the Slayer. They will leave each other alone in order to fight the greater threat, the Tainted Fallen and later Leviathan. Stat-wise the Mormo are Slayers. This is on purpose since it is later revealed that the progenitor of the Slayers was Lilith (see: Every Angel is Terrifying). The Mormo keep refering to Buffy as "Sister" and the others as "monkeys". Thier leader H'Cathh was once known to Anya.

The big battle happens at the Bronze. We have Warren in his Andrew suit with Bronze regulars that he has turned into zombies with some tech device. The fallen Angels. The Tainted Fallen (who is crazy) and Yoln who will fight anything not human. On the other side we have the Cast and the Mormo demons. Keeping track of all that combat was a nightmare. In the end the fallen, the tainted fallen and the zombies are killed. Yoln's head it cut off by Buffy but they discover there is nothing under the armor but pure will to live. Yoln gets up gets his sword piece from Warren and leaves. The Mormo keep their word and tell "their sister" that they will be at her side in the final battle. Tara defeats Warren with her "special power" (more on that), but she and Willow have a huge fight. Before that can get heated D'Hoffryn shows up asking Ana why she has not killed the Slayer yet, a job he gave her to do 2-3 episodes back. He strips her of her power and curses Xander to always feel her pain. Game wise this means any damage Anya takes, Xander takes as well. Images from Star Trek I have not gotten out of my head since I was a kid. During the fight the Bronze blows up, well parts of it.

Warren and Tara: this was an interesting problem. We knew he was going to have to come back to deal with the issue of Willow murdering him (we didn’t want to forget that really), but for the balance we wanted Tara to have to defeat him. Our working theory was to have Tara go all uber witch on him and show that you can be powerful but not have to resort to “dark magic” to do it. But I never liked that idea. And we went back and forth on this for a long time. In the end I made an executive choice but a bit of a compromise. Tara was going to show off some power, but only in terms of defense. Bullets melted when coming near her or bounced off and really that is the same spell she used in Episode 5. She did the one thing though that I felt was totally in character and showed that she was more powerful than the others. She forgave him. In that instant Warren lost all his anger and it was replaced by guilt and remorse. I wanted to show that being empowered did not mean having a power-up. Plus there is the other issue at hand, Adam Busch is in reality a nice guy and pretty cool. He hated playing that character and he told Whedon that killing Tara was “the stupidest thing he ever heard of”. So I was willing to cut him a break by not “playing” that character here. Warren, who the cops think is Andrew, goes to jail. Jonathan, who turned himself in at the start of the episode, is released thanks to Tara giving him the phone number of Tatsou from Episode 4. There is a truce between demons and the Slayer thanks to the Mormo (but she still gets to kill vampires). Willow and Tara are still fighting, but it is that silent sort where you are both mad but not talking. Anya and Xander are dealing with their new reality. Giles tells Buffy what he has learned about Slayers (see link above).

The cast then hears that Faith is in the hospital, she had fought Yoln, and she is going to die.

Next up. Dawn goes all Carrie and goes toe to toe with Willow as the magic powerhouse of the cast.

October Movie Reviews: Dracula Prince of Darkness 1966

For my October Reviews I have another one from the Hammer Horror Collection.

This movie is a proper Dracula sequel since it features Christopher Lee as the Count; though he never speaks a line in it.  Unlike the Brides of Dracula before it, this one does not have Van Helsing.

Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966)

We are treated to a montage from Dracula (1958) of Van Helsing destroying the Count.  The movie starts proper with a funeral (in my memories all Hammer Films started like this) of a young girl who we soon learn is believed to be a vampire.  We are introduced to an Abbot or Monk (I was never sure of the difference) who claims she isn't and deserves a proper burial.

The scene changes to the Kents, two brothers and their wives, who are on holiday from London to travel.  Our Abbot meets up with them and invites to them to stay at his abbey and warns them to stay away from Carlsbad and the castle (which does not show up on their maps).
As fate would have it, they end up there due to a broken carriage wheel and are forced to take shelter.  They find the castle warm and inviting, with food laid out for four.  They meet the supposed sole inhabitant of the castle, Klove. He claims he is carrying out the final wishes of his master, Count Dracula.
They stay the night and one brother follows Klove to Dracula's tomb where he is killed and his blood is used to resurrect the dead ashes of the vampire.  Dracula goes after the brother's wife and vamps her.
The other brother wakes up to find his brother and wife gone.  He and his wife try to leave, only to be brought back to the castle by Klove.  Here Dracula and Helen attack.  The escape, only to be thrown in their stolen carriage and recued by the Abbot. 
The Abbot knows about vampires and claims that Dracula is their master and was killed 10 years ago (Dracula 1958).  While they rest, Dracula attacks Diana and takes her while Helen is left behind to be killed by the Abbot.
Charles and the Abbot ride to Dracula's castle where they manage to kill Klove on the way and rescue Diana.  Dracula is trapped on the ice surrounding his castle.  The Abbot shoots the ice cause Dracula to slip into the running water and "drown".

Ok. This is an odd one.  First there are no lines for Dracula.  That is no big really, he had few lines in the book too.  But Modern Dracula is a chatty guy-or rather we like our bad guys to be chatty.  Blame it on Bond I guess.
Of course this movie is really nothing more than a proto-80's slasher flick.  Replace Dracula with a psycho killer and the tourists with teens and you are set.  Of course instead of four we would need six and Drac would need to kill more, but the idea is the same.
There is no Van Helsing here which is not that big of a deal really.
This is one of the first Dracula "resurrection" movies.  No ceremony, just pour blood into vampire ashes and mix well.  It's simple and it works.  The effects for Dracula's return are great for the time and I am sure they were quite proud of how it turned out.

The movie is not bad as far as plot goes. The action is slow at times, but that is more due to the time in which is was filmed.

I can't recall if I have ever seen this one or not.  Some of the older Hammer films all blurred into one in time, and it has been 25-30 years since I have seen some of these.  I didn't recall anything specific about this one, so it is likely it was new to me.