- Director: Peter Sasdy
- Writers: Anthony Hinds (as John Elder)
- Stars: Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Gwen Watford
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes
- Link: https://amzn.to/36X22Jr
Synopsis
Weller, a traveling salesman is thrown from a carriage near Carlsburg. He wakes up at night and hears some crazy screaming. He starts to run. He sees Dracula being impaled by the cross at the end of the previous film, “Dracula Has Risen From the Grave.” In an instant, there’s nothing left but a cape and a red puddle. There’s also a medallion that the salesman quickly grabs up. Credits roll.
Alice flirts with Paul at church, and then her father, William, punishes her for it when they get home. William goes out with his three friends to the whorehouse, their usual entertainment for the end of the month. They watch dancing girls, snake dancers, and they each have a girl of their own just to play with. Old man William is a grouch even during play time, but his friends seem much more into it all.
Lord Courtley’s son comes into the room, which puts off the fun. He’s famous for having done a Black Mass sometime in the past and is said to be possessed by the devil. William chases after Courtley on his way out and invites him to dinner; he’s just too interesting to pass up.
As dinner progresses, it turns out the three old men are bored experience-seekers looking to try out this “Satanic thing” for fun. They go to see Weller and demand to buy “the item.” Weller shows them the medallion as well as a jar full of dried blood. The three chip in and buy it for Courtley, who knows how to use it. They all make the trip up to Dracula’s deserted castle.
The castle is all set up for a ritual, and Courtley tells the three men what to do. Courtley hands each of them a goblet, and then he starts the ritual, using the dried-up blood of Dracula, which he shakes into each goblet. He cuts his own hand and drips a bit of his own blood into each goblet. Each of the goblets expands and fills with blood. Then, they Drink. The. Blood. Of. Dracula!, well, Courtland does; the others are afraid. Angry, they beat the crap out of Courtland, who is soon dead.
The three old men run home, but Courtland morphs into Dracula. “They destroyed my servant; they will be destroyed,” he says.
Alice and Paul talk, and their fathers have both been acting strangely for the past few days. There’s some drama, and then the two of them sneak out to go to a party. Alice runs into Dracula waiting outside, and he hypnotizes her. She then hits William with a shovel. “The First,” states Dracula.
Alice tricks her friend Lucy into getting into a carriage, which delivers them both to Dracula’s crypt. “Lucy,” says Dracula, and then he’s got her too. Mr. Secker and Mr. Paxton go back to the castle and find that Courtley’s body is gone. They find Lucy in a tomb.
Secker explains about staking her, but Paxton shoots him and waits for Lucy to wake up. That goes about as well as expected— they stake him. “The Second,” says Dracula. Secker then goes back into the castle and finds the tombs empty. Lucy bites Secker’s son, Jeremy, who then kills his father. “The third,” groans Dracula. His revenge complete, Dracula drains Lucy. He prepares to do the same to Alice, but hears the cock crowing and hurries home.
Paul reads Secker’s notes and understands everything. He heads up to the castle the next morning. He hears strange screams, and suddenly it’s night time. He confronts Dracula with a strangely luminescent cross. “I have no further use for you,” he tells Alice. Dracula is trapped inside due to the crosses on the door, so he throws stuff at them. Paul starts praying, and Dracula freaks out, falling onto the stone altar and turning back to dust— leaving the medallion behind again. Alice is freed, and the two of them live happily ever after.
Commentary
If Dracula would just stay home and kill the occasional traveller, he’d be much happier. Every time he wakes up, he seems to be obsessed with revenge for something. The revenge always goes badly. He needs some anger management classes or something.
The film drags somewhat in the middle, and the “teen” lovers are boring. The sets are excellent, and plot is interesting, and the setup for the revival of Dracula all makes sense, expanding on the previous film’s resolution. Courtland is an interesting character, and it would be interesting to know how he knows this stuff. Did Dracula run an actual cult back in the day?
Christopher Lee couldn’t have asked for an easier job. I’ve literally transcribed every single line of his dialog in this review. He didn’t speak more than twenty or so words the whole time. Still, he’s had Dracula films with even fewer lines than that, so he’s doing OK here.