EVIL OF DRACULA (1974, original title Chi o suu bara) is the last of the Japanese Bloodthirsty trilogy and once again a standalone contemporary vampire story. Made a good few years after the last one, this feels heavily indebted to Hammer's LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, with the girls' school setting and story of teachers menaced by the undead. There's even a little nudity and a blood-on-breast scene of the kind which was once considered a trigger for psychopaths by the good old wannabe psychiatrists working at our BBFC here in the UK!

Sonny Chiba-lookalike Toshio Kurosawa plays Professor Shiraki, arriving at a remote school to take up a teaching position. He soon discovers something odd about the principal and his wife, and elicits the aid of some allies and the local police force to investigate. As with the other films in this unconnected trilogy, it's a slow-burning slice of atmosphere with plenty of night-time set-pieces and ethereal scenes of our hero being ambushed by vampiric brides. The only action really comes at the extended climax, a hell-for-leather battle between the living and the dead. The vampires are a creepy lot here with decent makeup making them feel spooky and imposing, and it's all very close to Hammer in look and feel, albeit on a smaller budget.

The third entry in director Michio Yamamoto's Bloodthirsty Trilogy, this Toho-produced vampire film ends this non-connected cycle by telling the story of Professor Shiraki (Toshio Kurosawa, Lady Snowblood),who comes to teach at a new school and discovers that he may not be ready for this strange place.

You have to love a vampire movie that has Dracula finding himself shipwrecked in Edo period Japan, a time when Christianity was illegal. Forced to spit on the cross and wander the desert, he is forced to drink his own blood to survive. Acquiring a taste for it he soon begins feeding on the blood of the locals.

It turns out that the past principal was also a vampire and has been feeding on his student body. This involves shredding their clothes off their bodies and drinking right from their breasts, which leads me to believe that this movie is more inspired by the later, more naughty side of Hammer.

Shin Kishida is the vampire again - he also played one in Lake of Dracula - but there isn't any mention of him being the same character. That said, the love going even past death theme that exists in so much Hammer and in later films like Bram Stoker's Dracula is in full effect here.

Professor Shiraki (Toshio Kurosawa) travels from Tokyo to the countryside by train to work as a psychology teacher in the Seimei School for girls. There is a driver waiting for him and he sees a car accident on the road. He learns that the principal´s wife died in the accident. When they arrive at the school, the Principal (Shin Kishida) welcomes him and Shiraki offers his condolences to him. He tells that the coffin of his wife will stay in the basement for seven days as per the local costume. He also tells that Shiraki was chosen to be the next principal of the school. During the night, Shiraki has a dreadful nightmare with the principal´s wife. Soon he befriends three students and learns that a roommate has disappeared and other students are also missing. What is the mystery of the Seimei School for girls?

"Chi o suu bara", a.k.a. "Evil of Dracula", is the third vampire film by Toho Studios. There is no Dracula in the story despite the American title. However it is cult and does not disappoint the fans of a vampire movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição de Drácula" ("The Curse of Dracula")