Lake of Dracula is the second entry in the Bloodthirsty Trilogy, a series of Japanese movies inspired by American and European horror cinema, literature and myths. The story revolves around school teacher Kashiwagi Akiko who lives near a peaceful lake. When a coffin is delivered to a local boathouse by a strange truck driver, strange events start to occur. Akiko believes the current events are somehow related to a traumatizing event she went through when she was only five years old. Her joyful sister Natsuko doesn't believe her but her fiancé Doctor Saeki Takashi starts to investigate when one of his patients who lived near the lake is brought to his hospital with two bite marks on her neck.
If compared to the first entry in the franchise, Lake of Dracula isn't as intense from start to finish as the creepy The Vampire Doll. There are a few too many dialogues in the middle section and scenes like the two sisters going shopping in a nearby town are irrelevant to the story. However, the opening flashback has a very eerie atmosphere and the first scene in the present when a mysterious coffin is delivered sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Things start getting really intense in the second half when the protagonist gets attacked at home and her fiancé in his car. From then on, the film has intense pace and ends very dramatically as well.
The settings are perfectly chosen. The beautiful town by the lake turns into a sinister trap. The vampire's strange house has an otherworldly vibe to it. The hospital the doctor works in looks sinsiter at night. The different locations add some diversity to an already entertaining movie.
The acting performances are also quite solid. Fujita Midori delivers the goods as lead actress in her very first film and it's a mystery to me why she only starred in six movies in her whole career. Her fragile yet determined nature is perfecrly balanced in this movie. She harmonizes well with her more rational and grounded partner Takahashi Chôei. Their chemistry is comparable to the couple in the first movie. The mysterious vampire is played by Kishida Shin and truly terrifying. It reminds of several classic American horror movies in a positive way.
The second half of the film might even be better than the one of The Vampire Doll but a slightly dragging middle section makes Lake of Dracula overall a little bit less enjoyable. Still, fans of classic horror cinema will dig the combination of Japanese culture and Western horror tropes. The idea that vampirism was brought to Japan by foreigners as explained in this movie is somewhat awkward but everything else fits together very fluidly. The movie looks a little bit dated nowadays but still convinces with very good acting performances, a lot of atmosphere and great locations.
