Out of Hammer Studios, Dracula: Prince Of Darkness is directed by Terence Fisher, the screenplay is written by Jimmy Sangster from an Anthony Hinds story. It stars Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Charles Tingwell, Thorley Walters & Philip Latham. It's photographed by Michael Reed in Techniscope and musically scored by James Bernard.
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness is the sequel to Hammer Film's 1958 Horror Of Dracula. The film sees Lee return as the Vampire Count (he was absent for the 1960 Brides Of Dracula). It begins with the finale to the 1958 film (nicely shot as a misty mirror effect) and plot then follows how two travelling British couples end up at dusty old Karlsbad Castle and become privy to the rise of the fanged tooth one. Blood and peril of course will follow.
It's arguable since in the Hammer Horror pantheon Scars Of Dracula (1970) does have some supporters, but Prince Of Darkness is probably the last great Hammer Dracula film. Though the story is slight, and Drac's time on screen is not substantial; and he takes a long time to appear too, it is often exciting, not lacking in imagination in bringing the previously slain Count back, and technically it's very smart with its widescreen photography showcasing the marvellous sets. Traditionally it's on the money for a Vampire based movie, the local inn, the driver-less coach, the dinner sequence, shifty manservant and of course the ways and means of fending off and killing a Vampire (crosses, stakes thru hearts, running water etc). It also boast some memorable sequences, not least the sacrificial gory one used to bring Drac back to life. The cast work well to make it all work, with Keir and the always menacing Lee particularly standing out. While Fisher, a top pro, builds characters and atmosphere nicely for the first half, and then unfolds a Gothic thriller for the second half.
It has its flaws and dumb moments of course, like for the finale you have to wonder why Dracula doesn't just scale the castle wall to escape his lurking death situation? And there's some sagging during the monastery get together that feels like padding the running time out. But allowing for some minor irritants is not hard to do because it's still a fine Hammer Horror movie, one that comes just before the studio would start descending downwards in both quality and ideas on the horror front. With that, Dracula: Prince Of Darkness is a movie to savour two fold. 7.5/10
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness is the sequel to Hammer Film's 1958 Horror Of Dracula. The film sees Lee return as the Vampire Count (he was absent for the 1960 Brides Of Dracula). It begins with the finale to the 1958 film (nicely shot as a misty mirror effect) and plot then follows how two travelling British couples end up at dusty old Karlsbad Castle and become privy to the rise of the fanged tooth one. Blood and peril of course will follow.
It's arguable since in the Hammer Horror pantheon Scars Of Dracula (1970) does have some supporters, but Prince Of Darkness is probably the last great Hammer Dracula film. Though the story is slight, and Drac's time on screen is not substantial; and he takes a long time to appear too, it is often exciting, not lacking in imagination in bringing the previously slain Count back, and technically it's very smart with its widescreen photography showcasing the marvellous sets. Traditionally it's on the money for a Vampire based movie, the local inn, the driver-less coach, the dinner sequence, shifty manservant and of course the ways and means of fending off and killing a Vampire (crosses, stakes thru hearts, running water etc). It also boast some memorable sequences, not least the sacrificial gory one used to bring Drac back to life. The cast work well to make it all work, with Keir and the always menacing Lee particularly standing out. While Fisher, a top pro, builds characters and atmosphere nicely for the first half, and then unfolds a Gothic thriller for the second half.
It has its flaws and dumb moments of course, like for the finale you have to wonder why Dracula doesn't just scale the castle wall to escape his lurking death situation? And there's some sagging during the monastery get together that feels like padding the running time out. But allowing for some minor irritants is not hard to do because it's still a fine Hammer Horror movie, one that comes just before the studio would start descending downwards in both quality and ideas on the horror front. With that, Dracula: Prince Of Darkness is a movie to savour two fold. 7.5/10