Peter Cushing as Van Helsing

The Hammer Dracula Films:
Peter Cushing as Two Generations of Van Helsings

When it comces to Dracula movies, for me, the Hammer holds a bigger place in my heart than the Universal series. (My favorite Dracula movie is the Dan Curtis-directed, made-for-TV movie featuring Jack Palance as the title character,but that's a topic for a diffferent day and a different webpage.) A key reason for my love of these films is Peter Cushing's dynamic portrayal of Van Helsing. His Van Helsing is a sharp departure from what is found in the original Stoker novel, or in the Universal films from the 1930s.

Cushing's Van Helsing is a man both of action and letters, and he recruits assistants not because he isn't capable of going out there and hammering the stake home in person (or doing any other action-hero, swashbuckler-type moves that may be called for),but because the Cult of Vampirism is a worldwide problem that requires a network of dedicated souls to defeat it. He is also not at all a shirll, raving lunatic that we find not so much in the 1930s Universal Dracula films where Edward Van Sloan plays Van Helsing (although there are doses of it), but which we have in nauseating quantities in 1990's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" where Anthony Hopkins took on the role.

Something else Peter Cushing brought to the Hammer Dracula films was that air of grace that he brought to just about every role he played. His presence brought an uplifting quality to even the most dismal of films--and “Dracula A.D. 1972” is pretty dismal. It is the absolute bottom of Hammer's Dracula films, but Cushing still shines in it.

Horror of Dracula (1957)
Starring: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing
Director: Terence Fisher

"The Horror of Dracula" is Hammer's first Dracula movie, and it starts out appearing like a straight adaptation, but a few minutes in, it takes a hard left when its revealed that Jonathan Harker has come to Castle Dracula not as a hapless victim but as an agent of vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing and that Harker is fully aware of Dracula's true nature.
But it all works, because when Van Helsing appears on screen (played by Peter Cushing), we get a different interpretation of him than offered in Stoker's novel, and a different spin on vampirism as well. In the Hammer version, Dracula is devoted to spreading a cult of undeath that consists not only of vampires but of human minions who thirst for everlasting life and who are committed to turning the world into a cesspool of evil and corruption. Van Helsing is a man both of action and letters who is the center of a network of brave men and women who have dedicated themselves to eradicating this sinister evil, which, by the close of the 19th century, is viewed as so much superstitious poppycock.
As "Horror of Dracula" unfolds, Dracula claims Mina and Lucy as victims, mostly because he wants to take revenge against Harker and Van Helsing for being pains in his rear... but this vindictive streak becomes his downfall, as Van Helsing penetrates Dracula's lair and confronts him in one of the neatest climaxes of any of Hammer's Dracula films.
It's 50 years since "Horror of Dracula" was released, yet it's still a an exciting item to pop in the VCR or DVD player when you're looking for a chilling, adventuresome diversion. This can be credited equally to Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula as a heartless, ruthless monster, and Cushing's portrayal of Van Helsing as a zealous, swashbuckling adventurer. The climactic battle between Van Helsing and Dracula in this film still stands among the best of its kinds to be put on film..

Brides of Dracula (1960)
Starring: Peter Cushing, Yvonne Monlaur, Martia Hunt, and David Peel
Director: Terence Fisher

This film is a direct sequel to "Horror of Dracula", yet the character mentioned in the title remains the pile of ash a pile of ash back in his castle. However, a voice-over reminds us--after a representing of the thrilling final moments of "Horror" that Dracula's Cult of Vampirsm lives on and that the evil continues to spread.
We are introduced to Marianne (Monlaur), a young French woman on her way to take up a teaching position at a Transylvanian boarding school. She is forced to spent the night at an isolated castle where she concludes Baroness Meinster (Hunt) is a mad woman who is keeping her handsome young son (Peel) prisoner. She helps him escape, but learns to her terror that the madness is the castle wasn't limited to the baroness and that there was a good reason why she was keeping her son locked up-he is a master vampire who has been preying on and torturing peasant girls in the area for many years.
