Scars of Dracula Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Scars of Dracula Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 27, 2025

Roy Ward Baker's "Scars of Dracula" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by novelist and critic Tim Lucas; archival audio commentary by Roy Ward Baker, Christopher Lee, and Hammer film historian Marcus Hearn; archival documentary; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Castle of evil

Hammer produced nine films about Dracula, the majority of which starred Christopher Lee as the evil count and Peter Cushing as his greatest nemesis, Van Helsing. There are various fan lists available that rank these films and explain why the ones at the top of them are considered better than those at the bottom. However, the truth about these films is that they are all pretty much the same. They were produced with modest budgets, or at least by then-current Hollywood standards, and plenty of enthusiasm, some of which delivered a few surprises. It is fair to state that a couple of the films turned out slightly rougher than the rest, but all of them always offered the same thrills. In other words, it is a myth that some of these films are genre masterpieces, or at least by Hammer standards, and a few are duds.

Roy Ward Baker’s Scars of Dracula is as comfortable embellishing Bram Stoker’s original story about the evil count as all the remaining films that Hammer produced. In fact, Stocker’s original story is only a starting point for everything that takes place in Scars of Dracula.

After yet another beautiful young woman is murdered, enraged villagers gather and storm Count Dracula’s (Lee) secluded castle. However, giant vicious bats prevent them from reaching the special room where Count Dracula rests in a coffin. Soon after, the area’s busiest philanderer, Paul Carlson (Christopher Matthews), is accused of raping his latest mistress, and to avoid dealing with her influential relatives, he runs away and reaches Count Dracula’s secluded castle. He is greeted by Count Dracula’s gorgeous confidante, Tania (Anouska Hempel), who, several hours later, ends up in bed with him. Meanwhile, concerned that his brother has failed to attend an important event, Simon Carlson (Dennis Waterman) and his girlfriend, Sarah (Jenny Hanley), enter the nearby forest and begin looking for him, and after meeting a few villagers, head toward Count Dracula’s secluded castle.

Scars of Dracula is effective for two reasons. The more important of the two is Baker’s ability to infuse the narrative with adult playfulness that counters the Gothic kitsch quite well. An Italian director would have done a lot more with the same material, but what Baker does is still enough to diversify an otherwise entirely predictable succession of developments. While not a visual stunner, Scars of Dracula produces plenty of wonderful visuals, virtually all of which come from Count Dracula’s secluded castle.

The material that could have been expanded and undoubtedly would have made a big positive difference is the one featuring Hempel’s character. Hempel looks great, and after seducing Matthews, it feels like there will be plenty of surprising fireworks. Instead, Hempel’s character is effectively discarded. This entire switch is very unconvincing and leaves the impression that something was either altered on the fly or the final version of Scars of Dracula is a complex compromise that was not intended to be seen as it is currently available.

*Kino Lorber’s release introduces a brand new 4K restoration of Scars of Dracula, sourced from the original camera negative, and completed on behalf of StudioCanal.

Scars of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Scars of Dracula arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release introduces a brand new 4K restoration of Scars of Dracula, sourced from the original camera negative, and completed on behalf of StudioCanal. The 4K restoration is also made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release.

The 4K restoration is beautiful. I viewed it in its entirety on 4K Blu-ray, and then a day later, I viewed it in its entirety on Blu-ray. I prefer how the 4K restoration looks on the Blu-ray because some of the darker footage from Count Dracula's castle becomes too dark and produces crushing when viewed in native 4K with HDR. The more balanced grain exposure of the 1080p presentation is more attractive on my system, too. However, I suspect that different systems will handle the same footage differently, and some viewers may choose the native 4K presentation for the expanded dynamic range of the visuals. I did not think that this was a significant factor because the 4K restoration is very nicely done, and the 1080p visuals look mighty impressive, not inferior in any meaningful way. There are no traces of any compromising digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. Color reproduction and balance are very accurate and convincing, too. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Scars of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed Scars of Dracula it its entirety on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. The comments below are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.

James Bernard's score effectively opens up select areas of the film. However, it does not have a dominant role. I think that the action footage, which is not a lot, produces more interesting dynamic contrasts, but in the large scheme of things, this is irrelevant. The dialogue is clear, sharp, and easy to follow. I did not encounter any distracting age-related anomalies to report in our review.

Scars of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - this audio commentary was recorded by director Roy Ward Baker, Christopher Lee, and Hammer film historian Marcus Hearn. This commentary offers a lot of factual information about Hammer's relationship with Count Dracula, not only the production of Scars of Dracula, and the various people who worked on the different Dracula films. Also, Lee comments on his popularity in the United States, his preference for Hammer films to "suggest things" rather than show them, and the unique Gothic environment they were able to produce and legitimize.

• Commentary Two - this new audio commentary was recorded by critic and novelist Tim Lucas. The majority of the comments address the production history of Scars of Dracula, the cast that was assembled for it, the film's style and atmosphere, and the evolution of the genre films that had something to do with Count Dracula.

• Blood Rites: Inside Scars of Dracula - this archival documentary takes a closer look at the conception and production of Scars of Dracula. Also, there is interesting information about Christopher Lee's transformation into Count Dracula in the various films Hammer films produced. Included in it are clips from interviews with Jenny Hanley, critic Kevin Lyons, author and critic Jonathan Rigby, critic John Johnston, and author Alan Barnes. The program was produced in 2017 for StudioCanal. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Scars of Dracula. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

Scars of Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bram Stoker's original story is only a starting point for everything that takes place in Roy Ward Baker's Scars of Dracula. It is true that this film has some obvious flaws, the most consequential of which I think is the odd switch where Anouska Hempel's character is discarded, but it is still enormously enjoyable. In fact, I prefer it to some of the more praised films about Count Dracula that Hammer produced. Kino Lorber's release introduces a terrific new 4K restoration of Scars of Dracula, sourced from the original camera negative, and completed on behalf of StudioCanal. A 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack release is available for purchase as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.