1969, Peter Sasdy, 91 mins.
Dracula is reborn in Victorian London.
One of Hammer’s most interesting films; less a Dracula movie
than a study of Victorian repression and hypocrisy which has the Count rather awkwardly
shoe-horned in. The first half is quite
marvellous as we follow the descent of three thrill-seeking Victorians into
blood-drinking Satanism, instigated by rather arch acolyte Ralph Bates whom
they subsequently beat to death in an abandoned church. The performances of
Geoffrey Keen, Peter Sallis, and John Carson are excellent and Peter Sasdy
creates a memorable atmosphere of decadence. Unfortunately, the second half drifts
rapidly into incoherence as Christopher Lee turns up, looking bored, and is
given virtually nothing to do while the children of the thrill-seekers kill
their fathers. The baffling climax, during which Dracula is destroyed after having
a funny turn as the church is mysteriously re-consecrated, is an unworthy end
to an interesting film.
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