After fleeing the castle, she encounters Dr. Van Helsing who has come to the area following reports of vampire attacks. When the vampire comes to prey on the staff and girls at the boarding school and to ultimately claim Marianne as his bride, Van Helsing takes up his mallet and stake to end his unnatural existence.
Van Helsing has a harder time with this vampire than he did with Dracula. While Dracula beat the tar out of him in “Horror of Dracula,” the Baron Meinster nearly makes Van Helsing himself into one of his vampire minions… and Van Helsing must take extreme measures to stop the vampiric disease from spreading through his blood. His creativity and resourcefulness is also stretched to the limit when he stops Meinster from making good his final escape with the largest improvised cross in the history of vampire hunting.
“Brides of Dracula” is superior to “Horror of Dracula” is several ways, making it among the rarest of sequels.
First, the Baron's castle from the first part of the movie features some spectacular sets (some of which are redressed in “The Gorgon”); the sequence in the castle is also one of the most deeply creepy in any of the Hammer Films, as Marianne comes to realize that she is trapped in a house of madness and evil.
Second, Cushing is at the top of his game here. His performance is full of zeal and it is the best he gave in any of the Hammer Films he was featured in. The mixture of horror and steely determination that he gives Dr. Van Helsing as he confronts the vampires and their twisted human servants is very well acted. He is also served well by a plot that allows the Van Helsing character to shine, fantastic sets, and excellent lighting and camera work that constantly reinforces the film's gothic horror tone.
Finally, the climax is one of the most thrilling of any of Hammer's vampire movies, and Baron Meinster's doom provides the best death of any vampire in their productions.
All in all, “Brides of Dracula” may be the best film director Terence Fisher ever made. It is certainly the best of all Hammer's Dracula movies. (And it's quite possibly made stronger by the fact that Dracula is nowhere in it. I think Peel's evil, bug-eyed Baron Meinster comes across as far more sinister and evil that Lee's staid and rather distant Count Dracula ever did.)

The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1973)
Starring: Peter Cushing, Julie Ege, David Chiang, and Robin Stewart
Director: Roy Ward Baker
The year is 1904. Decades have passed since Dr. Van Helsing first took up arms against the cult of vampires, and his struggle has brought him to China. While guest-lecturing at a university, Van Helsing is approached by His Ching (Chiang), who, together with his brothers and sister, have dedicated themselves to ridding his native village of the Seven Golden Vampires which have terrorized it for centuries; they require Van Helsing's expertise in vampire-killing to augment their own considerable martial arts skills, however. Van Helsing and his son Leyland immediately offer their expert services. After wealthy Swedish adventuress Vanessa Buren provides funding, they embark upon the long and dangerous trek to the isolated village of Ping Kuei, facing both bandit lords and vampire minions before the final apocalyptic showdown between the vampiric army of the Seven Golden Vampires and Van Helsing's band of heroes. Then, as the smoke is clearing, and heroes and villains alike are taking stock of their dead, Van Helsing's arch-nemesis Dracula makes his presence known-and only one of them will walk away from this final confrontation.
When it was released, “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” was something new and spectacular. It was the first serious effort to mix the horror film genre with the martial arts genre. With everything from “The Bride With White Hair” to “Blade” to “Vampire Effect” on our shelves, this movie may not seem like a big deal, but when Hammer and the Hong Kong-based Shaw Bros. production company teamed up, they were blazing new territory.
“The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” is a film with great potential and an even greater premise, but in the final analysis it fails to live up to both. While there are some great touches in the film surrounding Chinese vampire lore-the lesser vampire minions of the Seven Golden Vampires are “hopping vampires” and shrines to Buddha repulse the evil undead, not just the typical cross-and Cushing and the rest of the cast deliver fine acting performances, the martial arts side of the film is quite lackluster, even by the standards of Shaw Bros. movies of the 1970s. The big battle between the vampire army and the vampire-busting martial artists might have been more exciting if the martial arts displays had been. Certainly, that climactic battle had plenty of horror-with some quite unexpected twists and deaths as it unfolds-but its Kung Fu is weak.
