Forgotten Toons: Marvel's Dracula- Sovereign of the Damned (1980)

 As Marvel under Disney tries to rebound with another billion-dollar Film, let's go back to their animated heyday.

Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned is the 1980 Anime adaptation of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula.  The Book ran for many years and has been viewed well in the Decades since.

In the 70s, Marvel licensed their stuff to Toei Animation.  This is how we got Japanese Spider-Man and Super Sentai.

The Plot is essentially a speed run of THE ENTIRE SERIES which had 70 issues over 7 years.  Alas, there is no Marvel connection in supporting Characters as Blade and Doctor Strange were cut.

Will this make sense in around 90 minutes?
To find out, read on...

My copy didn't have the cool Title...I think.

A Satanic Cult is making a big sacrifice to Lucifer Satan.
Yes, they say it like this every time.

Dracula shows up and they think that he's their Master.
He takes the lady with him.

Elsewhere, a young guy named Frank is confronted by an old dude in a wheelchair and a lady.

They hire him to hunt Dracula!

As it turns out, he's Dracula's Son...albeit one born while he was alive.
They don't get into the chronology of this at all.

The Cult plans revenge when they learn that Dracula tricked them.  Lucifer Satan tells him that he has a plan and to wait a year.

While the year progresses, the Hunters sort of close in and Dracula sires another child- Janus.

Issue 55

Weirdly, he picks that moment to reveal the truth to his Wife.
Yes, this didn't come up in a whole year.

He tells a long flashback where he was a strong protector of his land until he was killed.
He was brought back to life by Lucifer Satan as a Vampire!

The Hunters close in, but they are actually not the first person to confront Dracula.

The Cult Leader surrounds the Church with crosses and tries to shoot Dracula with silver bullets.

He turns into smoke and the baby is shot.
I mean...you turned into smoke in front of them- what did you expect?!?

Issue 59

Things take a very strange turn in the ensuing time.

Dracula hides away and the Wife mourns Janus.
She tries to commit suicide, but a literal Deus Ex Machina happens.

A heavenly light (God?) revives Janus...and turns him into a super-powered teenager.
He was the original Psi-Lord (aka Franklin Richards)

Issue 61

The new Janus has holy powers and scares away Dracula.

A different power confronts him, however, in the form of Lucifer Satan.

He literally Drags them To Hell and tries to kill Dracula, who is saved by his Wife's latent holy powers!
(In the Comics, it's a lady named Topaz)

Issue 64

While he's free, Dracula is a human once again!

He fails many times to get restored, including asking two different lady Vampires to turn him (back).

He gets oddly heroic as he flees to a House full of kids and fends off the undead with a cross.

Issue 69

He manages to regain his vampiric powers, but the Hunters (remember them?) are coming.

Harker makes them stay outside and he manages to impale Dracula with a silver spoke.
He blows them both up, as the Couple leave.

Back home, Janus returns to his Mother...and to his baby form.  The End.

Issue 70

What a strange, truncated series of events.

As mentioned, this is a loose adaptation of 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula.  With Blade and Dr. Strange excised (as well as Silver Surfer), they found room to trim things down.

As you saw, the character of Topaz was basically absorbed into Dracula's Wife, for example.

I was not *that* familiar with the Tomb of Dracula Books (being born 4 years after they ended didn't help matters), so I honestly thought that this one was just going off in a weird, Japanese direction.

Color me shocked to learn that all of this- Dracula's superhero kid, him fighting Lucifer Satan and all that- is 100% from the Books.  Maybe I need to support the Kickstarter to get the last Trade released.

The Animation here is dated in good and bad ways.  If you like the '70s style (think Lupin the 3rd or early Gundam), then you'll like this.
They do take some short cuts with repeat animation, some people just not moving and other such things.  It's not amazing, but it is crazy.

This one works if you don't know the Comics as a bizarre bit of History, with Japan making Anime out of Marvel Comics a few Decades before they tried again.

Now I'm doing this during October since it is Horror themed, but it is actually the wrong Holiday...

Next time, I switch back to physical media.  I'm sitting on a few Horror Remakes from the 2000s, so maybe I'll check one out.  Stay tuned...

Forgotten TV: House of Frankenstein (1997) (Part 2)

 After a big debut, let's return to...

Here's a Recap for you...

A Dracula guy has been killing people in Los Angeles.
A Werewolf guy was attacking people.
The rich guy also brought the Frankenstein Monster to the City.

