Villain(s)  Vampire

Actor(s):  Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews

Brief Description  Scars of Dracula (1970) is a British Gothic horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions, directed by Roy Ward Baker, and starring Christopher Lee in his sixth appearance as the iconic Count. Written by Anthony Hinds (under the pseudonym John Elder), the film served as a standalone soft reboot for the franchise, breaking continuity with its predecessor, Taste the Blood of Dracula, to return the narrative focus directly to Dracula’s homeland in Transylvania.

Plot:
The film opens with the resurrection of Count Dracula, whose ashes—resting in his castle's necropolis—are reanimated when a giant vampire bat flies over his coffin and vomits blood onto them. Furious over the vampire's lingering curse, the nearby villagers of Kleinenberg march on Castle Dracula and set it ablaze. In retaliation, Dracula commands his swarm of bats to attack the village church where the local women and children have taken refuge, resulting in a gruesome massacre. Meanwhile, a young, hedonistic man named Paul Carlson (Christopher Matthews) flees the authorities after being caught in a compromising situation with the Burgomaster's daughter. He accidentally crosses the border and arrives at Castle Dracula, where he is welcomed as an overnight guest by the Count and his captive vampire mistress, Tania (Anouska Hempel). Tania falls in love with Paul, provoking Dracula's jealousy. The Count brutally stabs Tania to death in front of Paul and drinks her blood before stabbing Paul and locking his corpse in a hidden room.

When Paul fails to return home, his responsible brother Simon (Dennis Waterman) and Simon's girlfriend, Sarah (Jenny Hanley), trace his steps back to the region. They eventually arrive at the castle, where Dracula acts as a courteous, icily charming host while privately plotting to claim Sarah as his next bride. The couple receives clandestine help from Klove (Patrick Troughton), Dracula's heavily abused, sadomasochistic servant who has fallen in love with Sarah's purity. After discovering Paul's blood-drained body, Simon and Sarah attempt to flee with Klove's help, seeking shelter with a sympathetic local priest (Michael Gwynn). Dracula tracks them down, using his supernatural control over nature to send deadly bat attacks and manipulate events to capture Sarah. In the violent climax on the castle battlements, Simon fights the Count. Klove turns against his master to defend Sarah but is thrown over the balcony to his death by Dracula. Simon stabs Dracula with an iron spike, but the vampire is immune to ordinary impalement. However, a sudden bolt of lightning strikes the metal spike while Dracula holds it aloft, bursting him into flames and sending his burning body plunging off the cliffside.