‘Mark Of The Vampire’ Blu-Ray Review – Bela Lugosi Conjures Familiar Imagery For This Golden Age Horror Tale

Director Tod Browning brought his signature horror style to this classic MGM thriller starring Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi, Jean Hersholt and Elizabeth Allen. In a remote village in Central Europe, a nobleman’s body is found drained of its blood and two punctures on his neck-the Mark of the Vampire. An ancient terror, a horror that won’t die haunts the village: the long undead Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Carroll Borland), rule the night. But the vampires have not fed on the people of the village for a very long time. Now, with the help of an expert in the occult, Professor Zelen (Lionel Barrymore) and a local Baron (Jean Hersholt), police inspector Neumann (Lionel Atwill) unearth a mystery far stranger and more terrifying than anyone could have imagined!

For thoughts on Mark Of The Vampire, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/K3T1XmtSqXo?t=3400]

Video Quality

This dazzling new 1080p Blu-Ray from Warner Archive is derived from a recent 4K scan of the Original Nitrate Camera Negative. It is truly a wonder to view a film that is nearly 90 years old and have it look so timeless. This black and white feature has sumptuous, natural film grain throughout that provides a great amount of detail to the image. The presentation has a striking amount of depth to it including in the shadows where there is no trace of any crush. The amount of shadow detail present here is a sight to behold. The black levels look great and hold up really well throughout, and there is no evidence of any compression artifacts. Warner Archive consistently shows why they are considered one of the best in the business when it comes to preservation. 

Audio Quality

Mark Of The Vampire is presented here with a lovely DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix which honors the original single channel presentation. Music is not a consistent part of this presentation, but what is present sounds nice and stable. Dialogue and background noises are balanced well with any competing sounds. Lines are rendered crisp and clear in a way that gets all the information through without issue. A minimal amount of age related hiss remains, but for the most part the audio presentation is a stunner and free of issues. You will not find instances of sync issues or anything else of the sort. Warner Archive does provide optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Film Historians Kim Newman and Stephen Jones deliver an incredibly detailed and engaging commentary track in which they dive deep into the history surrounding this production as well as the talent involved with it, the erratic nature of MGM productions, how the film was heavily edited after being previewed, its place as a remake of a lost silent film, the technical skill in the crafts and more. 

• A Thrill For Thelma: An 18-minute MGM short film from 1935 which reinforces that crime does not pay as a young woman gets caught up in a life of crime. This is pretty entertaining despite being extremely heavy-handed. 

• The Calico Dragon: An eight-minute MGM cartoon from 1935 in which the doll of a young girl goes on a perilous adventure when she goes to sleep. This is another fun addition that we suggest not skipping. 

• Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Mark Of The Vampire is a slightly flawed old school Hollywood horror film, most likely due to the large chunks that were removed during the initial preview process. Despite this, there is a lot about this film that endures, especially the disquieting performance from Bela Lugosi, who is just a shade away from reprising his role in Dracula. It may not be the pinnacle of horror from this time, but it is a very engaging watch filled with the care in presentation that you would expect from MGM. Warner Archive has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a 5-star A/V presentation, an entertaining commentary track and a couple of additional special features. Classic horror film fans will not want to miss it. Recommended 

Mark Of The Vampire can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.