Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Plot Outline: A merchant witnesses the death of Dracula and scoops up some of his remains, his cloak and an amulet for safe keeping. Years later a trio of respectable gentlemen who are fed up of their bourgeois lifestyle decide to indulge in a bit of black arts. They meet up with one of Dracula's disciples and together they set about resurrecting Dracula. But during the ceremony the gentlemen lose their nerve and bottle it, leading to the death of Dracula's disciple. They flee but are unaware that Count Dracula has been brought back to life by his disciples' sacrifice. Dracula sets out to get revenge on them by targetting their children.

The Review: This is the last of Hammer's truly atmospheric and gothic Dracula films for the series quickly fell victim to the 70s soon after. It starts off well and shows continuity by showing Dracula's death from Dracula Has Risen From the Grave from another viewpoint. Then there is another excellent resurrection scene which had me engrossed. But the film loses it's momentum at this point (coincidentally enough, the point where Dracula is resurrected!) and keeps flagging until the very end. The ending is a let down and I'm surprised because up until now in the series, the demise of Dracula had been relatively enjoyable. Here he seems to go out with a whimper instead of roaring or melting like he has previously done. Alas the film's problem is one that has surrounded most of the others in this series - the lack of Dracula on screen. Christopher Lee had enough of playing the count at this point and didn't want to be here. But Hammer got him back at the last minute and the script shows it because it seems that all Dracula does is pop out of the shadows once another of the men has been killed and says "the first" or "the second" depending on who has been killed first. Lee doesn't do much at all and you forget he's actually top billed. The supporting cast do pretty well including Geoffrey Keen (more noticable to Bond fans as the Minister of Defence) and Linda Hayden who looks quite good in a traditional low-cut Hammer dress. But with a new director, the old Hammer look went out of the window. Instead of the lavish, colourful sets we are given grittier, more Victorian sets. This isn't what Hammer is about and although the sets mark a contrast with the rest of the series before it, they just doesn't have the same appeal.

Final Verdict: Taste the Blood of Dracula tries to give Dracula some new life instead of just having him bite the necks of virgins. The film works quite well at first but then the writers seemingly ran out of ideas and had Dracula go back to his usual self, that is when he bothered to pop up on screen.

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