The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Director:

Alan Gibson

Writer:

Don Houghton (writer)

Release Date:

October 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The King of the undead marries the Queen of the Zombies

Plot:

In London in the 1970s, Scotland Yard police investigators think they have uncovered a case of vampirism...

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Van Helsing | Hammer Horror | Photograph | Inspector

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Count Dracula
Peter Cushing	...	Prof. Lorrimer Van Helsing
Michael Coles	...	Insp. Murray
William Franklyn	...	Torrence
Freddie Jones	...	Prof. Julian Keeley
Joanna Lumley	...	Jessica Van Helsing
Richard Vernon	...	Col. Mathews
Barbara Yu Ling	...	Chin Yang
Patrick Barr	...	Lord Carradine
Richard Mathews	...	John Porter
Lockwood West	...	General Sir Arthur Freeborne
Valerie Van Ost	...	Jane
Maurice O'Connell	...	Hanson
Peter Adair	...	Doctor
Maggie Fitzgerald	...	Vampire girl

Also Known As:

Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride (USA)
Dracula Is Alive and Well and Living in London
Dracula Is Dead... and Well and Living in London
Rites of Dracula

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:R (DVD rating) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | West Germany:18 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Australia:M | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film and TV Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Final appearance of Christopher Lee as Dracula in the Hammer Dracula series.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Van Helsing says that he was at Oxford with Keeley, however he is clearly much older than Keeley to have been his contemporary at University.

Quotes:

Jessica Van Helsing: Stop him! She's a vampire!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blonde Ambition (1981)

A mediocre offering with a good finale

This offering in Hammer Horror's Dracula series is often touted to be a lesser one, and for good reason; but all in all, I still enjoyed it. The film has a contemporary setting, with most of it taking place in and around a high-rise apartment block. This sets it apart from most of the rest of the Dracula series as the story usually takes place in a more proper period setting. I'm not sure if I'm completely at home with it moving settings; on the one hand, it's original and that's one of the things I like best about Hammer horror; but then on the other hand, it doesn't fit the classic story and it also gives it a low quality feel. Anyway, the story follows Larimer Van Helsing, an ancestor of the original vampire hunter, who finds that the evil Count Dracula has been reincarnated and is secretly planning to unleash a fatal virus on the world. It's very kitschy, but it has potential.

This film's main problem is that it's poorly plotted. The first half of the movie is relatively dull and little happens, but then it picks up in the second half, which leads up to a good finale. Although it's good once you get past the halfway stage, it isn't good as a complete piece of work because of the poor first half. The first half doesn't feature many moments of horror either, which is irritating seeing as you're watching a horror film. There's lots of gunplay, but that's massively out of place in a vampire film and to be quite honest, I don't know what the script writers were thinking when they wrote that in. At the halfway point, we are treated to a nice sequence in a cellar that involves some female vampires, and that's one of the best parts of the movie. The great Christopher Lee vowed to never play Dracula again if the script wasn't faithful to the original novel, and this film pretty much shows the reason for that decision. It's a shame that this movie isn't very good because it also features Peter Cushing, which pretty much makes it a big waste of two great stars. Cushing approaches his role with relish and almost looks like he's having fun at times...but this is still a mediocre offering.

Like I said, it isn't all bad; it picks up after the halfway point and the ending is very good...but I would only really recommend this to Hammer completest.