A Detective worked the case and denied the reality, until it became too real.

A lady got turned into a Werewolf by the bad done.
Not Dracula killed the guy Werewolf and kidnapped the lady after her transformation.

Back in the City, the Frankenstein Monster is in police custody after the Vampire killed his friend.

They want to lay all of the killings on him.
That makes it easy!

Pasdar's Detective finally goes to CCH Pounder after seeing Polo transform and the Vampire in its full form.

She drops a crazy bomb on him- Vampires like Dracula guy are Fallen Angels!

Dr. Frankenstein leads a Police Station breakout for the creature, which includes him sliding a cab along the road and a car chase.

The Dracula guy inadvertently kills Pasdar's Partner and everyone is sad.

In a twist, Dr. Frankenstein was actually turning the creature over to the Dracula guy!

The Doctor is never seen again.

The Dracula guy wants to seduce Polo, but she resists his charms.

He tries to kill Pasdar and Pounder (they're Lawyers!), but that just ends in the CSI lady being staked.

Plan B- sic the Creature on them...or else she dies!

The Creature, of course, doesn't do it and instead sides with our heroes.

With his henchmen dead and the Staff gone, Dracula guy is ripe for the picking.

Of course, he still turns into one of those '70s Gargoyles on steroids, so he's no pushover.

We finally reach my sense memory of this Film when the Creature and Dracula guy fight.

The former actually stakes the latter.

Pasdar takes the wounded Polo- who he shot while she was transformed- but then Dracula guy no-sells the stake and chucks the Creature into the fire place.

Time to kidnap Polo- again!

Pasdar survives the attack- while Pounder plummets- and goes to the Club, the last vestige of the Vampire.

His fellow Cops all join him and a Vampire vs. Cops battle breaks out to Smashing Pumpkins.

Pasdar goes to save Polo, who is now worthless to Dracula guy since her wolf side died (don't ask).
When she rejects him yet again, the Vampire drops to his fiery death.

Wow, so much for my big moment.

In the aftermath, this TV Mini-Series does some massive Sequel Baiting!

Pounder is alive and turning into a Werewolf.
The Creature survived being burned and is escaping the city.

...and the happy couple talk about how they are safe while Dracula guy's helper is revealed to be a Vampire himself and watching them!

There is no follow-up.

A decent climax to the events, even if some of the confrontations felt rushed.

This one is tricky because it is the culmination of all of the story beats and Plots.
As such, you expect certain things.

For instance, the battle between Dracula guy and the Frankenstein Creature is very abrupt and the rematch is even more so.
Likewise, the final confrontation between Pasdar and the Vampire is just kind of...oh, that's it?

The makeup work here is really darn good.  They used CGI sparingly and that was a good thing.

The Acting is also good too.  The whole thing doesn't feel cheap, especially for at TV Movie/Mini-Series.

As of this writing, no DVD, Blu-Ray or Streaming options for this exist.  I got a digital copy, since, well, nobody is trying to sell it.  It's worth a look if you remember it vaguely or just want something different.

Now...is that Svengoolie?

Next up, I take a look at a forgotten part of the Batman-Superman Series.  Is this long-delayed Superman follow-up worth the $3.18 I paid for it?  Stay tuned...

Forgotten TV: House of Frankenstein (1997) (Part 1)

 Have you ever tracked down a Movie you half remember from over a Decade ago?  Well, I did.

After lots of research, I finally found 1997's House of Frankenstein!  It was a TV Mini-Series and such, like the previous Frankenstein from TV, I'll cover it in its 2 separate parts.

There's so much to cover that it just makes things much easier.

The Plot involves a Vampire, a Werewolf, Frankenstein's Monster/Creature and everyone else stuck in between their antics.  Most of them are up to no good- they are Monsters, after all.

Notable Stars include Adrian Pasdar (Heroes), CCH Pounder (Justice League), Teri Polo (Meet the Parents) and Miguel Sandoval, as well as many others.

This appears to be an attempt to a modern(ish) update to Universal's Monster Film Crossover. 
It is an NBC-Universal TV Movie, after all.

Does this one hold up after almost 30 years or is it as dated as the original House of Frankenstein?  To find out, read on...

A flying creature with weird POV effects is killing people and the Cops are looking into it, but to no avail.

