The Return of the Vampire

After German bombs inadvertently free him, a vampire (Bela Lugosi) and his werewolf servant seek revenge on the family that imprisoned him.

The Return of the Vampire is proof that Universal should have continued the Dracula series with Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi, who is the film’s sole bright spot, proves unequivocally that he still had what it took to fill the cape in this Columbia production. Saddled with a script that gives him far too much to say, and production values that consist of little more than a fog machine, Lugosi single-handedly manages to make the film watchable.

The rest of the film has little to recommend it. Aside from the World War II London setting, and a somewhat novel first act, the script is a mess. Everyone talks too much, especially Lugosi’s character’s werewolf helper who, inexplicably, can also walk around in daylight and run errands.

Director Lew Landers does little to build anything resembling tension, and his concept of atmosphere translates into nothing more than a fog machine, which he uses in almost every scene, indoors or out. Graveyard? Fog machine. Bedroom? Fog machine. Library? Fog machine. You get the idea.