Hammer Film's fifth Dracula entry starring Christopher Lee is also the most criticized by fans and critics alike. Often accused of looking cheaper than the previous films, the production was rushed and it received the weakest distribution due to release in the U.S. by American Continental Films (on a double bill with HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN), a small company with limited advertising funds. In spite of the negative criticism you often hear about it, SCARS OF DRACULA is really a satisfying vampire movie, filled with the Hammer style and extra doses of gore (as well as fleeting nudity) thrown in to satisfy the changing tastes of 1970s filmgoers.

Wasting no time in introducing Christopher Lee onscreen, the evil Count Dracula is revived in his castle by an enormous, blood-drooling bat (his demise in the previous installment, TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, is shown in reverse to unveil his rebirth). After a young girl is found drained of blood, the villagers storm the castle and set fire to it. Thinking that their troubles are over, they stop in the church to check on the wives and children. In one of Hammer's most gruesome scenes, all are found dead and graphically mutilated at the hands of the oversized flying mammal. Meanwhile, young Paul (Christopher Matthews, SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN) is shacking up with the Burgomaster's daughter (Delia Lindsay, TAM LIN) and hastily leaves so he can attend the birthday party of another girl, Sarah (Jenny Hanley, THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW). Paul has a run-in with the Burgomaster (a hilarious cameo by "The Benny Hill Show" regular Bob Todd), but makes it to the shindig where his older brother Simon (Dennis Waterman, FRIGHT) also has affections for Sarah. With the Burgomaster's officers catching up with him, Paul is forced to leap out of a window and into the seat of a runaway coach for a long, turbulent ride. In the dead of night, he stumbles upon an inn but is refused entry even after successfully seducing the barmaid (Wendy Hamilton, THE MAN WHO HAD POWER OVER WOMEN). The superstitiously unwelcoming landlord (Michael Ripper, THE MUMMY’S SHROUD), throws Paul out even though he knows that the poor boy is now headed to Castle Dracula ("He can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!").

When Paul finally arrives outside the castle, a lovely raven-haired girl, Tania (Anoushka Hempel, TIFFANY JONES) appears and invites him inside. He is quick to comply, and minutes later comes face to face with the castle's owner, Dracula, who is coldly polite to him. Dracula explains how the villagers tried to destroy his castle but only partially succeeded. He offers Paul a room for the night, and although hesitant, he's too tired to refuse. As soon as Paul is shown to his quarters by the sinister servant Klove (Patrick Troughton, THE GORGON), Dracula erotically puts the bite on Tania. Later that night, Tania knocks on Paul's door and he finds himself in bed with her (this guy romances more ladies in one night than James Bond!). Early next morning, Tania attempts to sink her teeth into Paul's neck, but is intervened by Dracula, who stabs her in a fit of violent rage. Paul is now a prisoner of the Count, and it's up to his brother Simon and the lovely Sarah to try and rescue him.

The level of gore and violence here could easily make this one Hammer’s first film made for the American “grindhouse” set of the early 1970s, and with an “R” rating, none of it was trimmed in the U.S. like some of their other films of the period (many Hammers during this period were cut to get a "PG" rating, or even just to pass with an "R"). Despite what many say, SCARS OF DRACULA has a rich look to it, and is truly gothic like a Hammer film should be. The sets (though obviously modest), matte paintings and special effects (including the overstated, yet engrossing vampire bat created by Roger Dicken, who go on to work on THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT and ALIEN) are all impressive when put into perspective. Helming Hammer’s masterful THE VAMPIRE LOVERS in the same year, Roy Ward Baker's capable direction here brings out the nastiness of the Anthony Hinds (aka John Elder) script, laced with such atrocities as Dracula torturing his servant's back with a sizzling sword, the servant sawing up a victim's body like it's a common household chore, and an unsettling vampire bat attack that makes a bloody mess of a holy man's face! Elements from the first Hammer Dracula, as well as the original Stoker novel (including a terrific shot of Dracula climbing the castle wall) are also incorporated.

