Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.5 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 0.5 |
| Overall | | 3.5 |
House of Dracula Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson December 16, 2016
House of Dracula is being released as part of The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection.
House of Dracula is the kind of ensemble film that I hoped House of Frankenstein would evolve into. The former has a tighter
structure and more narrowly focused narrative than its predecessor, which was also directed by Erle C. Kenton. In addition, House of Dracula
essentially has one central setting for its action compared to the frequent changes of locale throughout House of Frankenstein (though that
was not necessarily the film's chief problem). John Carradine reprises his role as Count Dracula and once again poses as Baron Latos to the "outer
world" (as he likes to call it) when he make a very late night visit to the manor of Dr. Franz Edlemann (Onslow Stevens). Dracula is seeking refuge
during daylight hours and the understanding as well as accommodating Dr. Edlemann has a coffin for him down in his laboratory. The Count also
relishes blood, of course, and Edlemann may or may not be able to give him the transfusion he needs. A mustachioed Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney
Jr.) also arrives at the manor hoping that the doctor can eradicate his pentagram by vanquishing the beast within him. House of Dracula
maintains continuity from the aftermath of the climatic event of House of Frankenstein, which I will not spoil for those who haven't seen the
1944 picture. The Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange) is reduced to a tertiary character as Edlemann is the latest doctor to perform tests and
experiments on him.
If you look into the Count's eyes, you must obey him.
House of Dracula is most intriguing when the Count tries to work his magic spell on Edlemann and Miliza Morelle (Martha O'Driscoll), one of
the doctor's two nurses, in distinct ways. Miliza is a fine pianist and as she performs Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," Dracula is attracted to this
"music of the night." In turn, the Count seduces or rather mesmerizes her into playing a song associated with the spirits of the dead. This makes the
O'Driscoll character's actions more interesting and unpredictable for the rest of the film. There is also mystery surrounding the Dracula/Edlemann
relationship and if the Count has some hidden agenda. Chaney develops a special relationship with Jane Adams's Nina, who wants him to overcome
his werewolf syndrome. Edward T. Lowe's screenplay is compact and efficient in reaching a satisfying conclusion for at least one of the anthology's
principals.
House of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
House of Dracula appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on the AVC-encoded BD-50 that it shares with other two other titles.
The movie's transfer has a coarser grain structure than the other titles that precede it in production year. There are also more film artifacts and
damage marks on this print than the others. I noticed quite a bit of low level noise in the middle portion of the image. Thin white vertical lines
appeared on the right edge of the frame during a reel change or a different shot, though they were not bothersome. House of Dracula was
filmed in the dark interiors of Edlemann's quarters and in his lab so there are a lot of stark blacks. Photography was also frequently done after dusk so
it's a dark film. Definition and detail are solid. Grayscale is also very good, though not as smooth and clean as the other two titles on the disc.
House of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Universal delivers a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track that is a mixed bag. There is some damage on the master used for this release. I heard
minor pops and crackles crop up on the sound track. Dialogue is usually intelligible through the hiss and source distortions. William Lava's score sounds
pretty crisp. The theremin and eerie strings suit the film's atmosphere very well.
Universal has granted optional English SDH, French subtitles, and Spanish subtitles. I watched the film entirely with the white English subs and they
are presented accurately and fully. They describe sound effects and occasionally (but not always) note the character whose speaking in all caps. They
are either centered in the middle of the screen or placed on the speaking character.
House of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Theatrical Trailer (1:26, 480i) - an unrestored, slightly windowboxed trailer that appears to be a re-release trailer. May not
be the first trailer that Universal originally ran. Note: Don't watch this if you haven't seen the film as it divulges a major spoiler!
House of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
House of Dracula is a solid sequel that is well-balanced and which develops characters and their relationships within a single locale. Both the
picture and sound have issues but they are acceptable presentations given age and source limitations. The disc and movie come RECOMMENDED.
