Unearthing a tomb in Romania, a half-man/half-vampire servant to Count Dracula and Dracula's dog discover the last remnants of the family living in California and set out to make them a part of their vampiric family using whatever they can to ensure he joins them in their quest.This here turned out to be quite the enjoyable cheesefest. A large part of what makes that so endearing is the fact that there's quite a lot of encounters and confrontations that paint this one in quite a cheesy manner from the outset. The central idea at the core of the film is the fact that this one has the reanimated dog of Dracula's servant running around taking out the animals near a family vacation that contains their next ancestor comes off as simply way too silly to take seriously, yet that doesn't really detract from this one as that comes about from the beginning of the film, and it remains consistent throughout here which makes the cheesiness grow quite well. It's no surprise that the best moments involve the dog, outfitted out with glowing eyes and ludicrously over-sized fangs, the dog often looks amusingly nonplussed with what is meant to be going on around him. He is certainly one multi-talented dog, however, as he drags heavy looking coffins out of crypts, removes stakes with his teeth and provides several other highly impressive stunts that come off as very well done and give it a certain amount of menace. It also makes the action of this one quite enjoyable throughout here, with the opening encounter in the crypt where the reawakened dog takes out the lone guard reviving his handler and the excursions into the campsite attacking the family are caused by this inclusion which is what makes for a fun time. The scenes of him gathering the dog army are just as cheesy, and the scene of the vampire-puppy crawling out of the ground are even more good cheesy fun here. That serves nicely enough for the set-up at the end, as the house-siege scenes do have some quite tense moments as the ethereal howling from the dogs in the background, their frantic assaults to get in anywhere they can in the house offer rather chilling and the several attacks do build up the tension quite nicely. There is some rather nice bloodletting in the attacks as well, but otherwise, this was still just a giant cheese-fest. That is the film's main strength as well as the great flaw in here, as it all depends on how much the plot points stack up in the cheese factor. There's quite simply too many to name, from the inherent stupidity of the soldiers early on who discover the corpses, to the reanimated dogs who spend the majority of the time simply staring at others, while the servant gazes at the dog who hypnotically stares at the other dogs in the area. The ludicrous situation that the film comes to, which has the dog army invade a small barricade set-up to stop them, to the events that preceded them, are just plain cheesy, and there's no getting around them. The amount of cheese that can be absorbed from a film will be about equal to how much you can find wrong with this one, as it's the only factor that really seems off in this one, but it's still a major one.Rated R: Violence, Language and violence-against-animals.

This film was known in the UK as "Zoltan - Hound Of Dracula". Now, a 1970s horror flick with that sort of title would probably make you think of the Hammer films, but in fact this production has nothing of the look or feel of a Hammer film. In fact, I'm not sure it has the look or feel of *any* other horror film I've seen, because Zoltan - Hound Of Dracula is really something quite unique.Much of it is shot in bright, sunny open countryside, a setting which tends not to lend itself very well to the horror genre, although to be fair most of this picture's suspense scenes are reserved for the night-time sequences.The film's 'star' is a big black dog, Zoltan, a vampire in its own right. Through a brief flashback sequence we learn that many years ago he gained his vampire status after being bitten by Dracula, and thereafter served as the faithful companion to the famous vampire. And no, I've no idea why Dracula, a being that can supposedly adopt the guise of a bat or a wolf, would have need of a pet dog, but there you go. Maybe Dracula had a sentimental side to him where animals were concerned - after all, he did apparently pose to have his photo taken with Zoltan! Anyway, at some point in the past Dracula and his clan, including Zoltan, were stopped with the customary stakes through the heart, and laid to rest in an underground tomb in Eastern Europe. Military explosions open this tomb in the present day, and at this point the film is very vague as to why things happen - suffice to say contrived events lead to Zoltan coming back to life, along with his original owner, the semi-vampiric Veidt Schmidt, but not Dracula himself, which is probably just as well, because in the brief flashback glimpses we have of the Count, actor Michael Pataki looks quite ridiculous in the traditional Bela Lugosi attire.Without the proper Dracula to serve, Zoltan and Schmidt apparently have to seek out a new master from the same bloodline (yes, run that one by me again, please...) and so head off to Los Angeles to track down his only known living descendant, to turn him into a vampire. And no, it's not explained how they know where he is. Luckily, local vampire expert Inspector Branco (Jose Ferrer) realises what's going on and heads off in pursuit to stop them.The descendant, Michael Drake, is a happy family man who is just in the process of taking his wife, kids and dogs off on a camping trip to get away from it all.The bulk of the film consists of Drake and his family being terrorised by Zoltan and the other dogs, who get bitten and become vampiric themselves. Despite an overall air of cheapness and lack of depth, there are some good sequences, particularly when Drake finds himself trapped in first a hut, and later his car, surrounded by a pack of dogs clawing away at his defences, intent on getting to him, or also the brutal savaging of a lone camper. The titular canine, Zoltan, looks quite effective throughout, and certainly isn't an animal you'd want to cross on a dark night.You have to give the film some credit for trying to come up with something a little different. The Dracula aspect of this film is more a marketing ploy and the plot might have benefited from having the Dracula references removed altogether. The character of Veidt Schmidt doesn't do very much either, but given that a dog can't talk, he's really just a lazy plot device to explain Zoltan's motivations at any given point.The musical score is low key and unmemorable. This is a film that stretches credulity at times, but it is undemanding, lively and original. It's far from being a great film, but there are certainly worse ones around. If your expectations aren't too high, then you might find it enjoyable. And the closing shot is quite good!

