Legacy of Dracula

The Movie

Mr Sagawa goes to see his girlfriend, Yuko Nonomura, at her remote country home, only to be told that she has died in a car crash. But he sees Yuko and follows her to the graveyard. Meanwhile, his sister Keiko gets worried that she has not heard from him, and she and her boyfriend Hiroshi set out to the Nonomura house to investigate.

Review

Mr Sagawa survives the most boring taxi driver ever to feature in a movie, only to face even greater perils at his girlfriend's home. Mother has that knowing smile that says she could single-handedly reduce the movie to 6.5 minutes - but her lips are sealed. the igor-like servant is similarly dumb - no really, he's deaf and dumb. And evil looking. Mr Sagawa's investigations don't take him further than the graveyard, but his sister is made of sterner stuff, and bullies her boyfriend right through the investigation, stopping only to apologise when she shows bad manners (like confronting a murderer).

This is a Japanese film made in the Hammer Horror tradition; there's not a lot Japanese about it, and not much vampiric either, though Yuko's coldness and evil grin do suggest a standard Hammer Vampire. Dracula isn't even hinted at, and it's never made clear how Yuko could be hypnotized into post-traumatic vampirism.

For all that, it has a steady flow of suspense, and some interesting characterisations.

Special Features

Legacy of Dracula was the first in 'The Bloodthirsty Trilogy'. Three films from director Michio Yamamoto, with a common feature that Dracula neither appears, nor is mentioned. That's what they call 'marketing'.