On the upside, Cushing is a joy to watch as always (despite the fact that the actor was dealing with health issues and severe depression following the death of his wife), and his Van Helsing is again a fun mix of scholarly dedication and grim, determined action. He has great on-screen chemistry with everyone in the supporting cast-particularly Ege and Stewart. The addition of Leyland Van Helsing, the son of the great vampire hunter, is a nice addition to the mythos, and it's too bad that nothing more came of that. (Hammer was always throwing in great characters in the Dracula films that never developed into anything-such as Father Sandor from “Dracula: Prince of Darkness.” But in the case of the younger Van Helsing, primed to take over the vampire-busting franchise, if the character was added simply because the film was deemed to need a vibe younger than the ailing Cushing, or if there were ideas of plans for a new Dracula/Van Helsing direction, “Legend” was destined to be among Hammer Films' final productions.
Speaking of Dracula, readers have probably noticed that he's only been mentioned in passing during this discussion. That's because when Baker and the actors and the rest of the crew were all done with “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires,” Dracula was nowhere to be found in the story. In fact, it was Hammer executives who insisted that Dracula be added to the film, so Cushing was called back for an additional scene, and an opening sequence featuring Dracula was hastily thrown together, along with a denouement that sees Van Helsing dispatch Dracula without even being missed by his companions who stepped outside a moment before the Prince of Darkness revealed himself. I really can't imagine what the people at Hammer were thinking; I think the pointless presence of Dracula in “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” weakens the film rather than strengthens it.
By the way, I recommend you get the version of “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” that Anchor Bay released as part of their Hammer Collection. Both the DVD and the VHS versions contain the US release of the movie that was titled “The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula.” That bit of filmmaking butchery is an example of how editing can make or break a film-and in the case of this movie, the editing definitely broke it. They took an entertaining, straightforward vampire/kung-fu hybrid adventure film and turned it into a confusing mess. When the Americans were done transforming “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” into “The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula,” they had a movie that even Ed Wood would have described as crap.

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Stephanie Beacham, and Michael Coles
Director: Alan Gibson
Toward the end of Hammer Films' reign as THE horror movie studio, they decided to transport the Dracula character into the modern era. “Dracula A.D. 1972” was the first of two films where Dracula stalked the Swingin' Seventies.
The best part of this film, sadly, is the dynamic opening sequence in which we bid farewell to the pseudo-Victorian age of the old Hammer Dracula with a thrilling battle between Van Helsing (Cushing) and Count Dracula (Lee) on top of an out-of-control carriage. While there are occassional glimmers of similar excitement later in the film, this is as good as it gets. Dracula's death scene is also pretty nifty, even if he is (once again) dispatched almost as much by accident as by the actions of the hero. Van Helsing doesn't fare any better, however. He dies along side the ashes of his enemy, even as one of Dracula's living followers carries off the vampire lord's signet ring to wait for the time when he can be resurrected.
Fast-forward 100 years, as Johnny Alucard, the descendent of that surviving servant of evil rounds up a bunch of rebellious teen nihilists to perform the unholy ritual needed to bring Dracula back to unlife. Among them are Jessica Van Helsing (Beacham). She has been seduced into their ranks by Alucard, who thought it would be poetic to make the great-granddaughter of the man who killed Dracula the sacrifice to bring him back to life. Jessica narrowly escapes that fate, but Dracula stills rises from the grave, and modern-day London is soon plagued by mysterious disappearances and “vampire murders.”
However, Alucard's threat against the Van Helsings, along with the growing vampire menace, brings British Intelligence, a Scotland Yard detective (Coles) and Lorimar Van Helsing (Cushing again) unite forces to destroy Alucard's cult and the resurrected Lord of Vampires.
“Dracula A.D. 1972” is the weakest of all Hammer's Dracula movies. As mentioned above, the movie is at its most exciting during its prologue. The film is also low on chilling moments, but an even bigger flaw is the thirty-year-olds that are cast as teenagers. Making matters worse, they aren't particularly good actors, so their lack of youth becomes even more distracting as the film unfolds.