Blending the vampire and creature feature themes, Albert Band's "Zoltan" is a haunting filmscape canvassing Dracula's faithful undead servant Veidt Schmidt (Nalder) and bloodhound named Zoltan, awoken from their eternal slumber to locate Dracula's last known descendant (Pataki) and restore the undead dynasty. Pataki is on vacation with his family and two German Shepherds when Detective Jose Ferrer arrives to deliver the bad news.Routinely panned as a monumental lemon, I have no trouble enjoying the creepy performance of the tight-lipped, scar-faced Nalder, his dialogue delivered telepathically as he commands the dutiful Zoltan (a savage looking greyhound) to execute opposition to their mission. Pataki is virtually a bewildered bystander as Ferrer has to convince him that not only is he the last adult descendant of Count Dracula, but that his lineage want him converted to undead status. Arlene Martel has a small supporting role as one of the foolish uniforms who exhume the long-dead vampires in the film's prologue, while some viewers might also recognise Simmy Bow and JoJo D'Amore in a humorous cameo as a pair of ill-fated fishermen.Suspenseful at times (e.g. Ferrer and Pataki holed up in the log cabin while the pack terrorise them throughout the night), "Zoltan" is a novel twist on the Dracula theme and not, in my opinion deserved of the criticism - it's clearly a B-movie, yet technically well constructed with a moody atmosphere, some gruesome shocks and downright entertaining.

Cheaply made horror film from the 70's that is surprisingly better than you might initially expect. The film opens in Romania as soldiers uncover the underground tomb of the Dracula family. A soldier pulls the stake out of a puffy sheet in an opened casket and is soon bit to death by a giant of a hound(A Great Dane I believe). This is Zoltan and he soon pulls the stake out of his master - not Dracula but his servant - and the two begin a trek to the United States to turn the last surviving family member into their undead master. On the heels of these two is Inspector Branco who is well-versed in vampirism and folklore. Anyway, the two follow the Drake family to the woods where they camp and soon all hell breaks out as Zoltan begins to infect all the canines around. The plot sounds ridiculous - and it is, but it strangely works as reasonable entertainment. The actors are all decent with Jose Ferrer lending cachet and clout as Branco. He does a fine job bringing some much needed credibility, though I must confess seeing him drive in a convertible in black slacks, a black turtleneck, and a black beret is something not to be missed. The odd servant is played by none other than Reggie Nalder who just looks evil and up to no good. Throughout the movie he commands Zoltan telepathically. The rest of the cast is serviceable as well. Michael Pataki is believable as the last member of Castle Dracula and even plays the count in a flashback sequence. The dogs do a good job and the director Albert Band, despite a lack of any sizable budget and some real poor lighting, creates just enough suspense and tension to keep this dubious project somewhat afloat. Don't expect any real scares, but there are a few scenes that are well-shot: the dogs attacking the small rented cottage and the dogs attacking the car are just a couple to mention. I saw the denouement coming early in the picture, but is was pretty neat any way. The special effects are nothing really more than the eyes of the vampiric dogs glowing. A fun, bad film from the only decade where something like this could and would have been made.