Hot Picks
|
|
|
Noroi no Yakata: Chi o Suu Me
Lake of Dracula
Bloodthirsty Eyes / Bloodsucking Eyes / Japula / Dracula's Lust for Blood / Lake of Death
Japan 1971
produced by Fumio Tanaka for Toho
directed by Michio Yamamoto
starring Midori Fujita, Choei Takahashi, Sanae Emi, Shin Kishida, Tadao Futami, Mika Katsuragi, Setsuko Kawaguchi, Tatsuo Matsushita, Yasuzo Ogawa, Haruo Suzuki, Fusako Tachibana, Kaku Takashina, Michiyo Yamazoe, Wataru Omae, Hideji Otaki
written by Ei Ogawa, Masaru Takesue, music by Riichiro Manabe, special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano
Bloodthirsty Trilogy
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
|
|
As a kid, Akiko (Midori Fujita) had a dream about her dog running away
and her tracking him down - to the lair of a vampire. Now she's grown up
though, but the memory doesn't only refuse to let go of her, it becomes
more vivid then ever, especially when she finds her dog killed, and the
caretaker (Kaku Takashina) of her house, a normally peaceful man, tries to rape her.
At
first, her sister Natsuko (Sanae Emi) and her boyfriend Saeki (Choei
Takahashi) try to convince her everything is nothing but illusions - but
then of course, Natsuko is already under the native vampire's (Shin
Kishida) spell while Saeki is flooded with work at the hospital he's a
doctor at. It's only when a girl is brought to the hospital who shows
signs of vampirism that Saeki believes Akiko's side of things might be
accurate. But the girl dies and is cremated before being properly
examined. Now, Akiko and Saeki start to investigate, but while they're
at it, the vampire sucks Natsuko dry, and Akiko and Saeki's attempts to
bring her to hospital in time only lead to her dying on the way and
reawakening as a vampire later on ... With nothing else to do, Saeki
tries hypnosis on Akiko and finds out that her dream from when she was
five wasn't a dream at all but an actual event her mind just wouldn't
accept - and now the two of them head for the vampire's lair to find out
what has actually been happening all these years back and to find a way to
deal with the vampire in the now. Thing is, the vampire's prepared ... Probably
more related to vampire movies from the West, especially the vampire
flicks Hammer
put out at the time, than anything of Asian descent, Lake of Dracula,
despite its relative popularity in the West, will probably never be
considered as a milestone of Japanese horror cinema - but that said, it's
a very robust, deliberately slow-moving vampire flick that's sure to creep
one out, thanks to a solid if not overly original script and a directorial
emphasis on atmospher and mystery. In all, first and foremost a really
likeable piece of vintage genre cinema. No masterpiece perhaps, but a
must-see for nostalgic horror afficionados (like me).
|
|
|