Son of Dracula

(1943) **1/2

Lon Chaney Jr., is Count Alucard (yes that’s “Dracula” spelled backwards, which is overtly stated not once, but twice to ensure that the audience “gets it”!), the dysthymic son of, you guessed it, Dracula. Southern girl Katherine has been secretly dating Count Alucard. Apparently she met him while spending time in Transylvania (who the hell would spend time there? That would be like spending time in Hades) and invited him back to the U.S. Suspecting that something is not quite right with the Count, Katherine’s fiancé, Robert, attempts to rescue her from his clutches. Katherine, however, is intrigued by the idea of immortality and resists Robert’s efforts. Bodies begin to pile up as they so often do when a vampire is on the hunt. It’s interesting to note that this was the first time some fx were used in a Dracula film. The transition from bat or smoke to person and is pretty effective and clever. Overall I just didn’t like Chaney’s Dracula. I mean, he had a mustache for crying out loud!