Vampire films before 1958 were always in black and white and partially were not very gory considering that a vampire drinks blood. The Universal films were done producing monster movies and the sci-fi era was born with all sorts of creatures from outer space invading our planet. Then the Hammer Studios from England came along and the world never knew what hit them, we had blood, we had sex, we had great actors, we had excellent sets, we had frightening scares and most of all, we had color! Horror of Dracula was the first vampire movie we ever had that was in color and we were introduced to Christopher Lee, arguably one of the best and most memorable Dracula's. Standing over six feet tall, the man had a true presence and one of the most memorable entrances for Dracula. He enters the room for the first time with a gigantic BOOM and I don't think we could have prepared for such a horror film.
Jonathan Harker arrives at the castle of Count Dracula, posing as a librarian. He is startled inside the castle by a young woman begging for help, claiming to be a prisoner. Dracula then greets Harker and guides him to his room, where he locks him in. Jonathan starts to write in his diary, and his true intentions are revealed: he has come to kill Dracula. Harker again is confronted by the desperate woman. She begs him for help but then bites his neck. Just as she does, Dracula arrives and yanks her away. Armed with a stake, he impales the woman. But when he turns to kill Dracula, the Count has already awakened and is waiting for him. Dr. Van Helsing then arrives at the castle, looking for Harker. In the crypt, Van Helsing is horrified to discover Harker lying in a coffin as a vampire. Staking Harker, he leaves to deliver the veiled news of Harker's death in person to a wary Arthur Holmwood and his wife Mina, brother and sister-in-law of Harker's fiancée Lucy Holmwood. It turns out Dracula already got ahold of Lucy and turned her into a vampire. After convincing Arthur that Dracula must be destroyed, Mina -under Dracula's spell- lets Dracula stay in their cellar and now Arthur must kill Dracula before Mina meets the same fate as Lucy.
So is this film worth all the hype it gets? I personally love the Hammer Dracula films but I do admit they have a certain camp value too. Jonathan is played with such lack of personality and is so bland, at times you can't take him seriously that Van Helsing would send him to kill Dracula. But Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are what make this film great, they're terrific actors who have great chemistry. Their last fight scene is just incredible and the effects are still outstanding by today's standards. Plus the image of Dracula growling with blood dripping from his fangs is one of the best images of a horror film and is the definition of why we are scared of vampires. Dracula is not only portrayed as a monster, but a sexual predator. The scene with him biting Mina is so intense and has a great jump moment after he bites her with an owl screaming at Arthur. Terence Fisher knew how to truly give the audience a good scare. Horror of Dracula isn't just one of the best scary movies of all time, but it's a true classic in itself. It's classy, it's scary, it's intense, it's everything you could want in a horror movie. It doesn't kid around when the first image we see in the film is blood dripping down on Dracula's coffin, you know you're in for a ride.
8/10
Jonathan Harker arrives at the castle of Count Dracula, posing as a librarian. He is startled inside the castle by a young woman begging for help, claiming to be a prisoner. Dracula then greets Harker and guides him to his room, where he locks him in. Jonathan starts to write in his diary, and his true intentions are revealed: he has come to kill Dracula. Harker again is confronted by the desperate woman. She begs him for help but then bites his neck. Just as she does, Dracula arrives and yanks her away. Armed with a stake, he impales the woman. But when he turns to kill Dracula, the Count has already awakened and is waiting for him. Dr. Van Helsing then arrives at the castle, looking for Harker. In the crypt, Van Helsing is horrified to discover Harker lying in a coffin as a vampire. Staking Harker, he leaves to deliver the veiled news of Harker's death in person to a wary Arthur Holmwood and his wife Mina, brother and sister-in-law of Harker's fiancée Lucy Holmwood. It turns out Dracula already got ahold of Lucy and turned her into a vampire. After convincing Arthur that Dracula must be destroyed, Mina -under Dracula's spell- lets Dracula stay in their cellar and now Arthur must kill Dracula before Mina meets the same fate as Lucy.
So is this film worth all the hype it gets? I personally love the Hammer Dracula films but I do admit they have a certain camp value too. Jonathan is played with such lack of personality and is so bland, at times you can't take him seriously that Van Helsing would send him to kill Dracula. But Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are what make this film great, they're terrific actors who have great chemistry. Their last fight scene is just incredible and the effects are still outstanding by today's standards. Plus the image of Dracula growling with blood dripping from his fangs is one of the best images of a horror film and is the definition of why we are scared of vampires. Dracula is not only portrayed as a monster, but a sexual predator. The scene with him biting Mina is so intense and has a great jump moment after he bites her with an owl screaming at Arthur. Terence Fisher knew how to truly give the audience a good scare. Horror of Dracula isn't just one of the best scary movies of all time, but it's a true classic in itself. It's classy, it's scary, it's intense, it's everything you could want in a horror movie. It doesn't kid around when the first image we see in the film is blood dripping down on Dracula's coffin, you know you're in for a ride.
8/10