Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (UK 1968)

Rating: **
Review Date: 4/24/16
Cast: Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Michael Ripper

A devout Monsignor (Rupert Davies) exorcises Count Dracula's castle and bars it with a giant golden cross. Unfortunately, this has the side effect of releasing Dracula (Christopher Lee) from his frozen prison, and he's furious about his ancestral home being desecrated. Naturally, our good Monsignor has a beautiful teenage niece (Veronica Carlson), who Dracula intends to use as the tool for his revenge. Fortunately for her, she has a hunky boyfriend to protect her, but his lack of spiritual faith proves a liability when fighting against the unholy undead.

While it's better than "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" (1969), it's still not very good. The sets and visual effects are wonderful, but gratuitous colored filters ruin a handful of otherwise decent scenes. Christopher Lee has little to do other than look menacing and bite a few necks, but he still has a commanding presence. Bright-eyed Veronica Carlson is seductively alluring and delivers a solid performance as a damsel in distress. It's apparent that Hammer has gone back to the well too many times with this entry, and it comes across as tedious and uninspired. For die-hard Dracula and/or Hammer fans only.