Hammer studio's Dracula series comes second to it's far better Frankenstein series - that's obvious - and the reason for that is that the films tend to be very similar to one another. Of course, the same thing could be said about the Frankenstein series; but at least the latter obviously tries to make each instalment a unique entry in the series. Dracula tends to take the easy route and go for the simple; Dracula gets resurrected and kills some people shortly before getting defeated again, only to reappear in the next Dracula film. It has to be said that this entry in the series suffers from that affliction, but in fairness to it; Taste the Blood of Dracula definitely sports one of the better plots in the series, and is probably the second best film - after the original of course. The story this time round follows a circle of three bored gentlemen who get duped into resurrecting the count by a young upstart (Ralph Bates, in fine form) who offers them an experience beyond belief. Havoc ensues.
One of the principle reasons why this film works is that the campy Hammer style features in droves. You know you're watching a Hammer film when you see three straight-faced (even slightly worried!) men in an antiques shop negotiating the price of a vile of Count Dracula's blood! The campness continues throughout the movie, and it's always good to see. As usual, Christopher Lee appears for all of about five minutes and the acting is mostly left to a cast of unknowns, but they carry it well and every moment that Lee is on screen is delightful. The script is rather corny, naturally, with several unintentional comic delights that are sure to delight Hammer fans. Most of the Dracula clichés are present, and since we live in a world now where it's become a cliché to step away from clichés, it's nice to see a movie that has a lot of clichés in it. On the whole, this is a decent waste of time and I very much doubt that fans of Hammer horror, Christopher Lee, Dracula, Playboy magazine or even ham and pineapple pizza will be disappointed with it.
