THE PLOT THUS FAR
On the outskirts of London a Satanic Rite is being performed using Mia Martin to summon back Dracula. They have been infiltrated by a member of MI6 who escapes to warn the government of a plot. Special Branch contacts Van Helsing who recognizes his friend (Freddy Jones) as one of the conspirators. Confronting him, he discovers Dracula’s plan to unleash bubonic plague upon the world. But Dracula has a trap for a more personal revenge against Van Helsing waiting.
A reporter who has had an affair with the daughter of the U.S. President is sent to Hungary. There he is bitten by a werewolf, and then gets transferred back to Washington, where he gets a job as press assistant to the President. Then bodies start turning up in D.C.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Satanic Rites of Dracula” was inevitable turn that had Hammer bringing Dracula to modern times, and at least they had a decent story idea which applies to modern time: Dracula plans to gets back at the world by destroying it with a new version of the bubonic plague. And he does it by corrupting officials, politicians and rich men at the highest levels of society and industry. This lends the movie a nice bit of paranoia and conspiracy creepiness that adds considerably to its punch and panache…because not only must the good guys win against the vampires, they have to do it without their most powerful leaders knowing about it.
“Werewolf of Washington” features press secretary Jack Whittier on assignment in Hungary, where his girlfriend buys him a silver cane with a wolf’s head handle. When his car breaks down he encounters some strange gypsies, and is attacked by a wolf which he beats to death with his cane. After the wolf is dead it changes back into human form, but the police don’t even arrest him for murder. Jack is convinced that there is some kind of a government cover-up going on, but a gypsy woman tells him that he has become a werewolf, cursed with the sign of the pentagram. He then returns to Washington, and finds that a series of people he meets are murdered in animal-like attacks.
The DVD comes with a photo shoot, music video, featurette and Elvira’s parody “I’m Not a Witch”. The A/V Quality is pretty strong, but both features suffer from the fact that they haven’t really been cleaned up in ages. But, it’s typical for these Elvira discs that seem to keep popping up every other month. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In the end, I’d recommend a rental.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
