Since I have been adding YouTube clips on this site for a while now, I figured I would take the time to mention this classic Hammer Horror film since I watched on YouTube last night. Wow. It has been well over two decades since I have seen it and I really do have to rank it alongside Horror of Dracula and Scars of Dracula as the best of the Christopher Lee Hammer Dracula films.

What I liked most about this sequel is we get a much more aggressive Dracula that is actively involved in the plot of the film. In most other Dracula outings, the King of the Vampires is relegated to supporting role. This is unfortunate as Lee surely could have handled a much more complex portrayal. But, budget was always an issue with the Hammer films and that means there was not always much they could do with the character since the scope of the film was limited. What a shame.

Those that do want to see a truly thrilling and – dare it be said – frightening Dracula film, this is one to check out. I first saw it on an old black and white TV when it aired on UHF in the late 1970s. It popped up repeatedly on TV throughout the 1980s. It ended up on TNT with the rest of the Hammer library in the 1990s but I didn’t catch on cable in those days. Ditto for its Sci-Fi Channel and AMC airings over the past decades. Geez, this film has never been out of circulation and I haven’t seen it since 1988? Where have I been? =================================================================================