This is the third (fourth if youy count Brides of Dracula) film in Hammer's series of films concerning pop culture's most famous bloodsucker. Until now, I had never watched a Hammer film in its entirety, though I'd seen many clips and did lots of reading about them. Obviously I'm seeing this one out of order, but I
don't really feel like it matters too much.What Hammer is noticeable for, especially with their takes on the Universal Monsters was that they were in color, featured lots of blood, and also, lots of cleavage. They're a little tame by today's standards, but they're still pretty awesome. Also, something I love are the gothic aesthetics on displays with the sets, costumes, and overall art direction. The story here concerns Dracula being resurrected and using religious figures to try to capture the heart of a lvely young lass. The film gets off to a great start, from its fun and campy title to the opening scene in which a corpse is found stuffed in the belfry of a church. From there it takes a break from Dracual himself and focuses on the humans and Dracula's human puppets, but the man himself does come around from time to time, and after things really get cooking they culminate in a great climax that includes a staking gone wrong, and nice little chase, and a final showdown at Dracula's castle door. Here's the deal: this is a fun movie, and it is entertaining, but it's a tad slow, and there could have been more of Dracula. When he's on screen though, things are great. I did enjoy how this film tweaked the traditional story and character and did its own thing, because it at least came off as respectful and not too ridiculous. Plus, I have this odd thing for religious folk and vampires. They make a good combo. The music is good, the atmosphere and tone are suitably dark and gloomy, and Lee is just a delight as Dracula, and his interpretation is one of the best. The rest of the cast is okay, but not really all that memorable. Overall, this is a decent enough little horror film, and should be satisfying for most people, especially the ones who don't need to have an overload of gore like 21st century movies offer, and can appreciate the gothicness of it all.
September 15, 2011
