Dracula AD 1972 (1972)

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... on Dracula (Christopher Lee in his signature role) before it's too late.

Overall, I think this go around is more enjoyable then "Satanic Rites." Though it suffers from many of the same problems. Dracula is kept mostly in the background here. In fact he never leaves the grounds of a ruined Church, which leads me to believe that Hammer was still uneasy at the idea of Dracula hitting the discos or something. Sadly they bring the disco to Dracula by having corny sounding music play at the wrong time - times where a somber score is needed to set the proper mood.

I just wish they had done more with the idea of Dracula in the present tense. It doesn't quite work here or in "Satanic Rites", but I do think it's an idea with legs. It's a high concept that was revisited in other films, and really only 1987's Monster Squad pulls it off fully. "Dracula AD 1972" only dabbles in it. And I think the movie is worse off for it.

Still, it's a Hammer vampire movie, so it's not without its entertainment value. It's filled with buxom babes in low-cut tops, and of course plenty of blood. While the production values aren't quite as lush as the earlier Hammer horror films there's still a lot of nice visuals here as well. I can think of worse ways to fill an evening.

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