As Dracula, Lee is as good as ever and is quite mesmerizing in the role. He's given more screen time than ever before, and is able to deliver some choice dialog for a change. There is no "Van Helsing" type (except for REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN’s Michael Gwynn as the sympathetic and obliging but doomed priest), but the young lead actors (Waterman, Matthews and Hanley) are well enough as Dracula's defiant adversaries. Troughton is also memorable in the role of Klove the obedient manservant. The namesake character was also featured in the second Hammer Dracula, DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, but arguably much better executed here; Philip Latham played him more ghoulish and Jeeves-like while Troughton plays him crude and semi-neanderthal in appearance. Michael Ripper plays the innkeeper as a stubborn, cantankerous bloke, wisely refusing to inject any humor into the character (as he did when he played a similar barman in DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE). The score is by the great James Bernard, who started it all with his grand music for DRACULA (HORROR OF DRACULA), and although he also scored several other Draculas in the Hammer series, this is undoubtedly one of his finest.

Scream Factory has here licensed SCARS OF DRACULA from Studio Canal, and the transfer appears to be identical to the one used for the UK Blu-ray (it was also made available in other territories such as Australia, Germany and Japan). This “Zone A” presentation looks fantastic, with the film being presented in 1080p HD. The scan used for the transfer is free of any age-related damage, with the image having beautiful textures and always appearing film-like. There is an abundance of detail (so much so that some of the long shots of Dracula’s castle looking less than convincing) and the grain structure is rendered perfectly and consistent. This is a very colorful film shot in Technicolor, and colors have real pop to them, making for the proper cinematic eye candy Hammer was known for. Black levels and shadow detail are both appropriately solid. The audio is provided in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, which is as clear and crisp as it can be in its mixing of the dialogue, the excellent score by James Bernard and sound effects. Optional English subtitles are included. The film is viewable in two different aspect ratios: 1.85:1 and 1.66:1 (the latter can be navigated from the “Bonus” menu option). The 1.66:1 option opens up more picture information on the top and bottom of the screen.

Carried over from the 2001 Anchor Bay DVD is the priceless audio commentary with the late star Lee and the late director Baker, smoothly moderated by Hammer historian Marcus Hearn. Hearn gets both gentlemen to talk at length about SCARS, Hammer, and the British film industry in general. Always adamant about his dissatisfaction with the Dracula character during those years, Lee constantly justifies things about the film, but surprisingly does not rip it apart. He seems impressed at times as to what he’s seeing on screen, and when it's all over, he realizes that he's never even seen it before until this viewing! Showing his great sense of humor, Lee lights up when Bob Todd appears (“The funniest man I think I’ve ever seen on the screen”), remembering him fondly from watching “The Benny Hill Show” and working with him again in THE FOUR MUSKETEERS. Baker (who doesn't talk here nearly as much as Lee does), sounded very spry at the time, and he explains some of his techniques and intentions while making SCARS, classifying it as his "only true Hammer horror." A new audio commentary has filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr and film historian Randall Larson (the Blu-ray’s back cover mistakenly lists Ted Newsom instead of Larson, who only appears here briefly). Nasr begins by saying how the film was plagued by not having the usual American funding by Warner, but rather homegrown funding from EMI, and he goes on to examine why – from his viewpoint – the film failed. Nasr thoroughly analyzes Hammer at this period in time, noting that SCARS was Hammer’s send-off of their “old guard”, and that this film’s reliance on shock and repulsion was their answer to the changing market, and that they were “victims of their own Pandora’s Box” in terms of what was going on in horror cinema in the early 1970s. He mentions how the Dracula character never really changed in the Hammer films, compares Scott McGregor’s production design to that of Bernard Robinson’s (notably in the first Hammer Dracula), and Lee’s uncertainty of continuing the role at the time. Nasr actually has Baker’s annotated script (including his hand-written revisions and dialogue not in the final film) to reference here, and despite admiring him greatly as a director he has much to criticize about his work in this film, but praises the performances of Ripper and Troughton. Over an hour into the commentary, Larson comes on to talk about composer Bernard for a few minutes, concentrating on his Dracula scores, and this one in particular. In terms of film historian commentaries, this one is information-filled, truly unique and absorbing as well.