Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (story)
Jimmy Sangster (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The Greatest All New Fright Show In Town!

Plot:

Dracula is resurrected, preying on four unsuspecting visitors to his castle.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Castle | Sequel | Vampire | Tourist

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Count Dracula
Barbara Shelley	...	Helen Kent
Andrew Keir	...	Father Sandor
Francis Matthews	...	Charles Kent
Suzan Farmer	...	Diana Kent
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Alan Kent (as Charles Tingwell)
Thorley Walters	...	Ludwig
Philip Latham	...	Klove
Walter Brown	...	Brother Mark
George Woodbridge	...	Landlord
Jack Lambert	...	Brother Peter
Philip Ray	...	Priest
Joyce Hemson	...	Frau Koenig (mother)
John Maxim	...	Coach Driver

Also Known As:

Disciple of Dracula
Dracula 3
Revenge of Dracula
The Bloody Scream of Dracula

Runtime:

90 min | Spain:86 min (DVD edition)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1972) | Norway:(Banned) (1966 - 1972) | Germany:16 (DVD release) | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1966) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1992) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Originally shown (in London) in a double billing with The Plague of the Zombies (1966).

Goofs:

Continuity: After the tourists enter the castle, the coach drives away and the gate shuts. Charles runs towards it, while the others stand in the foreground, to his left. When he walks back, the camera cuts to a slightly different angle. Diana, Helen, and Alan are now standing further to the right.

Quotes:

Helen Kent: [after Klove leaves to get their dinner] Please, let's leave here.
Charles Kent: Oh dinner sounds like a splendid idea.
Diana Kent: I agree!
Helen Kent: Diana! You can't!
Diana Kent: Oh, why not? Ten minutes ago we were stranded in the cold, miles away from anywhere. Now we're warm. We're going to be fed. And if that man's master is anything like I think he's going to be, we're going to be entertained as well.
Charles Kent: Yes, Diana's right. Let's sit down.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Blood Lust/Bodies of Evidence/Cake (#4.4)" (2001)

Enjoyable albeit shallow revisit to Transylvania.

Dracula (Christopher Lee) rides again in yet another Hammer entry in the Dracula franchise. This film is enjoyable horror hokum, but it has an awfully shallow story, fleshed out with a slow opening stretch and some amusing vampire lore in between the sporadic vampire attacks.

Four British travellers are journeying through the Carpathian Alps in the 1800s. They are repeatedly cautioned to steer clear of Carlsbad Castle but, being typically stuffy and stubborn, they end up going there anyway. The castle is deserted apart from a rather zombified manservant. During the night, one of the travellers is slain by the manservant, and his blood is used to resurrect the long-dead Count Dracula. Time for another bout of blood-sucking mayhem....

Christopher Lee has a small role this time around, but gets across a good performance due to his commanding presence in the title role. Andrew Keir is also good as a priest-cum-vampire-slayer, though he has to overcome some dumb dialogue. The slow build-up is rather damaging, as it generates more tedium than chills. The opportunities for real terror are somewhat fudged too, since most would-be "shock" moments are telegraphed too far in advance. However, Hammer buffs and vampire addicts will doubtless feel more than satisfied.