Dracula Lives (UK) Vol 1 4

Frank Drake has returned to the burnt out ruins of Castle Dracula with a valet named Gort, hoping to get revenge on his immortal ancestor, Count Dracula who had succeeded into changing Drake's lover Jeanie into a vampire. Taking Gort into Dracula's tomb, he explains to the man-servant the events that led up to Dracula's resurrection and the vampire lords subsequent escape after he turned Jeanie into a vampire and the local towns folk had lit Castle Dracula ablaze. Hearing cries for help, Frank and Gort find Clifton Graves trapped in a pit and help him out. Brought up to speed, Drake explains the first part of his plan to get revenge against Dracula: stealing the vampire lords coffin.

While down in the village below, Dracula stalks and kills another girl to feed upon her blood. Afterwards, Dracula pays a visit to Carl Von Harbou, a man who, as a boy years ago had been a loyal servant to Dracula prior to his recent death. Dracula asks Von Harbou to help conceal his pale skin tone in order to more easily pass as a normal human. With the process done, Dracula then feeds upon Von Harbou, revealing that he knew that it was Carl -- as a boy -- who betrayed him to the men who killed him last.

Days later, Frank Drake and Clifton Graves arrive in London, having brought Dracula's coffin with them, Drake ready and confident that Dracula will come to them and that he will be ready to stop his murderous ancestor. That night, Drake is visited by Jeanie who attempts to tempt Frank into becoming her next victim. When they are interrupted by Clifton, Clifton is too drunk to realize that Jeanie is really a vampire until Frank pulls out a crucifix, causing Jeanie great pain.

Listening from below, Dracula has faith that Jeanie will succeed in killing both Drake and Graves, and walks off when he spots another girl to make his next victim. Following her into a pub, Dracula uses his power to charm the woman until he is interrupted by the man's boyfriend Remo. When Remo attempts to pick a fight with Dracula, the vampire easily overpowers and leaves with the girl. Luring her into a dark alley, Dracula feeds upon her, her screams drawing Remo and the other bar patrons who stand in utter horror as they witness Dracula transforming into a bat and flying away. Dracula returns to his hide out where he boasts over Drake's error in planning: Having Dracula's coffin is not fatal to the vampire at all, it's not the coffin but the dirt inside which Dracula needs to be able to sleep and laughs as this will lead to Drake's defeat.

Back at Drake's apartment, Frank has tied up Jeanie, who continues to try and convince Clifton that Frank has gone crazy. Clifton, still jealous over the fact that Frank had won Jeanie's love away from him decides to betray Frank in order to get Jeanie back and drugs Frank's coffee. With Frank knocked out he unties her as Dracula arrives to reclaim his coffin. As they go into the other room to take the coffin, Frank revives and enters the room with a crucifix in hand.

Dracula sends Clifton to attack Frank, the struggle takes the crucifix out of Dracula's sight long enough for the lord of the vampires to attack his ancestor, knocking the holy symbol away. With Frank preoccupied with Dracula, Jeanie then turns on Clifton. Managing to struggle from from Dracula, Frank sees that Jeanie is about to feed upon Clifton and grabs a broken table leg and rams it into her back. Realizing that the dawn is rising, Dracula decides to retreat and transforms into a bat and flies away.

With the sun rising, Jeanie begins to disintegrate, he final words are her pleas to Frank that she does not want to die this way. Her pleas are useless as she eventually burns up in the sun leaving Frank to weep for her passing.

In Los Angeles, a mugger skulks about the alleyways in search of prey. He is not the only hunter lurking in the shadows this evening however. A snarling werewolf leaps out and attacks the mugger, killing him. A motorcycle cop chances upon the scene and fires two shots towards the creature. The werewolf bounds off into the night, but one of the policeman's bullets manages to graze its arm. The werewolf races frantically down back alleys in the light of the full moon.

The next morning, young Jack Russell awakens in his bedroom with a start. He cannot understand why he had a dream that he was a werewolf. He grows concerned however as he looks down and sees a cut across his left shoulder; the same area that was struck by the officer's bullet. As Jack gets dressed, his mother, Laura, enters the room. Today is Jack's eighteenth birthday, and Laura wants him to spend it with his stepfather, Philip. Jack never cared for Philip, and he despises the dominating hold that the man appears to have over his mother. As Jack comes downstairs, he sees his mother having an argument with Philip's chauffeur, Max Grant. Frustrated, Jack leaves.

That evening, Jack goes to a friend's house in Malibu. As the full moon begins to rise, sharp blisters of pain surge through him, and he is forced to run from the house. He runs down to the beach just as he transforms into a werewolf. Staring down into the water, the fleeting remnants of Jack's personality begin to realize that he didn't have a dream the night before. He truly is a werewolf.

Instinctively, the werewolf finds himself drawn to a beach-house. He smashes through a patio door where he finds a growling guard dog. The dog attacks him and the werewolf struggles with the beast for several minutes before hurling it outside. The werewolf leaps out the window and bays at the moon.

The next morning, Philip Russell finds Jack unconscious on the beach. He brings him back to the house where he finds his sister, Lissa, crying hysterically. Philip explains to Jack that his mother went out last evening looking for him and was in a serious car accident. She has been admitted to a local hospital and is in critical condition. She is not expected to survive the night. Philip has Doctor Allen give Jack a strong sedative and tells him to get some rest. Through the haze of drugs, Jack overhears Philip talking with the chauffeur, Max Grant. Philip agrees to meet Grant at an abandoned warehouse later that evening for a payoff. Unable to concentrate on the issue any further, Jack falls asleep.

