Dracula: Prince of Darkness

Dracula: Prince of Darkness

The third movie in Hammer's Dracula franchise, Dracula: Prince of Darkness differed from the previous film in one major way - it actually had Dracula in it!   After Dracula's death in Horror of Dracula, the studio followed vampire hunter Van Helsing's further adventures in the sequel, Brides of Dracula.  But in 1966, they managed to convince Christopher Lee to reprise his role as the evil count and the result was one of the more popular installments in the franchise.

Two English couples are vacationing in the Carpathian Mountains.  Though they are warned by a burly, gun-toting priest named Father Sandor to avoid the creepy castle in the mountains, the couple eventually find themselves at that very spot.  To the characters' credit, they aren't like the stupid victims in other horror movies that impulsively go where we all know they shouldn't.  There are dark forces at work that push them towards the castle.  Their only crime is that they are a bit too trusting of the castle's butler, Klove, once they've arrived.

Before you know it, one of the men is dead, and his fresh blood is used to bring Dracula back to life - in a creative resurrection scene that sees the fearsome count literally rising from the ashes.  The man's wife then becomes the vampire's first victim.  Now the pressure is on the other couple.  Can they escape Castle Dracula?  Can they get to Father Sandor, who also happens to be an experienced vampire killer?

The movie is fun, though not much happens in the first half.  There is a slow build up in suspense.  The creepiness of the first half is enhanced greatly by actress Barbara Shelley, who plays Helen, one of the wives.  Helen wants to leave immediately, but because she's known as the complainer of the group, she's ignored.  But her fear is real and Shelley makes the terror believable.  You really believe that this woman is terrified.  

The second half is when events heat up and spiral to an exciting climax on the castle moat.  Dracula wakes up and begins a short reign of terror.  Christopher Lee owns the part.  He's actually better in this than in the first film, and he achieves this with no dialogue.   That is pretty impressive.  The rest of the cast is solid, except for Suzan Farmer's thankless role as the other wife.  She spends most of the movie saying, "I agree" to everyone.  They literally have nothing for her to do.  Andrew Keir as Father Sandor puts in a good, gruff, tough performance.  While I did miss Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, Father Sandor is an acceptable replacement.  

If there is a problem with the movie, its that the story is kind of slight.  Not much happens, and Dracula's antics get nipped in the bud before he gets a chance to really do anything (it's not ruining anything to say that the good guys win, is it?).  I definitely think its nowhere near as good as Horror nor as inventive as Brides.  But it is still a solid horror film, and a worthy entry to the franchise.

MVP: Christopher Lee, hands down.  He owns the movie.   While he has no dialogue, his imposing stature and attitude just intimidates everyone and dominates the movie.  He really is a terrific prince of darkness.

TRIVIA: So why did Lee have no dialogue?  This was not an artistic choice.  According to Lee, the script was so bad that he refused to speak the lines.  Better to have no dialogue than crappy dialogue.  

BEST LINE: Sandor: "Killed?  No, Dracula cannot be killed.  He's already dead.  Undead.  He can only be destroyed."  I'm not quite sure what that means, but it sure sounds cool.