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1977 - 83m.

Originally titled Dracula's Dog this one is certainly a, pun intended, "dog" of a horror flick.

The cheesy opening sequence has some non-accented Russian soldiers unearthing a tomb and accidently bringing back "Zoltan"; a vampiric dog who then ressurects his owner so they can go on a quest to New York to find their new master (who just happens to be Michael Pataki, a descendent of Dracula).

So off they go to terrorize Pataki and his family while camping with Zoltan recruiting a doggie vampire army, servant Reggie Nalder standing about looking creepy and giving Zoltan psychic messages and a Van Helsing-like vampire hunter showing-up later than logic would allow to fight them both.

Packed with lots of unintentional chuckles, this ridiculous effort from veteran genre director Albert Band (father to Charles, head of Full Moon) is low-budget, dopey and with a story that goes absolutely nowhere. We get to see some rubbery vampires, a dog actor that has to deal with oversized fake fangs and hilariously dubbed groans and growls, the pre-requisite "family fun" montage and the cabin assault scene in which you can see daylight even though it's night and the power is cut.

Throw into the mix amusing scenes of Zoltan biting other dogs (and people), the fact Zoltan for the most part is quite the chickenshit and that priceless final shot and you have a movie that's undeniably feeble but never at all boring.

Early make-up work for Stan Winston (they all have to start somewhere).

Directed By: Albert Band.
Written By: Frank Ray Perilli.

Starring: Michael Pataki, Reggie Nalder, Jan Shutan, Libbie Chase.