Hours later when Jack awakens, he rushes down to the hospital to see his mother. She is barely conscious, but she is strong enough to warn Jack that a curse has been placed upon him – a curse that forces him to transform into a monster on the night of his eighteenth birthday. Jack presses her for an explanation.

Laura explains that twenty years ago she was a student on holiday in Transylvania. She met, fell in love with, and ultimately married a Baron named Gregory Russoff. For three nights out of every month, Russoff would seal himself inside of a tower room in his castle with instructions to never be disturbed. He told his young wife that he was studying. One evening however, a lightning storm swept through the Baltic nation and a stray bolt blasted a hole in the side of the tower. That same night, witnesses claimed to have seen a werewolf prowling the countryside. Several of the town elders visited Russoff Castle to inquire with the Baron, but when Laura inspected the tower room, he was nowhere to be found. Still later, a group of hunters, armed with silver bullets cornered the werewolf and shot him. It was then that they discovered that the werewolf was actually the Baron.

As she concludes her tale, Jack realizes that Laura married Philip in the hopes of wiping out his true father's bloody memory. Seeing the anger rising within him, Laura makes Jack promise that he will never raise a hand in anger to his stepfather. Jack swears a vow, and Laura passes away.

The full moon rises, and Jack feels the change begin to take effect. He races outside of the hospital and begins prowling the city. Instinctively, the werewolf heads towards an empty warehouse where he finds Max Grant. Max is a large, muscular man and does not believe that Jack is a true werewolf. He tackles the creature and holds his own for several minutes. During the melee, Grant confesses that Philip owes him ten-thousand dollars for sabotaging the brakes on Laura's car. With Laura dead, Philip stands to inherit the entire Russoff fortune. Even as a werewolf, a small part of Jack's subconscious recognizes what he hears and sinks his teeth into Grant's neck. Max falls to the ground, dead.

Moments later, a car pulls up and Philip Russell enters the warehouse. The werewolf is poised to attack, but Jack's mind recalls the deathbed promise he mad to his mother. Running off into the night, the werewolf angrily howls at the moon.

January, 1898

The Frankenstein Monster revives and walks through the flames that now consume the lower hold of the ship. Sean the cabin boy runs in, but turns in terror at the face of the monster. The boy stumbles and falls over unconscious. The monster picks him up and brings him out of the burning room.

On the deck of the ship, the monster, with Sean's limp body in his arms, scales the ship's rigging as mutinous crewmen gather round. Several of the men prepare to open fire on the monster, but Captain Walton orders them to stand down. He doesn't want to risk undue injury to the cabin boy, but he also knows that the monster is more than just a savage brute.

Walton explains to his men the sad tale of the monster as it was handed down to him by his grandfather.

The origin of Frankenstein continued:

The monster corners his hated creator inside of a cave. Victor is horrified by the notion that this creature is responsible for the death of his beloved brother, William. Sitting down before a fire, the monster details all of the things that happened to him since the night Victor created him.

The Monster's tale

Days after his gruesome creation, the monster wandered the cold forests of Switzerland. He nearly starved to death until he disrupted the territory of a grizzly bear. The Monster battled with the bear, ultimately killing it by snapping its neck. He skinned the creature, forging a shawl out of the dead animal's pelt then consuming the rest.

Months passed and the monster eventually came upon a family living in a small cabin. Aware that his physical visage would terrify them, he hid inside of a woodshed attached to the cabin and observed them for weeks. Knowing that the patriarch of the family, De Lacey, was blind, the monster hoped to one day befriend him, confident that the old man would not fear him. One day, when the old man was alone, a wolf entered the cabin and attacked him. The monster came out of hiding and killed the wolf, saving De Lacey's life. He nursed the old man back to health and the two become close friends. Soon however, De Lacey's children returned home and mistakenly believed that the monster was attacking their father. They drove him away from the cabin, and the monster fled into the forest.

A hunting party became aware of his presence and tracked him through the woods. One of them fired a gunshot into the creature's shoulder, and the monster responded by hurling a large boulder at the hunters, sending them scattering. It was only a short time after this incident that the monster came to Geneva and killed William.

The monster finishes his tale, and tells Victor that the only way he can redeem himself is by creating a mate for him. Victor is repulsed at the idea, but feels that he has no choice but to comply. He spends the next several nights roaming cemeteries, digging up bodies for any vital organ he can find. The monster assists in the project by murdering a young woman and stealing her still-beating heart. Victor sews the body parts together and brings the hideous "she-thing" to life. Watching it shamble across the floor, Victor realizes that he cannot possibly allow two such creatures to exist. He flies at the monster, stabbing her repeatedly with his knife until she falls over dead. When the monster learns what Victor has done, he flies into a rage and murders Victor’s close friend Henry Clerval. The authorities learn of the matter and arrest Victor for Henry’s death.

Captain Walton concludes his story, but his crewmen still eye the monster as he holds onto Sean Farrell on top of the ship's mast. Suddenly, the ship strikes an iceberg and pitches over.