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The
Satanic Rites of Dracula
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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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5
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Everyone's
favorite Transylvanian bloodsucker is morphed
into a hybrid of Howard Hughes and Fu Manchu in
the spy-flavored Hammer horror The
Satanic Rites of Dracula —
the last to feature Christopher Lee in the titular
role. An attempt to keep the Dracula character
'current', this mélange of espionage and the undead
(in a way foreshadowing the Necroscope
novels of Brian Lumley) actually works for the
most part.
Pelham House, a country estate
outside London, lies at the center of an investigation
conducted by Britain's security services. Why
are VIPs —
luminaries from government, science, the military
and high finance —
meeting there clandestinely? Are they part of
some secret society? A cult? As one of the bigwigs,
Sir John Porter, is the head of U.K. intelligence,
the investigators must be discrete... their own
careers could be at stake. To find out more, a
"mole" has been planted among the estate's
guards. Discovered, the agent is mortally wounded
while attempting to escape. Before dying he's
able to pass on some shocking information: the
illustrious men meeting at Pelham House are members
of a satanic cult, participating in perverted
rituals including human sacrifice. To circumvent
possible interference from spy chief Porter, Inspector
Murray of Scotland Yard (Michael Coles) is brought
in to pursue the investigation further.
The identity of the cult's
leader remains a mystery. The man has been surreptitiously
photographed but, oddly, his image doesn't seem
to register on film.
This provides a vital clue to Prof. Lorimar Van
Helsing (Peter Cushing), an expert on the occult
consulted by Murray. The professor is the grandson
of the Van Helsing, vampire slayer supreme
of the 19th Century. He suspects that his ancestor's
great nemesis, Count Dracula himself, is behind
the nefarious goings-on at Pelham House.
As in Dracula
A.D. 1972 (to which this film is a
direct sequel), having the
vampire king on the loose in 1970s Britain might
seem more than a little
incongruous. However, Satanic
Rites avoids a number of its predecessor's
pitfalls. Drac is at least pro-active here —
acting
in a James Bond villain capacity with an evil
plot to destroy all humanity —
rather
than just skulking about in an abandoned church.
There's certainly more action, too; this is the
only Dracula flick I've seen wherein the Count
employs a gang of motorcycle-riding toughs to
do his daylight dirty work. He even positions
a sniper (with silencer-equipped rifle) to protect
his lair!
Though top-billed Lee only
has about 15 minutes of screen time in the movie
(the bane of the Hammer Draculas, it seems), at
least he has some dialog this time out, including
a classic line lifted from Bram Stoker's original
novel. ("My revenge has spread over centuries,
and has just begun!") Cushing, of course,
is his usual masterful self, injecting gravitas
into every scene he's in. The supporting cast,
especially Freddie Jones (Dune)
as the tormented scientist Keeley, are all very
good. The ending, however, is totally botched
by one of the dumbest Dracula deaths ever. Trivia
note: Joanna Lumley, who 20 years later would
play the licentious lush Patsy on the British
sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, appears as
Van Helsing's granddaughter.
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| Anchor
Bay's disc presents The Satanic
Rites of Dracula letterboxed, with a crisp,
blemish-free print and a strong Dolby Mono audio
track. Extras include the British and American trailers
and a short, somewhat shoddy documentary on Hammer
vampire films narrated by Oliver Reed called Dracula
and the Undead. (This film is also available
on a budget DVD from Diamond under its silly U.S.
release title, Count Dracula
and His Vampire Bride.) 5/19/01 |
| UPDATE
The Anchor Bay disc reviewed here went OOP in 2003.
The film can also be found on DVD in various bargain
bin/public domain editions, often under the alternate
title Count Dracula and His
Vampire Bride (as mentioned
above). These
are often unauthorized ports of the Anchor Bay transfer. |
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