(Credits: Far Out / Cinemation Industries)
Sun 9 November 2025 23:00, UK
Rock stars aren’t so different from vampiric creatures in the night, doing the majority of their bidding in the twilight hours, with an unwavering appreciation for flamboyant costumes and sucking on each other’s necks.
That realisation might have passed you by, however, if you have never endured the 1974 fever-dream film, Son of Dracula.Â
Film has always been a part of the rock and roll story, going right back to the days of Elvis Presley’s fleeting acting career and low-budget B movies made to promote lacklustre rock outfits. As the years marched on, however, drugs became much more accessible and, as a result, egos found themselves drastically inflated, leading to a deluge of painfully wooden acting performances from David Bowie’s Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence to every single film Ringo Starr ever appeared in.Â
It is no surprise, then, that many of these musicians-turned-actors have had their time on the silver screen resigned to the depths of obscurity – after all, nobody wants to be reminded of Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. If you dare to dig into that vast landscape of forgotten flops and misguided ego projects, though, you will find films that are so bizarre that they cannot help but grab your attention, as in the case of Son of Dracula.
Not to be confused with the similarly unwanted 1943 film of the same name, Son of Dracula might have presented itself as a run-of-the-mill British horror film, but it featured an unimaginable wealth of musical talent within its cast. For instance, the titular character is played by none other than Harry Nilsson, with Ringo Starr co-starring as Merlin. The remainder of the cast, meanwhile, is filled out by the likes of Peter Frampton, along with legendary drummers Keith Moon and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.Â
Just to reiterate: Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, and John Bonham – three indisputable titans of rock drumming, arguably the three greatest drummers of all time – were united together on the silver screen, in the universe of a low-budget vampire flick. On one hand, this rare coming together or percussive geniuses forms something of a missed opportunity; they could have done away with the film altogether and just had those three talking to each other about the art of drumming, and it might have been more entertaining.
On the other hand, though, it is objectively funny to have a cast so richly imbued with rock and roll mastery, and use them to – essentially – fill out the cast of your vampire movie. John Bonham and Keith Moon, for instance, are only afforded an iota of screentime as the alternating drummers for Nilsson’s house band, culminating in little more than a cameo role.
For those who haven’t had the pleasure of watching the film, the core plotline revolves around Nilsson as the son of the assassinated Count Dracula, who is being called upon to fill his father’s shoes, but would rather renounce being a vampire altogether and live a mortal life with Suzanna Leigh. As well as the stacked cast, the film also had the power of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis behind it, but even he could not save the doomed project.
You would be forgiven for thinking that a film consisting of such rock and roll royalty would be required viewing, particularly for any budding drummers. In reality, though, Son of Dracula isn’t quite as good as the sum of its parts. In fact, it doesn’t come anywhere close. Aside from its novelty value and a so-bad-its-good type atmosphere, there isn’t a whole lot to be gained from the film that cannot instead be gained from its accompanying soundtrack album, which also featured George Harrison alongside his former Beatles comrade.
Nevertheless, the fact that a film like Son of Dracula, with that many iconic names attached to it, would be allowed to fall into the realm of obscurity is rather strange, to say the least, and given the almost impressively underwhelming performances of all involved, it doesn’t seem like a re-release is on the cards anytime soon.
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