The Satanic rite in the church where Dracula is returned to life isn't bad--although it would probably have been stronger if the actors involved had been better and had been a little closer in age to the teens they were portraying--and Van Helsing's confrontation with Johnny Alucard is also appropriately suspenseful, but that's about it. Even the final confrontation between Dracula and Van Helsing is on the dull side.
The only true bright spot here is Peter Cushing. He brings the same level of energy that he brought to every role he played, and his talent shines even brighter when he is playing against Christopher Lee, who seems to be sleepwalking through his part. And, although Cushing's age and failing health shows here, he seems to be the actor in the film who is most enaged with his role. Only Coles comes close to giving a performance of equal quality, but he doesn't have Cushing's grace and charisma.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974)
Starring: Peter Cushing, Michael Coles, Joanna Lumley, and Christopher Lee
Director: Alan Gibson
British Intelligence has discovered that some of the nation's most powerful men have been gathering at remote country estate for mysterious purposes. When an agent is captured and tortured after attempting to infiltrate the meetings, and utters a cryptic dying message, Inspector Murray of Scotland Yard (Coles) becomes convinced that maybe there's a strange cult active at the remote country estate, and that the cult may be involved in a conspiracy agaisnt Great Britain that reaches the highest level of government and the scientic community. He recruits the help of his old friends Lorimar Van Helsing (Cushing) and his granddaugher Jessica (Lumley) to assit with his investigation... and the trio soon learns that not only did Dracula somehow survive destruction a few years earlier, but that he is launching a plan to destroy the whole world.
The final 'Dracula' movie from Hammer Films, is one of the weakest of the lot, and the budget constraints are painfully evident. Plus, Dracula's death is probably the most embarrassing any vampire has ever suffered!. Nonetheless, the premise is just as appealing to me as it was when I first saw this film nearly 20 years ago now--it can be summarized as "Dracula Meets The Avengers", as the vampire lord plans to unleash a deadly plague on the Earth.
Peter Cushing shines as brightly as ever in this, one of his final starring roles,, although Christopher Lee seems a bit tired in the film. It might be a reflection of Dracula's own mindset, but it's more likely the actor's disastifaction with the role shining through. (Lee complained then and now about how Dracula was written in the Hammer Films. Personaly, I have to wonder why he kept taking the roles if he hated them so much, just as I have to wonder why Hammer kept offering them to him.)
"The Satanic Rites of Dracula" was an interesting attempt at putting a period at the end of so many Dracula films, but it is ultimately a failure. While the script has some geuinely creepy moments, only the scene where the vampire brides of Dracula rise from their caskets and surround one of the main characters is truly frightening frightning to me.

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Horror of Dracula (1957) Starring: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing Director: Terence Fisher "The Horror of Dracula" is Hammer's first Dracula movie, and it starts out appearing like a straight adaptation, but a few minutes in, it takes a hard left when its revealed that Jonathan Harker has come to Castle Dracula not as a hapless victim but as an agent of vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing and that Harker is fully aware of Dracula's true nature. But it all works, because when Van Helsing appears on screen (played by Peter Cushing), we get a different interpretation of him than offered in Stoker's novel, and a different spin on vampirism as well. In the Hammer version, Dracula is devoted to spreading a cult of undeath that consists not only of vampires but of human minions who thirst for everlasting life and who are committed to turning the world into a cesspool of evil and corruption. Van Helsing is a man both of action and letters who is the center of a network of brave men and women who have dedicated themselves to eradicating this sinister evil, which, by the close of the 19th century, is viewed as so much superstitious poppycock. As "Horror of Dracula" unfolds, Dracula claims Mina and Lucy as victims, mostly because he wants to take revenge against Harker and Van Helsing for being pains in his rear... but this vindictive streak becomes his downfall, as Van Helsing penetrates Dracula's lair and confronts him in one of the neatest climaxes of any of Hammer's Dracula films. It's 50 years since "Horror of Dracula" was released, yet it's still a an exciting item to pop in the VCR or DVD player when you're looking for a chilling, adventuresome diversion. This can be credited equally to Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula as a heartless, ruthless monster, and Cushing's portrayal of Van Helsing as a zealous, swashbuckling adventurer. The climactic battle between Van Helsing and Dracula in this film still stands among the best of its kinds to be put on film..