I'm already getting Nick Knight flashbacks, which is fitting since that was the Pilot to Forever Knight, which ran from 1992 to 1996, the year before this came out.

Elsewhere, a woman- Teri Polo- and a guy are both attacked by a stray wolf.

The latter is mauled and not seen again (at least in Part 1) and she's scratched, now forever changed!

Elsewhere still, the current descendant of Frankenstein is convinced that the Book (which was Fiction) was real and spending lots of money to find the creature/Adam.

He succeeds and it then breaks out of containment when the ice melts!

Time to do an update of a different Frankenstein Film (since the Monster spends most of these crossovers taking a nap)!

This corrupt Businessman reveals himself to be the Vampire (who looks like 2000's Faust) when the Environmentalist blocking his construction turns out to be, gasp, a jerk.

If you ever wanted to see what the humanoid form of the Giant Bat that was in a Deleted Scene from Batman Forever looked like, it's him.

The Creature/Monster is saved by a mostly blind guy in the Streets and a friendship blooms.

Hey, you're not an uncredited Gene Hackman!

He's a 'That Guy' named Richard Libertini.

It turns out that the Vampire was using the Werewolf (who was a dude named Lukas) and was annoyed that he sired another Monster.

He gets a guy to kill the Werewolf and goes to retrieve Polo, but finds her roommate...CSI's Jorja Fox (?!?) instead.

He turns her into a spy.

When that part failed, the Vampire refocuses to get the Creature instead.

It kills the somewhat blind guy with a literal heart punch, but is interrupted before he can capture him.

How he was planning to fly off with him in broad daylight...is a fair question.

It all comes to a head as Pasdar's Cop can't convince anyone about the strange goings on- save for an ignored CCH Pounder- and leaves the City.

Fox tells the Vampire where to find them, however, and he shows up!

Polo runs away and transforms into a white wolf...only to be immediately captured by the Vampire!

See you in Part 2!

A Vampire and a literal White Wolf, you say?

A fun, if very busy start to the Story.

For better or worse, this one has ALOT going on.

The Cops and the case.
The Vampire and his killings.
The Werewolf and Polo.
The Frankenstein Creature and his buddy..
CCH Pounder being ignored/mocked.

This one is never still for too long.  Does it need to take ridalin?

The Special Effects are just the right side of good and also dated, with makeup work taking precedence and the CGI being accents.  The morphing effects- it is the 90s- aren't amazing, but fine.

The Acting is good here, but not amazing.
Thankfully, this doesn't feel especially cheap.  They use the right amount of focus- no globetrotting- and real locations to make it work.

Is it amazing?  Not yet.
Is it terrible?  Not at all.

It's good enough that I need to see part 2...

Next up, we will indeed see the conclusion of this forgotten tale.  Does it all come together greatly or is it a fun mess?  Stay tuned...

5,300th Post Special!!!: Deafula (1975)

In this Movie, nobody can hear...well, anything.
Is that ableist or just wordplay?

This is Deafula, a 1975 Film that is pretty much what you'd guess.  
A deaf guy is a Vampire, calls himself 'Deafula' and kills people.

There's more artsy BS- this is really a Film for Bob in many ways- but that is the summary I'm going with.

This one is both famous and also super-rare.  It was saved on Archive.org, but I couldn't find it there.
My options were a very low-quality YT version or a slightly-less low-quality version elsewhere.

Peter Weschberg/Wolf did something interesting here as a Director, making a Film that has a deaf Cast, but has a Dubbed Audio Track for those of us not fluent in ASL.

I only reliably know the one phrase...and that's because it is also 'Wakanda Forever.'

To find out if this is a rare gem or not, read on...

As noted, the Film was shot and acted entirely in ASL.

Even if the print quality at this point wasn't 'squinting across the room without my glasses' at most times, I'd still be lost.

Thankfully, Signscope was made...which is just a Dubbed Audio Track.

This is all about a guy named Peter.

He has a tragic past and an issue with blood.

You see, he sometimes loses control- even as a kid, we learn- and transforms into Deafula!

To be clear, he calls himself this.
My guess is that it was to 'take the fun out of calling him that' a la Fat Amy.

Other jokes to make that don't involve him being Deaf though.

Throughout the Film, we get this out of context Scenes of the titular Character killing people.

They are the most interesting parts, even if they are filler.

In other words, they are like adding bits of jalapeno pepper to your meatloaf.

Does my breath smell like spicy meatloaf?

