Dracula vs. Frankenstein is a 1971 American science fiction horror film directed and co-produced by Al Adamson. It stars J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney Jr., Zandor Vorkov, Anthony Eisley, Regina Carrol, and Angelo Rossitto.
Judith Fontaine (Carrol) is looking for her sister Joanie, who has disappeared into the hippie community of Venice, California. It turns out Joanie has become the victim of Groton (Chaney), an axe-wielding homicidal maniac working for Dr. Durray (Naish), who is really the last descendant of Dr. Frankenstein and is now running a house of horrors in an amusement park by the beach and performing experiments on Gorton's victims. One night Count Dracula (Vorkov) visits the doctor, showing him the original Frankenstein creation buried in a nearby graveyard. The doctor revives it and uses it to take revenge on his professional rivals.
Contains examples of:
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: Rico, the drug kingpin in Venice, runs a biker gang that tries to abduct and rape Samantha.
- Attempted Rape: Rico and his biker gang attempt to rape Samantha on the beach, but are killed by the Axe-Crazy Groton.
- The Cameo: Famous author, editor and literary agent Forrest J. Ackerman appears as Dr. Beaumont, the first victim of the Frankenstein Monster.
- Chairman of the Brawl: During the fight in Dr. Durea's Mad Scientist Laboratory, Groton smashes Mike with a Heavy wooden bench.
- Death by Falling Over: Grazbo dies when when falls through the trapdoor in Dr. Durea's Mad Scientist Laboratory on to the beach, and his head slams into the axe he dropped earlier.
- Depraved Dwarf: Grazbo, the dwarf who operates the Creature Emporium for Dr. Durea, hates all normal sized people and is working for Durea because he believes Durea's serum will cure his dwarfism. He enthusiastically cheers on Groton in the latter's attempts to kill Mike and Judith.
- Evil Cripple: Wheelchair-bound Mad Scientist Dr. Durea, the last descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein, takes to murdering young girls for experimentation in hopes of perfecting a blood serum of his own creation with help from his mute, simple-minded assistant Groton. Durea hopes the serum will heal his crippled legs and cure Groton of his condition.
- Faint in Shock: Judith faints after Mike is struck by a blast from Dracula's ring and burns to ash in front of her eyes.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: Dracula blasts Mike with fire shot out from his one-eyed demon-headed ring, burning him to ashes.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Count Dracula is able to hypnotise people by staring into their eyes.
- The Igor: Wheelchair-bound Mad Scientist Dr. Durea is assisted by his mute, simple-minded assistant Groton, who murders young women with an axe to secure body parts for Durea's experiments.
- Immune to Bullets: Two sheriff's deputies empty their revolvers into the Frankenstein Monster when he is abducting the girl in Lover's lane, but their shots have no effect on the creature.
- Literal Disarming: Dracula rips both arms off the Frankenstein Monster during their fight in the forest, before ripping off his head.
- Mad Scientist: Wheelchair-bound mad scientist Dr. Durea, the last descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein, takes to murdering young girls for experimentation in hopes of perfecting a blood serum of his own creation with help from his mute, simple-minded assistant Groton. Durea hopes the serum will heal his crippled legs and cure Groton of his condition.
- Mad Scientist Laboratory: Dr. Durea has a secret laboratory hidden beneath the Creature Emporium—the house of horrors he runs at the amusement park—where he conducts all of his experiments in developing his blood serum. Much of the electrical lab equipment in the lab are props originally used in Frankenstein (1931). Ken Strickfaden, who had designed all the electrical gadgetry in that film, supplied the equipment.
- Mushroom Samba: Julia experiences one after after she has her coffee drugged at the coffeehouse. However, the whole thing is quite PG-rated and looks more like an amateur interpretive dance routine.
- Off with Her Head!: Joanie Fontaine is decapitated by the axe-wielding Axe-Crazy Groton in the opening scenes. Later, Dr. Durea is accidentally decapitated by his own guillotine.
- Only a Flesh Wound: During the shootout in Dr. Durea's lab, Mike gets shot in the shoulder. His wound is never treated and does nothing to slow him down for the rest of the film.
- Slipping a Mickey: Rico orders the waiter in the coffeehouse to drug Judith's coffee after mistaking her for a cop.
- Throwing the Distraction: During the fight in Dr. Durea's Mad Scientist Laboratory,, Mike throws a bottle across the room where it smashes, causing Durea to shoot at the noise, while Mike makes a break for the stairs.
- Villainous Rescue: Samantha is saved from being raped by Rico and his biker gang by the Axe-Crazy Groton who kills the bikers with an axe. However, her salvation is short-lived as Groton takes her to be come one of Mad Scientist Dr. Durea's experimental subjects.
- Weakened by the Light: The Monster forces Dracula out of the church and into the surrounding forest, where a fierce battle ensues between the two monsters. Dracula tears off the Monster's arms and head, but gets caught in the rays of the sun before he can make it back to his coffin and disintegrates into dust.
- Working for a Body Upgrade: The mute, simple-minded assistant Groton, and the Depraved Dwarf Grazbo, are both working for Dr. Durea in the hopes that the serum he is devolping will cure their conditions.