Brides of Dracula (1960) Starring: Peter Cushing, Yvonne Monlaur, Martia Hunt, and David Peel Director: Terence Fisher This film is a direct sequel to "Horror of Dracula", yet the character mentioned in the title remains the pile of ash a pile of ash back in his castle. However, a voice-over reminds us--after a representing of the thrilling final moments of "Horror" that Dracula's Cult of Vampirsm lives on and that the evil continues to spread. We are introduced to Marianne (Monlaur), a young French woman on her way to take up a teaching position at a Transylvanian boarding school. She is forced to spent the night at an isolated castle where she concludes Baroness Meinster (Hunt) is a mad woman who is keeping her handsome young son (Peel) prisoner. She helps him escape, but learns to her terror that the madness is the castle wasn't limited to the baroness and that there was a good reason why she was keeping her son locked up-he is a master vampire who has been preying on and torturing peasant girls in the area for many years. After fleeing the castle, she encounters Dr. Van Helsing who has come to the area following reports of vampire attacks. When the vampire comes to prey on the staff and girls at the boarding school and to ultimately claim Marianne as his bride, Van Helsing takes up his mallet and stake to end his unnatural existence. Van Helsing has a harder time with this vampire than he did with Dracula. While Dracula beat the tar out of him in “Horror of Dracula,” the Baron Meinster nearly makes Van Helsing himself into one of his vampire minions… and Van Helsing must take extreme measures to stop the vampiric disease from spreading through his blood. His creativity and resourcefulness is also stretched to the limit when he stops Meinster from making good his final escape with the largest improvised cross in the history of vampire hunting. “Brides of Dracula” is superior to “Horror of Dracula” is several ways, making it among the rarest of sequels. First, the Baron's castle from the first part of the movie features some spectacular sets (some of which are redressed in “The Gorgon”); the sequence in the castle is also one of the most deeply creepy in any of the Hammer Films, as Marianne comes to realize that she is trapped in a house of madness and evil. Second, Cushing is at the top of his game here. His performance is full of zeal and it is the best he gave in any of the Hammer Films he was featured in. The mixture of horror and steely determination that he gives Dr. Van Helsing as he confronts the vampires and their twisted human servants is very well acted. He is also served well by a plot that allows the Van Helsing character to shine, fantastic sets, and excellent lighting and camera work that constantly reinforces the film's gothic horror tone. Finally, the climax is one of the most thrilling of any of Hammer's vampire movies, and Baron Meinster's doom provides the best death of any vampire in their productions. All in all, “Brides of Dracula” may be the best film director Terence Fisher ever made. It is certainly the best of all Hammer's Dracula movies. (And it's quite possibly made stronger by the fact that Dracula is nowhere in it. I think Peel's evil, bug-eyed Baron Meinster comes across as far more sinister and evil that Lee's staid and rather distant Count Dracula ever did.)
