Taste The Blood Of Dracula

In memory of Christopher Lee.

This was a very unique actor, who gave us a lot of classic characters, and performances. Christopher Lee was one of a kind, who never stopped working in films, even if he was 94 years when he passed away. Working in the film industry since his first film was released in 1948, he managed to do so many different genres, with some of the greatest actors known from Hollywood and Europe. There are so many films that are worth to mention in his career, such as Horror Express, a classic with legendary actor Peter Cushing. We should also mention the 1973 classic The Wicker Man. This film is still today proof that Christopher Lee, could do some of the greatest iconic characters in cinema. When i grew up, learning to appreciate films from the old days, i remember watching the 1958 film Dracula. It was the first time we would see Christopher Lee do his portrait of the classic character Dracula, and i must say, he fit perfect in the role. The audience loved him, and the critics praised his screen presence. Since the company Hammer Films had a huge hit, they decided that Christopher Lee should return as Dracula, in a number of sequals. I have seen most of them, some of them are alright while some of them are perhaps not so good. The strength of these films is without a doubt Christopher Lee´s performance, he would make the film more interesting with his presence. Since he passed away in june this year, i promised to write a review on one of his Hammer Film releases. I looked around at the films i have not seen yet, and decided to go for Taste The Blood Of Dracula from 1970. This was the 5th film in the series, to be released from legendary horror film company Hammer Films, that is actually said to be one of the best sequels to be released. I was very curious to see if this film could hold up to the quality of the first films, since they are such beloved classics. Is it possible that Taste The Blood Of Dracula is a great sequel as some of the critics have said in the past, or is this just a rip off to make money of fans from the old classics ?

A business man named Weller ( Roy Kinnear ) is thrown out of an carriage,  during a fight.  He lands on the ground and is knocked unconscious. As he wakes up later,  he hears someone screaming . Weller runs towards the screams and find a caped figure with a large crucifix in his back.  The caped figure dies as Weller take a closer look at his remaining clothes.  He finds a brooch covered in blood,  wipes the blood off and see the name Dracula written on it. Meanwhile,  three english gentlemen, William  ( Geoffrey Keep ), Samuel  ( Peter Sallis ) and Jeremy ( Martin Jarvis ), are at the local whorehouse.  As they are enjoying themselves with the young women,  they are confronted by a man called Courtley ( Ralph Bates ). Courtley suggest that they should follow him to Cafe Royal.  He promise that they will experience something completely different than they have ever seen before.  Turns out Courtley have a plan, to have them all to be included in a ceremony,  at an abandoned . At the ceremony Courtley mixes dried blood with his own blood, trying to make someone drink it. None of the men agree,  so Courtley drinks it himself.  He falls to the ground while the men tries to get out,  until they realise that Dracula ( Christopher Lee ) have rised again. He is determined to take them all as victims. 

When you look at a Hammer Films production from the 70´s, you know that they were unique for this period of time. They mixed in a lot of occult ingredients in many films, with some touches of satanism. You could also feel the darkness surrounding the atmosphere, something that made their films even more loved. To compare Taste The Blood Of Dracula to the 1958 film Dracula is not possible to do, because you already know that first film will always be the greatest classic. Instead, i try to look at this film for what it is, a sequel with a different plot. One of the things i found interesting here, is the settings. We get plenty of dark scenes in forest areas, in a smaller village, where everything seems like time stands still. Director Peter Sasdy was at this time, directing horror films with different plots, but also did direct another Dracula film called Countess Dracula ( not with Christopher Lee in the lead role, since this was a different story ). When it comes to sequels, we all know that many people fail to capture some of the feelng of the original movie. Even though this film is no where near as good as the original Dracula film, i still see some quality here, especially among the actors. And of course, Christopher Lee knows exactly how to make an majestic entrance, in his own unique way. In fact,  if it was not for his unique Dracula performance,  i have a feeling that this film would not be on the same quality level. Taste The Blood Of Dracula may not be the strongest sequel to the films that Christopher Lee performed as Dracula,  but it shows a nice surface of british horror darkness,  that we all loved from the 70 's cinema.  Hammer Films made some of the best looking horror films at this period of time,  and this film proves to be a part of this. A film worth seeing if you love the classic Dracula releases. 

Rating : DDD