What a beautiful movie!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It was inevitable that the Spanish king of horror, Paul Naschy (real name Jacinto Molina) would get around to making a Dracula film sooner or later, and this bizarre outing is well worth a look for fans of traditional vampire movies. Indeed, while the rest of the world had moved the vampire into modern times with Dracula A.D. 1972 and COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE, Naschy's entry is a fine old-fashioned piece, yet kept exciting with added gore and nudity.The spooky opening is highly reminiscent of a film Hammer might have made, and indeed for the first half of the film this strongly resembles a fine Hammer Horror piece, complete with picturesque countryside and stirring music. Things kick off with two incompetent workmen carrying a large crate into a deserted castle. Their curiosity gets the better of them, and they peek inside to discover a skeleton within a coffin. Soon something nasty in the darkness has attacked and killed both the men! (bizarrely, the opening credits play as footage of a man being attacked is played repeatedly).Predictably enough, we then meet five aristocrats in a horse-drawn carriage who have the double bad luck of losing a wheel and then having their driver kicked to death by a frightened horse. They visit the local castle, where they meet the odd yet courteous Dr. Marlow who asks them to stay. Soon, however, they begin to be picked off one by one and become vampires. So far, so good, you might think, and things happen just as you might expect.However, around the halfway point, the character of Dr. Marlow disappears and Naschy becomes Dracula himself, complete with pale visage and widow's peak (though admittedly not your first choice when thinking of Dracula, Naschy's appearance is passable). Here, the plot vanishes and there's some talk about a black magic ritual to revive Dracula's daughter, Rosanna (!). Meanwhile lots of isolated attacks take place in the vicinity, the culprits being the new vampires. In the end, Dracula's love for one of the girls proves to be his downfall. It certainly makes for original viewing! The acting from the cast is fine, especially from some of the women who prove to be quite adept at being spooky/sadistic vampire ladies. The dubbing isn't too noticeable, although some of the dialogue is unintentionally amusing. There are some gory moments, such as a splattery staking of a female vampire, but nothing too strong (at least not in the version I saw...). Of course, as it's a Naschy film, there's a lot of nudity and the former wrestler has his way with a number of his leading ladies (a regular occurrence in his films, as it happens).The main problem with this film is the evidence of heavy cutting it displays - not just of the gore, but of some plot moments too. This is especially true in the final half hour, which is extremely dream-like as it is anyway, and tends to make things confusing. Ten minutes appear to be missing from the print that I viewed, so I would say the 85 minute version is the one to watch. This one just feels too disjointed and difficult to understand at points (some characters suddenly disappear for no apparent reason). Cutting aside, COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE is a fine vampire yarn which takes things in a different direction from that of tradition, has plenty of fetching leading ladies to watch and some exciting action. It won't make you want to rewind and watch again immediately but it's a solid entry into the genre nonetheless.

Paul Naschy's version of the notorious character Dracula , it turns out to be an acceptable picture compellingly directed by Javier Aguirre with a good cast plenty of Eurobabes . A stagecoach is crashed when the carriage loses a wheel while traveling over the Borgo Passa , then passengers stop at a creepy sanitarium in the mists of eastern Europe . A man (Vic Winner) along with four women (Ingrid Garbo , Mirta Miller , Rosanna Yanni , Haydee Politoff) spend the night in an old deserted and rundown mansion on a mountain of a far country , Los Carpatos , Romania . They each in turn fall into the the evil hands of a physician (Jacinto Molina) who forces them to suck each others blood and to whip innocent village virgins so they can lick the oozing cuts clean . As Dracula starts a reign of seduction and horror, draining the life from four girls .This thrilling as well as terrifying film contains horrifying scenes , chills , lots of gore and red tomato was used for the blood . The picture contains a crazy love story , but also nudism , lots of blood and gore as when Dracula stabs enemies and bites women . It is a passable and average-budgeted version with gorgeous actresses , functional set design and brilliant costumes . It's a delirious story about ¨amour fou¨ with multiples literary references and Hammer elements ; all of them thrown in . It results to be a strong tale as well as sensitive flick with melodramatic touches in which Dracula falls in love with a gorgeous young played by Haydee Politoff . Beautiful and naked actresses along with brief appearance two actors who performed several Spaghetti/Paella Western : Alvaro De Luna and Jose Luis Martin . Good performance from Naschy as a doctor with dark secrets . The picture was shot at the same time to ¨Hunchback of Morgue¨ with same director , cameraman , musician and actors that deals with a below average intelligence hunchback who works at the morgue. Both of them shared a similar theme , as a lone being , Hunchback and Dracula, who fall in love with a virginal maid . Naschy deservedly won the prize George Melies the best performance in Fantastic Festival of Paris and other several prizes . Naschy's success started in 1967 when Paul played and wrote the script for ¨Mark of wolfman¨ . He was forced out of necessity to play the lead role of tormented werewolf Waldermar Daninsky after Lon Chaney, Jr. turned it down . He reprised this character in over a dozen subsequent sequels . Naschy's portrayals of the anguished and sympathetic werewolf Daninsky became his signature part and consolidated his enduring cult status as a bona-fide horror icon. Other significant horror figures Paul played were the Mummy, Jack the Ripper, the Hunchback, the Frankenstein Monster, the Phantom of the Opera, the Devil and even Dracula , his performance as the Prince of Darkness in this "Count Dracula's Great Love" it was one of his personal favorites. Atmospheric cinematography by Javier Pere Cubero though would have been necessary a photography similarly to Hammer Films , glamorous gowns and regular production design , including evocative sets . Flawed but interesting screenplay by Jacinto Molina and the same director Javier Aguirre who blends diverse themes ; however , the picture contains a silly finale . Thrilling and frightening musical score by Carmelo Bernaola . Appropriate sets and production design by Cubero and Galicia who worked in many Spaghetti Western . The motion picture was professionally directed by Javier Aguirre . Rating : Good , it will appeal to mad-cults movies and Naschy fans ; it's one of the best films .

Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy's take on another traditional monster (making for the blood-sucking Count's beefiest incarnation since Lon Chaney Jr.'s turn in SON OF Dracula [1943]) results in one of his more enjoyable efforts, albeit given the "Euro-Cult" style's trademark languid approach and with a few weird touches all its own. This begins with the shot illustrating a man falling down the cellar steps of Dracula's castle after having his head split open with an axe being repeated ad nauseam all through the credit sequence! As the film opens, Dracula is hiding under the guise of a Dr. Kargos (presumably a play on the meshing of Karloff and Lugosi a' la our very own Joe Karlosi ) at an abandoned nearby sanatorium while also assuming the duties of butler at his own castle! Soon, his quest for peace and solitude is interrupted with a vengeance by the arrival of no less than five strangers – one man and four(!) women; the latter ostensibly serve the function of duplicating the count's three brides featured in Bram Stoker's original novel (and a handful of its myriad screen incarnations), with the remaining girl filling in the requirements of the title. Anyway, following some bed-hopping antics (the nudity being crudely inserted since the Spanish censor's repressive hand would only allow such fare to be released in "clothed" versions!), the cast of characters rapidly starts joining the ranks of the undead – leaving only the heroine (gorgeous, doe-eyed Haydee' Politoff whom I was recently impressed by in the obscure but fairly good erotic giallo INTERRABANG [1969]). Also in the cast are Rosanna Yanni (from Jess Franco's two "Red Lips" films from 1967) and others bearing such dubious names as Vic Winner and Ingrid Garbo (her character is named Marlene to boot)!; on a personal note, it was nice to see character actor Jose' Manuel Martin (who had been one of the beggars in Luis Bunuel's VIRIDIANA [1961]) as Dracula' first victim – subsequently 'residing' in his house, he notches up victims of his own and is even killed by the master (oddly enough, all vampires here contrive to dispose of one another) for daring to attack his beloved! Other unusual ideas, then, include: the fact that Dracula's prowlings occur on full-moon nights (as if he expects to turn into a werewolf?!); his having a dead daughter, which he intends to revive by mixing the blood of a virgin (Politoff, who rather than being vampirized has a knife driven through her throat in the manner of a conjuror's act) and an innocent (a village girl his brides abduct and present before him to be whipped)!; and, perhaps most baffling of all, Politoff's rejection of Dracula's offer to live eternally by his side throws him into such a dejected state (apparently, he has fallen hard for her) that not only is he willing to give up on his daughter's revitalization but actually commits suicide by piercing his own heart with a wooden stake! As I said, the film is certainly among the better of the star's vehicles that I have come across (though still not adding up to a completely successful work) and, in fact, this viewing inspired me to acquire another Spanish variant on the theme i.e. THE Dracula SAGA (1972), directed by frequent Naschy collaborator Leon Klimovsky but not involving the redoubtable Jacinto Molina himself

DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE (1972) ** ½ Paul Naschy, Haydée Politoff, Rosanna Yanni, Ingrid Garbo. Four women and a man wreck their stagecoach and must take refuge in a nearby castle. Unfortunately for the travelers, the castle's owner, Dr. Wendell Marlow (Paul Naschy), turns out to be none other than Count Dracula. After Dracula falls in love with one of the women, she must decide whether to live eternally as Dracula's bride or reject him and continue to live as a mortal. Her not-so-surprising choice leads to a strange and surprising ending. Like a lot of '70s European horror movies, the film suffers from slow pacing and a somewhat muddled plot. But there's lots of gothic atmosphere and a few creepy moments here and there to keep things interesting. Worth a look.