Starring: J. Carroll Naish, Lon Chaney Jr. and Regina Carroll
Written by William Pugsley and Sam Sherman
Directed by Al Adamson
Released on Blu-Ray by Severin Films
Look, I understand that sexy monsters are making a comeback, and that is all well and good. Who am I to stand in the way of a tortured, horny vampire or Frankenstein’s monster with an existential crisis? I do lament that there isn’t more incorporation of the 1970s exploitation era of monster mash. Robert Eggers, where is Dracula’s magic ring that shoots fire? Mr. Del Toro, why doesn’t Frankenstein’s head look like a giant piñata? And where are the outlaw bikers!? For these critical elements, I know who to turn to…A true master of American exploitation cinema, Al motherfuckin’ Adamson.
The Creature Emporium at the Venice Beach boardwalk is a place of nightmares. This is an attraction where staged decapitations look eerily real, and unholy creatures cavort for those brave enough to experience its dark pleasures. Little do they know, the hidden laboratory within the building is where the genuine horrors take place. It’s in this lab that crippled madman Dr Durea (J. Carroll Naish) uses the blood of kidnapped girls to create the ultimate blood serum. The serum in its final form is meant 
to reverse his paralysis and will cure his mute assistant, Groton (Lon Chaney Jr.). However, Durea’s need for blood is constant, and as the bodies pile up (courtesy of Groton’s axe), suspicions mount. Circumstances force the mad doctor into an unholy alliance with Count Dracula (Zandor Vorkov, looking like Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy in corpse paint). The terms are simple: Dr. Durea will create a serum that allows Dracula to walk in the sun, and in return, the arch vampire will help resurrect Frankenstein’s monster to seek revenge against the colleagues who shunned the diabolical scientist. Did I mention Dr. Durea is the last of the Frankenstein bloodline? Oh, I missed that? My most sincere apologies, it’s only that the plot of DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN is fucking unhinged! I haven’t even gotten to the inappropriately aged hippie protagonist, or the dance numbers, or the biker gang…
You could do a whole piece on the surreal life of director Al Adamson, and I am more than tempted, but instead, I’ll direct you to the brilliant Severin documentary Blood & Flesh: The Real Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson. Suffice to say, Adamson was a schlock mastermind with a boundless enthusiasm rivaled only by Ed Wood. To me, DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN is the jewel in the crown of Adamson’s filmography. The plot feels like a one-shot comic book written overnight by an acid head obsessed with Marvel’s Dracula series. Originally, the movie was intended as a more horror-centric follow-up to Adamson’s bikersploitation gem Satan’s Sadists. (Watch it! Your favorite stoner doom band definitely has.) However, plans changed, and that’s where the Universal monsters got thrown into the mix. Overkill, you say? Only if you’re a dull asshole who never had a good idea in your worthless life!
When I think of drive-in movie perfection, I think of DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN. Except for a few exposition-heavy scenes, there isn’t a moment wasted in Adamson’s tales of monster mayhem. From the jump, the title sequence is hypnotic, a stylized collage of character silhouettes over a blood red background. Immediately after that, we cut to Dracula digging up the corpse of Frankenstein’s monster in a California cemetery. Then we’re gunning it at 666 mph like a thrash band on angel dust. Lon Chaney Jr. is axe-murdering, Frankenstein’s monster is fighting cops, and it is all certifiably a graveyard smash. Again, Dracula has a magic ring a la Merciless Ming. If this barrage of insanity rings true to your degenerate heart, then do yourself a favor and scoop up Severin’s Blu-ray. But if you find the elements I’ve presented appalling, then I shed a tear for you. The work of King Adamson is not meant for the mundane.
Death To False Horror,
Dr. Benny Graves
