ZOLTAN, Hound of Dracula (aka Dracula's Dog) - 1978
Anchor Bay DVD
ZOLTAN is a great reminder of the days when movies like this one about a vampire Doberman Pinscher were made to play in theaters. On top of that, it's played straight by everyone involved, without any of the annoying self awareness of today's similar output. A crypt in the part of Eastern Europe that looks a lot like California is accidentally dynamited open by some Soviet soldiers. Turns out to be the crypt of one Igor Dracula. An unfortunate soldier frees Zoltan, the vampire Doberman. After killing the soldier, Zoltan has a flashback to let us know his vampire origins. One night long ago, he interrupted Dracula's(Michael Pataki) attack on a chick, so Drac bit him and his owner Veidt Schmidt, played by Reggie Nalder. I got nothing against Pataki, but he just doesn't have a Dracula look to him. More like a Dracula from Youngstown, Ohio. Zoltan opens the coffin of Veidt Schmidt and yanks out the stake, causing him to rise from the dead. Veidt communicates to Zoltan with telepathic voice overs,mostly something like "come Zoltan, we must find the master" and so on. I don't wanna be rude but I gotta say something about Nalder's face. Holy Shit! It's as if his jaw was removed and the bottom of his face turned into a heavily sun burned rectum. All around great actor and handsome man Jose Ferrer shows up as a Soviet Van Helsing type named Inspector Branco. Ferrer really sells it like a pro no matter what he's in. He knows of the crypt and has the contents burned but is aware of the empty coffin of Veidt and the mysterious other coffin that held Zoltan. Branco knows his vampires and quickly deduces that Veidt is what's called a "fractional lamia" who will seek the survivor of the Dracula bloodline in order to vampirize him with Zoltan's help and then serve him like a toady. Turns out the last family member is named Michael and has lived in America since he was a little boy as Michael Drake. Now, if you had a cool last name like Dracula, why would you change it? But he did and you, me, Branco, Zoltan and Schmidt are off to the U.S.A. Kick ass! I love America.
As luck would have it, Michael Drake aka Dracula (Pataki again) is preparing the RV for a family camping trip with his wife, two kids, his two German Shepherds and their puppy. As he is packing he comes across a black and white photo of Igor Dracula which causes him to pause as if to think to himself "wow, my great, great grandather Igor sure liked to dress like a Dracula". The family heads off and we're treated to one of the movies driving montages. There will be two more. A lot of driving in this picture. Michael doesn't realize that Veidt and Zoltan are also following them in a hearse. Once they are camping, things start going bad as the puppy wanders off and is bit by Zoltan. The Drake's find the dead puppy and attribute its death to snakebite, then bury him. The little Drake girl spots Veidt and his "funeral car" but no one pays any attention to her when she tells them. In the movie's second driving sequence Branco cruises to the camp site in a cool Cutlass convertible, dressed in the finest Eastern Bloc L.L. Bean Van Helsing line sportswear. After more vampire dog related trouble, Branco finds the Drakes and convinces them about the whole Dracula's servant, bloodline, Schmidt deal. Michael sends the family home and he and Branco stay behind to fight Zoltan and Schmidt. And there's another driving sequence, this time Branco and Drake. Zoltan has created a vampire dog pack who launch an impressive siege on a cabin with Branco and Drake inside as the movie comes to an end. And there is a stinger at the end that is hilarious. I gotta say the dog acting in this thing is great. I can't imagine how hard it was to keep those vampire teeth in the dogs' mouths. Despite having what might be a silly premise, ZOLTAN is a pretty fun drive in picture. I wasn't bored, the acting was good and it just seemed to have that elusive drive in quality that pictures like PLANET TERROR never can achieve.