fertilecelluloid Review of Taste the Blood of Dracula

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Atmospheric Dracula entry with a sublime James Bernard score

[7/10 · 31 December 2005]

Atmospheric "Dracula" pic from director Peter Sasdy, who also helmed "Countess Dracula". This is a much better film than that and rates in the upper echelon of the series. The film's opening ten minutes -- a man thrown from a carriage discovers the Count in his death throes -- are pitch perfect. It is a creepy, beautifully realized opening that raises expectations. For the most part, the expectations are met. The basic story, involving a trio of pleasure seekers who accidentally raise the dead vampire with a little assistance from Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates), is nothing novel, but Sasdy's direction, Arthur Grant's cinematography, and Scott MacGregor's production design combine to produce one of the finest looking Hammer pics. Of special note is James Bernard's score. It is truly one of the most beautiful scores of any film, and the final fifteen minutes are beyond sublime. Although the film stumbles in the centre and doesn't permit Lee too much screen time, it is, nevertheless, a solid, sensual entry in the Dracula canon.