He eventually learns about his past in full detail from his Dad (who immediately dies) and then meets this lady that looks like the one from the Insidious Films.

You know her name- I don't need to say it.

He's apparently the son of Dracula and his Mom, but was raised by the Priest.  He got monthly blood donations from his Dad to keep him normal, but they eventually stopped working.

We learn earlier from a pair of Cops that Dracula is dead, so it is a bit confusing when he then goes to see Dracula alive (as much as he ever is).

He stakes Dracula- which kills that lady for some reason- and he fully becomes a Priest.

The suspicious Cop- who seems to have inspired the Lead from Disco Elysium- sets a trap however after finding proof that Peter is a Vampire.

His Cop buddy doesn't believe it...until Peter decides to confess...inside the Church to nobody.

The Film ends with a big old monologue from our Lead, who is talking to God.

Again- the Cops are outside and don't seem to be here for this at all.

He eventually commits a form of suicide- touching Dracula's evil ring to a crucifix- to die and escape his torment.

I just hope Deafula wasn't Catholic.
The End.

A Film with some great ideas, interesting visuals...and no Budget.

As you saw earlier, Peter becoming Deafula means a big old, silly fake nose.  It just takes the drama out of it.

Speaking of that, he 'kills' one biker by telling him to drive off of a Cliff.  That means driving for a good two minutes straight, stopping near a cliff and then slowly going over it...off-camera.

This Scene really gives you a good view of how this Film both works and doesn't.

Also, there's a guy who 'lost' his hands...and is clearly just hiding them in soup cans on the end of his wrist.  That didn't help matters.

When it works, Deafula is an interesting Film about loss of control and occasionally interesting Vampire Scenes.
When it doesn't, it is long, droning monologues which are dubbed in by mostly-competent Voice Actors.

If there was a good print of this around, it would also help.

Hey, don't look at me like that- I'm just being honest!

A Film that is mostly more than its gimmick.  Too bad the Budget was like $400, so they dragged every Dialog Scene out for eternity.

Tubi Thursday: House of the Wolf Man (2009)

 I enjoy watching Old Movies, trying to relive Classics or just to enjoy the cheesiness on display.

While I'm in a Universal Horror mood (see tomorrow's Review), let me check out a new(er) Film that intentionally tries to look like an old one.

My history with those is very mixed, so here's hoping for the best...

A Castle.
A storm.

A creepy guy opening the door.

This is The Old Dark House, a different James Whale Film...but still Universal.

A bunch of strangers all invited by a Mr. Reinhart to come to his Estate.

The winner of some sort of contest will get it all.

The Master is played by Ron Chaney, the Grandson of Lon Chaney and son of (obviously) Lon Chaney Jr.

He's up to something, but we'll get to that...eventually.

After some watchful paintings, some banter and some foreshadowing, the most forthcoming of the group explains what she has figured out.

They are all related, each one sired by a man/monster that killed their Mother(s).

This isn't Universal Horror- this is The Howling V!

Kudos for the cheap looking Model Castle though.

It's only missing a great shot of lightning striking in front of it to be Universal.
Well, that or a Roger Corman Film.

The Film FINALLY gets to the point as the group has dinner with Reinhart after more foreshadowing (specifically about someone named Bella and the Frankenstein Family Crest).

Reinhart turns into a Wolfman (and obvious double) and kills most of the group.

He's stopped by...the Monster.

At least he looks cool.

Sure- why not throw him in with almost no setup or teasing?!?

I guess that 'Bella' mention is going to lead to Dracula showing up and...yeah, alright then.

Sadly, the Film just kind of ends shortly after that.  The End.

A Film that...I can't recommend that much, sadly.

A Movie like this can work.  Copy the look and feel, but make a new, interesting Film with it.

Barring that, make a good Comedy.

Here's a little secret- not every Universal Horror Film was created equal.  The Classics are considered that for a reason.  Some of the Sequels that are just alright are just old Films also made by Universal.

I wish that this was a good use of the look and feel, but that's really all there is to it.

The final Segment of the Film is fun, even if it does kind of break the Universal illusion with how the action plays out.  If the other 45 minutes or so were half this good, I'd be all over this one.

House of the Wolf Man is a well-meaning, but not that great Film.  It's also not above marketing to, ahem, a different demographic...

A Film that knows what it wants to look and feel like.  If only the same dedication went to making the Film interesting as it did to making it look grainy in black and white.