When Christopher Lee declined to reprise his role as Count Dracula in a sequel to the enormously popular The Horror of Dracula, Hammer went another direction and instead followed the investigations of vampire hunter Van Helsing (Peter Cushing). He doesn't actually appear until the second act, after French schoolteacher Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur, a big eyed, thick-lipped, curvy young beauty in the Bardot mold) inadvertently releases Baron Meinster (David Peel), a young disciple of Dracula, from his castle prison in a cursed mountain village. This handsome vampire bites his way through a bevy of glamorous beauties in low-cut blouses and frilly nightgowns as he woos his sexy savior, while Van Helsing relentlessly tracks him back to Marianne. Director Terence Fisher, working from a rather convoluted (and at times incomprehensible) script, makes his mark through a series of marvelous set pieces. In one of the most memorable, a twisted old woman plays midwife to a reborn undead, coaxing her out of the ground as hands push through the earth. In one harrowing moment Van Helsing sears his neck with a branding iron and treats it with holy water after being bitten. Cushing is his usual dashing self, more than making up for the handsome but hardly commanding Peel, and you might recognize Marita Hunt, who plays the withered Baroness, as Miss Haversham from David Lean's classic Great Expectations. --Sean Axmaker
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: One of Hammer's finest achievements Comment: Brides of Dracula was the first of Hammer's many sequels to their breakthrough hit, and it's not just the best of the series but one of their very best pictures. There's no Christopher Lee this time round - in fact, there's no Dracula at all - but there's a lot of imagination at play here in a beautifully plotted story that sees Peter Cushing's Van Helsing coming up against David Peel's Baron Meinster, a follower of Dracula's vampire cult, after Yvonne Monlaur's schoolteacher ill-advisedly releases him from the shackles his not-as-mad-as-she-looks mother keeps him in.
There's a lot going on beneath the stylish surface here - a psychiatrist could probably have a field day with the curious relationship between Peel and Martita Hunt ("We pray for death, both of us. At least, I hope he prays"), not to mention Van Helsing's visible discomfort in the company of women - but it never overwhelms the plot, and there's no shortage of memorable scenes, from the professor treating a rather nasty bite he just got to the servant silently offering pointers to a newly created vampire on its first outing as one of the undead. Reuniting most of the behind-the-cameras talent from their first Dracula film and throwing in a rather splendid climax in a burning windmill, this is definitely one of Hammer's finest hours. Customer Rating: Summary: Great Work!!!! Comment: I orderd a vhs tape by mistake, so i had to cancel my order, and i was VERY VERY VERY PLEASED quickly i was contacted about my refund thanks guys and keep up the goooood wrk. Customer Rating: Summary: ENTERTAINING SEQUEL TO 'HORROR OF DRACULA' THIS IS AVAILABLE ON DVD! Comment: I remembered this movie as a kid and it brought back memories. It's a solid vampire flick with some style. The sets are great and the movie is good fun. I'm a sucker for Lugosi but, this is a decent installment in the Hammer vampire films. This is available on DVD on a set titled Hammer Horror series. This film and 7 others from the Hammer archives are included and released at a very reasonable price. I rate this film 3 1/2 stars. Customer Rating: Summary: funny money Comment: Okay.
So everyone said how good this movie is so I went out to flea market and bought it.
Okay, first of all. My impression was that this is the funniest Dracula movie you will ever see.
Man, it was so crazy. Okay so this chick was driving and there was this old chick and they got together and they slept in a house or something. Then the young lady saw the guy but she didn't know he was vampire.
Oh yea and the young chick was like going to ladie's college and she had this friend and she looked like Michael Jackson.
So basically the young chick allowed the young dude escape from his mama's house (and his mama was ugly). So they got together and they did they funky things.
And then the young dude kills Michael Jackson wannabe and then she gets thrown in a box and put into the mud but then she wakes up cuz this old fat girl was sitting there saying "get up".
And then other time she woke up and she was with young chick in a house with horses and she woke up and started talking MJ.
Anyway its a crazy movie. BUY IT!
Michael Jackson wannabe is the only reason to watch this thing.
Customer Rating: Summary: More Entertaining than the First One Comment: My Favorite one I have to say is this one not that Christopher Lee made a Bad Dracula this one had a better story and is the the best sequel because you see Dracula was perfectly Destroyed by Dr. Van Helsing in HORROR OF DRACULA the title is a little misleading but it dosen't ruin this movie anyway Dracula is Dead so Van Helsing goes looking for more Vampires in other parts of
Transylvania and finds a Diciple of Count Dracula named Baron Meinster who is just as evil as his predacessor anyway after this one the only great and faithful Lee/Dracula Sequel was
DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS after that none of the other ones had the feel that Terence Fisher had
Prices are listed in $USD. All books and magazines are shipped worldwide. To calculate shipping price please click on the buy button and select your country
