IBMovies

Release date: 1966-01-09

Rating: 6.7

Votes: 271

Genres: Horror

Whilst vacationing in the Carpathian Mountain, two couples stumble across the remains of Count Dracula's castle. The Count's trusted servant kills one of the men, suspending the body over the Count's ashes so that the blood drips from the corpse and saturates the blackened remains. The ritual is completed, the Count revived and his attentions focus on the dead man's wife who is to become his partner; devoted to an existence of depravity and evil.

Reviews

Wuchak

Lee returns as Dracula after an 8-year absence. RELEASED IN 1966 and directed by Terence Fisher, “Dracula: Prince of Darkness” focuses on two English couples circa 1900 traveling the mysterious forests of Eastern Europe who are warned to stay away from a particular area that has an ominous castle. Fools that they are, they end up spending the night and the sinister Count is resurrected. Hammer did nine Dracula films from 1958 to 1974: Horror of Dracula (1958); The Brides of Dracula (1960); Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966); Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968); Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969); Scars of Dracula (1970); Dracula AD 1972 (1972); The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973); and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974). Christopher played the Count in every one of these except "The Brides of Dracula" and "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires." As such, "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" was Lee's return to the role after a long eight year absence. Most Hammer fans praise the first film in the series from 1958, which was Lee's first gig as Dracula, and it is a solid entry with the typical Hammer highlights, like lush Gothic ambiance, bright colors, Lee & Cushing and bodacious women, not to mention Lee's diabolical interpretation of the Count and one of the most stunning horror scores by James Bernard. But the truncated story wasn't completely satisfactory and there were too many 50's limitations IMHO. I prefer this sequel as it features all the Hammer hallmarks listed above, except Cushing. Some might complain about the slow first half, but I like the way the film takes its time and concentrates on the two couples, the spooky ambiance, and the build-up of suspense. Klove (Philip Latham) is a particularly creepy character with his courteous pretense. The way he resurrects the Count is a ghastly highlight. Interestingly, Lee doesn't have all that much screen time and not one line of dialogue, so he's basically a vampire bogeyman here. But the lush Gothic atmosphere is potent and the cast shines, especially Barbara Shelley as the doomed wife of a so-“cultured”-he's-stupid husband (Charles Tingwell). And Andrew Keir as Dracula's worthy antagonist, Father Sandor, a most formidable monk. I also appreciated the elaboration on vampire lore by Sandor (Keir). One reviewer scoffed at the idea that the undead have to be willingly allowed into a person’s abode, but this fits the parallel of vampires to evil itself, which first affects a person’s mindset (ideology) and THEN their behavior or lifestyle. In short, evil cannot overtake a person unless s/he willingly allows it. THE FILM RUNS 90 minutes and was shot in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England, (with, perhaps, some establishing shots from Romania, e.g. the mountains). WRITERS: Jimmy Sangster and Anthony Hinds. ADDITIONAL CAST: Francis Matthews & Suzan Farmer play the other couple. GRADE: B

Movie Recommendation

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
1968-11-07
In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.
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Taste the Blood of Dracula
1970-05-07
Three elderly distinguished gentlemen are searching for some excitement in their boring borgoueis lives and gets in contact with one of count Dracula's servants. In a nightly ceremony they restore the count back to life. The three men killed Dracula's servant and as a revenge, the count makes sure that the gentlemen are killed one by one by their own sons.
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Dracula A.D. 1972
1972-06-26
Set in London in the early 1970's, supposedly for teen thrills, Johnny organises a black magic ceremony in a desolate churchyard. The culmination of the ritual, however, is the rejuvenation of Dracula from shrivelled remains. Johnny, Dracula' s disciple, lures victims to the deserted graveyard for his master's pleasure and one of the victims delivered is Jessica Van Helsing. Descended from the Van Helsing line of vampire hunters her grandfather, equipped with all the devices to snare and destroy the Count, confronts his arch enemy in the age-old battle between good and evil.
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King Kong Escapes
1967-07-22
An adaptation of the Rankin/Bass cartoon, "The King Kong Show". King Kong is brought in by the evil Dr. Who to dig for Element X in a mine when the robot Mechani-Kong is unable to do the task. This leads to the machine and the real Kong engaging in a tremendous battle atop Tokyo Tower.
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The Satanic Rites of Dracula
1973-04-17
The police and British security forces call in Professor Van Helsing to help them investigate Satanic ritual which has been occurring in a large country house, and which has been attended by a government minister, an eminent scientist and secret service chief. The owner of the house is a mysterious property tycoon who is found to be behind a sinister plot involving a deadly plague. It is in fact Dracula who, sick of his interminable existence, has decided that he must end it all in the only possible way- by destroying every last potential victim.
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Count Dracula
1970-04-03
A faithful adaptation of the classic tale portrays Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.
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The Curse of the Werewolf
1961-05-01
A child conceived by a mute servant girl transforms from an innocent youth to a killer beast at night with uncontrollable urges.
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The Abominable Snowman
1957-08-26
A kindly English botanist and a gruff American promoter lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.
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Web of the Spider
1971-08-26
Alan Foster, a professional American journalist, travels to London to meet with Edgar Allan Poe for an interview. While in London, Alan soon finds himself in the company of Lord Blackwood, and Alan accepts a bet to spend a night in his castle
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Not Tonight, Darling
1971-09-23
A lonely 'Stay-at-Home' Housewife is being watched every night through the bathroom window by a 'Peeping Tom', who is being put up to it by his friend. She eventually finds out and gets her revenge on them.
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The Strange Door
1951-06-21
The wicked Alain plots an elaborate revenge against his younger brother Edmund, leading to a deadly confrontation in his dungeon deathtrap.
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The Mummy
1959-08-01
One by one the archaeologists who discover the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka are brutally murdered. Kharis, high priest in Egypt 40 centuries ago, has been brought to life by the power of the ancient gods and his sole purpose is to destroy those responsible for the desecration of the sacred tomb. But Isobel, wife of one of the explorers, resembles the beautiful princess, forcing the speechless and tormented monster to defy commands and abduct Isobel to an unknown fate.
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Quatermass and the Pit
1967-11-09
A mysterious artifact unearthed below a London Underground station proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.
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Dracula
1958-04-21
After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker's fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing, Harker's friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.
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Planet of the Vampires
1965-09-15
After landing on a mysterious planet, a team of astronauts begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants.
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They Called Him Bulldozer
1978-09-15
The "Bulldozer", a former football star, is now working as a fisherman. As a group of street-people arranges a football match against the local Armybase, he is asked to be their trainer. His boat was damaged by a submarine and he currently has no work, so he agrees.
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Horror Express
1972-09-30
Mysterious and unearthly deaths start to occur while Professor Saxton is transporting the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature he found in Manchuria back to Europe.
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House of Usher
1960-07-20
Convinced that his family’s blood is tainted by generations of evil, Roderick Usher is hell-bent on destroying his sister Madeline’s wedding to prevent the cursed Usher bloodline from extending any further. When her fiancé, Philip Winthrop, arrives at the crumbling family estate to claim his bride, Roderick goes to ruthless lengths to keep them apart.
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Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein
1948-06-15
The Wolf Man tries to warn a dimwitted porter that Dracula wants his brain for Frankenstein monster's body.
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Safety Last!
1923-04-01
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
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