49 Days to Halloween - House of Dracula

No continuity to any of the other Universal monster movies (both Dracula and Wolf Man died in House of Frankenstein), I guess it is best to look at House of Dracula as a standalone with no strong ties elsewhere. I think that is perhaps best when watching this. I’ve already wrote extensively in times past about Onslow Stevens’ fine work, Talbot finally getting his cure for werewolvery, the creative use of Dracula’s blood to possess the good doctor so he’s tainted with evil, and the cruelty of the script to promise a hunchback nurse a cure for her physical deformity only to see her killed in repulsive fashion. I guess in this viewing, seeing Dracula prowl about Edelmann’s grounds was what stood out. Dracula proves he can just waltz into a home whenever he wants and no one is safe. He appears to be looking for a cure for his vampirism, but ultimately he’s a patient with bad intentions. I could continue to go on about Frankenstein’s Monster being so ill-used but that is further relating what I have already commented on ad nauseum in previous reviews. Atwill as yet another policeman was proof that the studio continued to drop him further down the line in the woeful category of B-movie supporting actors. Talbot locked in a prison after turning werewolf and later leaping off a cliff in the hopes of killing himself once again provide enough reasoning for him to whine and whimper. I was so glad they finally decided to give him a happy ending. Edelmann doesn’t get that, though. He offered to help Dracula and that act of kindness wasn’t reciprocated. Once again the village would demand answers for the death of their own. The significance of Talbot turning into the werewolf and returning to human form is in this film as well to give it some trivia love. Dr. Niemann gets mentioned but how he winds up under the grounds of Edelmann is puzzling. These bouts of storyline fatigue show that those writing the scripts couldn’t bother even trying to tie up the ends that weren’t just loose but frayed at the edges. I still think it was cool to see Carradine get his own film, even though he’s gone midway through.