Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 11
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Jun 7, 1970 Wide
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 3,525
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Movie Info
One of the more accomplished entries in Hammer's Dracula series (which would soon lapse into creative anemia during the 1970s), this fourth installment finds Christopher Lee in top form as the Count, who returns to menacing life after three middle-aged swingers decide to dabble in black magic to bolster their sagging sex lives. Dracula is reborn when the trio's blood-drinking rituals lead to the destruction of his devil-worshipping colleague Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates), whereupon the Count
Jun 7, 1970 Wide
Apr 27, 2004
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Cast
-
Christopher Lee
Dracula -
Geoffrey Keen
William Hargood -
Gwen Watford
Martha Hargood -
Linda Hayden
Alice Hargood -
Peter Sallis
Samuel Paxton -
Anthony Corlan
Paul Paxton -
Isla Blair
Lucy Paxton -
Martin Jarvis
Jeremy Secker -
Ralph Bates
Lord Courtley -
Roy Kinnear
Weller -
Michael Ripper
Cobb -
Russell Hunter
Felix -
Shirley Jaffe
Hargood's Maid -
Keith Marsh
Father -
Peter May
Son -
Reginald Barratt
Vicar -
Liu Lai Ling
Chinese Girl -
Malaika Martin
Snake Girl -
Madeleine Smith
Dolly -
John Carson
Jonathan Secker -
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All Critics (16) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (5) | DVD (10)
Thematically intriguing %u2014 a sort of broadside attack on Victorian hypocrisy.
The strangest and most confused of the Dracula films up to that point, and the first of Hammer's vampire films where the bad elements seriously threaten to outnumber the good.
Given the lack of Lee screen time, 'Taste' is actually a pretty damn good Hammer film, with a strong story, the usual stock of excellent actors, great costumes, etc.
Is this Dracula 4 or 5 for Christopher Lee? No matter for his fans, it's never enough.
Drink the blood of the Master!
Genius. Christopher Lee. Genius.
Poor Mr. Lee only gets a few minutes of screen time, and even then I'm not sure he utters so much as a word of dialogue.
...a vampire film where the vampire hardly shows his face or fangs.
Fans will be happy to know that this cut of Taste restores deleted footage.
A must! Taste the Blood of Dracula is not only one of best in the Christopher Lee Dracula series but one of Hammer's best overall productions.
Taste the Blood of Dracula is unusual in that it keeps Dracula somewhat on the sidelines.
An effective British horror that benefits from a classy cast, an intriguing subtext and plenty of atmosphere courtesy of Peter Sasdy's directing.
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Picking up where its predecessor Dracula Has Risen From the Grave left off, the ending of that film is slightly retconned so as to have Dracula's demise witnessed by a guy travelling through the countryside who decides to take the Count's cloak, dried blood, and ring.
Later on, that guy, Weller, sells Dracula's things to three bored wealthy English gentlemen with an interest in the occult, and, after drinking some of Dracula's blood, the three guys beat Weller and leave him for dead. He transforms into Dracula, who, upset over his servant being killed, seeks revenge on the three men.
This is a nutty plot, but it does have some neat ideas. Unfortunately, the technical apects and the ideas can't ave a film if the execution is boring and subpar. I liked individual moments, but overall found this to be a bore. Heck, Dracula is barely in it, and Lee says mayeb 10 words the whole time. Of course, since he's Lee, he's got a commanding presence, even though he rarely speaks. He's a high point, and it's a hame he's got limited screentime.
You can't say that Hammer made uninteresting films, that's for sure. It's just a bummer that they weren't always very competantly made or as entertaining as they should have been, which is definitely the case here.