Dracula’s Daughter appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Given the film’s age, this became a pretty impressive presentation.
My only concern related to the possible use of digital noise reduction. Despite the fact much of Daughter takes place in dimly-lit situations, grain seemed minimal to such a degree that I couldn’t help but wonder if the transfer underwent some tinkering in that regard.
That potential issue aside, Daughter looked awfully good. Sharpness usually appeared quite good, as the majority of the film showed nice clarity. Some shots occasionally came across as a bit soft, but the majority of the flick provided nice delineation.
The image lacked jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes stayed absent. Daughter also remained blissfully free from print flaws, as no specks, marks or debris interfered with the presentation.
Blacks seemed dense and deep, and contrast offered a fine silvery sheen most of the time. Shadows offered good smoothness and definition. Despite some nitpicks on my part, this wound up as an image that didn’t show its advanced age.
Though not as good, the film’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack seemed more than acceptable for its vintage. Dialogue could be a bit tinny and distant, but the lines lacked edginess and stayed perfectly intelligible.
Music and effects also seemed fine. Neither showed great range or impact, but they appeared clear, clean and reasonably robust given the restrictions of the source.
The audio lacked any issues related to source noise, so I heard no popping, clicks or hiss. For an 82-year-old mix, Daughter sounded pretty good.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the DVD from 2001? Audio seemed cleaner and more robust, whereas visuals appeared tighter, more dynamic and free from the print flaws that impacted the DVD. This offered a fine upgrade.
The disc offers the film’s trailer but lacks any other extras.
The second sequel in the “Universal Classic Monsters” series, Dracula’s Daughter comes nowhere close to the greatness displayed by Bride of Frankenstein. Still, it offers moderate entertainment, even with some choppy pacing. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture along with more than adequate audio but it lacks supplements. As Universal horror flicks go, Daughter feels middle of the road.
As of fall 2018, Dracula’s Daughter can’t be purchased on its own. It can be found as part of a seven-film “Dracula Complete Legacy Collection”. In addition to Daughter, we find Dracula, the 1931 Spanish language Dracula, Son of Dracula, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
In addition, Daughter comes in the “Universal Monsters Complete 30-Film Collection”. It actually packages the Dracula set mentioned above with similar compilations for six other Universal Monsters.