futes2-1 Review of The Satanic Rites of Dracula

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Christopher Lee's final Dracula

[7/10 · 27 September 2007]

Direct sequel to the strangely enjoyable 'Dracula AD 1972', The Satanic Rites is a far better film than it really deserves to be. Gone are the misguided hippies; those responsible for Dracula's reappearance and ongoing success in this one are a cult whose members include leading politicians, business men and scientists. The actual resurrection is glossed over save for a fleeting mention of Satanist Chin Yang (Barbara Yu Ling) having something to do with it. Dracula has the left the confines of the now demolished St. Bartolph's Church and taken up residence in a chic London office building. Not only this but, in what may now seem a slightly shallow metaphor, his vampirism has extended to the financial for he now heads a hugely successful property development company. It has been mentioned that the movie resembles a New Avengers episode so there's no need to rehash that particular speculative route here so lets concentrate on a couple of other factors. For once, Christopher Lee is given a little more dialogue, speaking with a Romanian accent in his guise as D D Denham but reverting to his aristocratic English accent once his true identity becomes clear. Both Lee and Cushing are, of course, excellent and they are well supported by the other key players. Stephanie Beacham has become Joanna Lumley but that doesn't seem to matter and Michael Coles reprises his role as Inspector Murray. The other most significant cast members are William Franklyn as Torrence and Freddie Jones as Professor Julian Keeley. Much has been made of Dracula's desire to destroy the entire human race in this one, some remarking on the ultimate pointlessness of such action from Dracula's perspective whilst others suggest it is some kind of suicide bid by the jaded and bitter King Vampire. I think, however, that it may be related to the unfilmed aspect of 'Dracula AD 1972' in which the Count reveals himself to be the Devil (see my 'Dracula AD 1972' comment for the missing dialogue). Seen in this light it could be suggested that, in his Luciferian role, Dracula is fulfilling his destiny by bringing about the apocalypse and doing so by seizing upon the evil that men are capable of; in this instance their ability to create a new, and seemingly unstoppable, strain of plague. Presumably devils and demons, even vampiric ones, would have some kind of contingency in place to sustain their supplies of fresh blood! Whilst such speculation may seem pointless, it may help explain the core of Dracula's curious dream. Technically the film is somewhat more assured in its direction than AD 1972, director Alan Gibson perhaps having learnt some lessons from the previous outing. Even though Dracula makes an appearance in the oddly charming 'Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' (1974) thanks to a weak performance by John Forbes – Robertson in lurid makeup, 'Satanic Rites' is, from my perspective the last of Hammer's genuine Dracula movies; 'Seven Golden Vampires' is just some other story that has nothing to do with the series in the same way that 'Horror of Frankenstein' (1970) has nothing to do with the Frankenstein series. In some ways a sad farewell to Dracula, in others a way of opening the door for future interpretations, 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' is nonetheless well worth viewing and certainly deserves to be considered with reference to subsequent attempts to reinvent the Count by other film makers.