Dracula Has Risen From The Grave

U.K. / 1968 Directed by Freddie Francis Starring Christopher Lee Veronica Carlson Rupert Davies Color / 92 Minutes / G Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC) Warner Home Video

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Christopher Lee portrayed the vampire king for the third time in this solid Hammer entry, a direct sequel to Dracula — Prince of Darkness (1966). Its change of tone and emphasis on religious questions make it a substantially more modern film than its predecessor, despite having been released less than two years later. (In comparison, Prince plays like a movie from the '50s.) The flick contains a number of genuinely classic Hammer vampire moments, but John Elder's unfocused screenplay keeps Risen from rising to the level of a truly great Dracula film.     After a psychedelic titles sequence set to composer James Bernard's brooding score, we get a brief prologue to the main story. In Klausenberg, the small Transylvanian village nearest to Dracula's castle, an altar boy discovers the body of a woman stuffed in the church's bell — yet another victim of the Count's bloodlust. The boy mentally snaps from the shock, reduced to a skittish half-wit. A year's passage finds the village priest (Ewan Hooper) conducting mass for a nonexistent congregation; he and the unfortunate boy are the church's sole occupants. Ever since Dracula's desecration of the church the villagers have stopped coming. In the meantime the priest has lost a great measure of his faith and begun hitting the bottle.     Enter Monsignor Ernst Müller (Rupert Davies) on an inspection tour of rural Catholic parishes. From a voice-over we learn that, ever since Dracula's destruction at the end of Prince, the land has been blessedly free of evil. Müller is shocked and puzzled, then, to discover Klausenberg's church empty and its priest boozing it up in the tavern. The innkeeper explains to Müller that although everyone knows Dracula is dead, the shadow of his mountaintop castle touches the village church. "You can still feel the evil," says a local of the once-defiled house of God. Determined to assuage the villagers' fears and buck up the failing priest, Müller decides that he'll go to the castle and exorcise the evil spirits there — with Klausenberg's padre in tow. Next morning the two clerics make the arduous journey up the mountainside to the castle, bringing with them a large four-foot metal crucifix from the church's altar. With darkness falling the priest's nerves fail him, leaving the Monsignor to make the final climb alone. Müller reaches Dracula's castle and, amid a rising storm, performs the rites of exorcism. He seals the castle door with the golden cross to trap any lingering evil within. Problem is, Drac ain't home. Since falling through the ice-covered moat at the end of the last flick, Dracula lies frozen in a mountain stream further down the slope. The frightened, bumbling priest takes a tumble while fleeing down the mountain, cutting his head and breaking the ice entombing the Count. While the cleric lies stunned, blood from his head wound (which mysteriously vanishes just a few moments later) trickles onto Dracula's lips, reviving him.     Dracula mentally enslaves the weak-willed priest, making him his servant. The Count is outraged when he discovers egress to his ancestral home barred by the large golden crucifix. "Who has done this thing?" he angrily snarls. (Yes, Lee actually speaks in this one; he has about ten lines altogether.) The priest informs him that the Monsignor is the culprit. Immediately Dracula sets out on a plan of revenge against Müller, with the priest aiding his travel to the Monsignor's hometown. Typical of the Hammer Dracula series, the Transylvanian bloodsucker is again the hotheaded 'payback' type who lets thoughts of vengeance cloud centuries of accumulated wisdom and cunning. Why the hell doesn't he just order the priest to remove the cross from the castle door? (Because there wouldn't be a plot, that's why!)     Even with this glaring lapse of logic the movie proceeds to set up a very interesting and unique scenario. The target of Dracula's revenge, Monsignor Müller, has a beautiful niece, Maria (buxom Veronica Carlson of Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed), whom the Count desires for his Bride in Darkness. Her boyfriend Paul (Barry Andrews), a university student working at a tavern to pay his way through school, just happens to be an atheist. (Which certainly doesn't sit well with Maria's uncle, by the way.) Thus Dracula, aided by a Catholic priest in thrall to him, finds himself opposed by an enemy who doesn't believe in God. Typically in these films it is the power of the Christian faith, through its symbols, that arm the protagonists against the satanic evil of vampirism; here that concept gets turned on its head. Ironically, religion plays a much more important role in this story than those before it, where a crucifix brandished in Drac's face is merely just a plot device — like using Kryptonite to back down Superman. The atheist vs. vampire element of Risen certainly helps retain viewer interest.     The film was directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis (The Elephant Man, Dune). Without veering far from the well-worn Hammer path he does add a few stylistic touches that enhance the story, particularly in a more expansive use of colored gel lighting (shades of Italian horror) and the 'Drac-Cam' he employs in one sequence, giving us a vampire's-eye view of Carlson's throat as she's about to be bitten. (The surreal lighting effects are used only when Dracula — or his spirit — is present, a visual representation of an evil 'aura'.) Pacing is less plodding than that of other Hammer films; Risen is well-served by generally tight editing. Francis does blow it, however, with the less than convincing day-for-night photography used in some key scenes. Transylvania must experience the brightest full moons seen anywhere on the planet!     Hammer fans will no doubt enjoy seeing the delectable Ms. Carlson, while longtime company stock player Michael Ripper gets a larger role than usual as jovial tavern owner Max. (Funny how the peasants of Eastern Europe all have Cockney accents, isn't it?) But it is Christopher Lee, in one of his best turns as Dracula, who dominates the screen. Though again reduced to a glorified supporting player, whenever he appears the movie gets a quantifiable jolt of energy. Exuding evil, Lee's Dracula is sensual, cruel and a bit sadistic (foreshadowing the blatant sadism of 1970's Scars Of Dracula). Any 'Monster Kid' who saw this flick back when it was released or first shown on TV will never forget Paul's failed staking attempt on Drac in the tavern cellar. The scene in which Müller surprises the Count in Maria's bedroom is also notable... Repelled by the Monsignor's cross, Drac throws his hands up before his face, hissing like an animal and smashing through the window to dive over the balcony. When I think of Dracula, it is scenes like this that instantly spring to mind — not Bela Lugosi looking elegant, talking with marbles in his mouth. (Sorry Universal Classics fans... I love Bela too!)

The new DVD from Warner Home Video is bare-bones, so all we get is the theatrical trailer. At least the anamorphic widescreen transfer looks marvelous; a strong mono audio track serves the film well. (Risen's "G" rating is completely ludicrous. PG-13 would be more like it.) 5/02/04

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