The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1973) Starring: Peter Cushing, Julie Ege, David Chiang, and Robin Stewart Director: Roy Ward Baker The year is 1904. Decades have passed since Dr. Van Helsing first took up arms against the cult of vampires, and his struggle has brought him to China. While guest-lecturing at a university, Van Helsing is approached by His Ching (Chiang), who, together with his brothers and sister, have dedicated themselves to ridding his native village of the Seven Golden Vampires which have terrorized it for centuries; they require Van Helsing's expertise in vampire-killing to augment their own considerable martial arts skills, however. Van Helsing and his son Leyland immediately offer their expert services. After wealthy Swedish adventuress Vanessa Buren provides funding, they embark upon the long and dangerous trek to the isolated village of Ping Kuei, facing both bandit lords and vampire minions before the final apocalyptic showdown between the vampiric army of the Seven Golden Vampires and Van Helsing's band of heroes. Then, as the smoke is clearing, and heroes and villains alike are taking stock of their dead, Van Helsing's arch-nemesis Dracula makes his presence known-and only one of them will walk away from this final confrontation. When it was released, “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” was something new and spectacular. It was the first serious effort to mix the horror film genre with the martial arts genre. With everything from “The Bride With White Hair” to “Blade” to “Vampire Effect” on our shelves, this movie may not seem like a big deal, but when Hammer and the Hong Kong-based Shaw Bros. production company teamed up, they were blazing new territory. “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” is a film with great potential and an even greater premise, but in the final analysis it fails to live up to both. While there are some great touches in the film surrounding Chinese vampire lore-the lesser vampire minions of the Seven Golden Vampires are “hopping vampires” and shrines to Buddha repulse the evil undead, not just the typical cross-and Cushing and the rest of the cast deliver fine acting performances, the martial arts side of the film is quite lackluster, even by the standards of Shaw Bros. movies of the 1970s. The big battle between the vampire army and the vampire-busting martial artists might have been more exciting if the martial arts displays had been. Certainly, that climactic battle had plenty of horror-with some quite unexpected twists and deaths as it unfolds-but its Kung Fu is weak. On the upside, Cushing is a joy to watch as always (despite the fact that the actor was dealing with health issues and severe depression following the death of his wife), and his Van Helsing is again a fun mix of scholarly dedication and grim, determined action. He has great on-screen chemistry with everyone in the supporting cast-particularly Ege and Stewart. The addition of Leyland Van Helsing, the son of the great vampire hunter, is a nice addition to the mythos, and it's too bad that nothing more came of that. (Hammer was always throwing in great characters in the Dracula films that never developed into anything-such as Father Sandor from “Dracula: Prince of Darkness.” But in the case of the younger Van Helsing, primed to take over the vampire-busting franchise, if the character was added simply because the film was deemed to need a vibe younger than the ailing Cushing, or if there were ideas of plans for a new Dracula/Van Helsing direction, “Legend” was destined to be among Hammer Films' final productions. Speaking of Dracula, readers have probably noticed that he's only been mentioned in passing during this discussion. That's because when Baker and the actors and the rest of the crew were all done with “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires,” Dracula was nowhere to be found in the story. In fact, it was Hammer executives who insisted that Dracula be added to the film, so Cushing was called back for an additional scene, and an opening sequence featuring Dracula was hastily thrown together, along with a denouement that sees Van Helsing dispatch Dracula without even being missed by his companions who stepped outside a moment before the Prince of Darkness revealed himself. I really can't imagine what the people at Hammer were thinking; I think the pointless presence of Dracula in “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” weakens the film rather than strengthens it. By the way, I recommend you get the version of “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” that Anchor Bay released as part of their Hammer Collection. Both the DVD and the VHS versions contain the US release of the movie that was titled “The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula.” That bit of filmmaking butchery is an example of how editing can make or break a film-and in the case of this movie, the editing definitely broke it. They took an entertaining, straightforward vampire/kung-fu hybrid adventure film and turned it into a confusing mess. When the Americans were done transforming “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” into “The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula,” they had a movie that even Ed Wood would have described as crap.
Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Stephanie Beacham, and Michael Coles Director: Alan Gibson Toward the end of Hammer Films' reign as THE horror movie studio, they decided to transport the Dracula character into the modern era. “Dracula A.D. 1972” was the first of two films where Dracula stalked the Swingin' Seventies. The best part of this film, sadly, is the dynamic opening sequence in which we bid farewell to the pseudo-Victorian age of the old Hammer Dracula with a thrilling battle between Van Helsing (Cushing) and Count Dracula (Lee) on top of an out-of-control carriage. While there are occassional glimmers of similar excitement later in the film, this is as good as it gets. Dracula's death scene is also pretty nifty, even if he is (once again) dispatched almost as much by accident as by the actions of the hero. Van Helsing doesn't fare any better, however. He dies along side the ashes of his enemy, even as one of Dracula's living followers carries off the vampire lord's signet ring to wait for the time when he can be resurrected. Fast-forward 100 years, as Johnny Alucard, the descendent of that surviving servant of evil rounds up a bunch of rebellious teen nihilists to perform the unholy ritual needed to bring Dracula back to unlife. Among them are Jessica Van Helsing (Beacham). She has been seduced into their ranks by Alucard, who thought it would be poetic to make the great-granddaughter of the man who killed Dracula the sacrifice to bring him back to life. Jessica narrowly escapes that fate, but Dracula stills rises from the grave, and modern-day London is soon plagued by mysterious disappearances and “vampire murders.” However, Alucard's threat against the Van Helsings, along with the growing vampire menace, brings British Intelligence, a Scotland Yard detective (Coles) and Lorimar Van Helsing (Cushing again) unite forces to destroy Alucard's cult and the resurrected Lord of Vampires. “Dracula A.D. 1972” is the weakest of all Hammer's Dracula movies. As mentioned above, the movie is at its most exciting during its prologue. The film is also low on chilling moments, but an even bigger flaw is the thirty-year-olds that are cast as teenagers. Making matters worse, they aren't particularly good actors, so their lack of youth becomes even more distracting as the film unfolds. The Satanic rite in the church where Dracula is returned to life isn't bad--although it would probably have been stronger if the actors involved had been better and had been a little closer in age to the teens they were portraying--and Van Helsing's confrontation with Johnny Alucard is also appropriately suspenseful, but that's about it. Even the final confrontation between Dracula and Van Helsing is on the dull side. The only true bright spot here is Peter Cushing. He brings the same level of energy that he brought to every role he played, and his talent shines even brighter when he is playing against Christopher Lee, who seems to be sleepwalking through his part. And, although Cushing's age and failing health shows here, he seems to be the actor in the film who is most enaged with his role. Only Coles comes close to giving a performance of equal quality, but he doesn't have Cushing's grace and charisma.
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974) Starring: Peter Cushing, Michael Coles, Joanna Lumley, and Christopher Lee Director: Alan Gibson British Intelligence has discovered that some of the nation's most powerful men have been gathering at remote country estate for mysterious purposes. When an agent is captured and tortured after attempting to infiltrate the meetings, and utters a cryptic dying message, Inspector Murray of Scotland Yard (Coles) becomes convinced that maybe there's a strange cult active at the remote country estate, and that the cult may be involved in a conspiracy agaisnt Great Britain that reaches the highest level of government and the scientic community. He recruits the help of his old friends Lorimar Van Helsing (Cushing) and his granddaugher Jessica (Lumley) to assit with his investigation... and the trio soon learns that not only did Dracula somehow survive destruction a few years earlier, but that he is launching a plan to destroy the whole world. The final 'Dracula' movie from Hammer Films, is one of the weakest of the lot, and the budget constraints are painfully evident. Plus, Dracula's death is probably the most embarrassing any vampire has ever suffered!. Nonetheless, the premise is just as appealing to me as it was when I first saw this film nearly 20 years ago now--it can be summarized as "Dracula Meets The Avengers", as the vampire lord plans to unleash a deadly plague on the Earth. Peter Cushing shines as brightly as ever in this, one of his final starring roles,, although Christopher Lee seems a bit tired in the film. It might be a reflection of Dracula's own mindset, but it's more likely the actor's disastifaction with the role shining through. (Lee complained then and now about how Dracula was written in the Hammer Films. Personaly, I have to wonder why he kept taking the roles if he hated them so much, just as I have to wonder why Hammer kept offering them to him.) "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" was an interesting attempt at putting a period at the end of so many Dracula films, but it is ultimately a failure. While the script has some geuinely creepy moments, only the scene where the vampire brides of Dracula rise from their caskets and surround one of the main characters is truly frightening frightning to me.