DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 16, 2026

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) One hundred years after Dracula's last death, young Jessica Van Helsing and her hippie friends are convinced by Johnny Alucard to perform a Black Mass. Hey, all the kids are doing it. During the supposedly mock ceremony, Dracula is resurrected and begins to pursue Jessica, hoping to end the Van Helsing line once and for all. However, Jessica's grandfather, Lorimer Van Helsing, is still kicking and ready to pick up the family business of killing vampires. This being the seventh and next to last Hammer Horror featuring Dracula, there are some diminishing returns to be expected, but it's still Cushing and Lee doing the things we like to see them do, so it evens out. It's also one of Tim Burton's top ten recommended movies for what that's worth.

In addition to Dracula's return, 1972 was also the year geologist Laszlo Toth attacked and damaged Michelangelo’s Pietà. Toth claimed the almighty couldn't have a mother, so the blasphemous statue must be destroyed. I guess he didn't realize Catholics call Mary “Mother of God” because of who Jesus is, not because they think she is older than God or the source of the Trinity. As the Catechism explains, Jesus is one Person with two natures, divine and human. A mother gives birth to a person, not to a nature. Since the Person Mary conceived and bore is God the Son made flesh, she is truly His mother. It's a logical teaching that helps protect against heresies such as Nestorianism. Of course, Toth also believed he himself was Jesus, so logical arguments weren't his strong point.

 

Terror at Red Wolf Inn (1972) It's Spring Break and all of the college students are headed out of town to have some fun except for poor Regina because, well, she's poor. Image her delight, then, when Regina receives a letter stating she has won an all-expenses paid vacation at a coastal B&B called the Red Wolf Inn. Once there, Regina is introduced to Henry and Evelyn Smith, the old couple who run the place, as well as their handsome but simple grandson Baby John and the other young women who have also been granted a free trip. With everyone present, the Smiths treat them all to a lavish dinner, heavy on the meat. Alas, after such a promising start to the weekend, things start going downhill quickly as the guests go missing one by one. On the positive side, though, the meat portions at mealtime keep getting larger. Will Regina's rapidly blossoming relationship with Baby John be the key to her escaping the inn, or will her new beau insist she show up for dinner… as the entrée? For sure, the movie drags here and there, but the scenes that work do so well, and the ending makes it all worthwhile.

 

So, what's the protocol when having to choose between your intended and your cannibalistic parents? Probably the same if your parents weren't cannibals. The guidelines go all the way back to Genesis where it says, "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." Now, since the Fourth Commandment must not be violated, the Hebrew verb in this verse (ʿazab)  usually translated as "leaves" or "forsakes" cannot mean to stop honoring your parents, cut them off, or refuse to care for them when they are old or in need. What it does mean is that marriage demands a God-ordained transfer of primary loyalty from the parents to the spouse. The husband and wife must give the first place in affection, decision-making, and household loyalty to each other. That means no running home to mommy or daddy when there's a fight, and no controlling in-laws making decisions for the family. That probably goes double if they're cannibals.