The sadly late legendary Christopher Lee, even without saying a word, still induces goose-bumps as Dracula, while a wonderfully gruff Andrew Keir is a worthy opponent for him(if not erasing memories of Peter Cushing, not that one should really be expecting that) and Barbara Shelley proves herself to be more than just a beautiful-looking scream queen, there's some nice sympathetic depth to her performance. Regarding the acting, it's solid on the whole apart from Matthews. There are also three unforgettable scenes, the still shocking(and quite gruesome) Dracula resurrection, Helen's pretty nerve-shredding demise and the exciting climax on the ice. Sure it is not unlike anything we have seen already, but that didn't matter, because a vast majority of the film is brilliantly suspenseful and has a genuine sense of dread and creepy atmosphere, the chills and scares pitched beautifully. Dracula: Prince of Darkness may get off to a slow start, but the story is mostly entertaining and engrossing.
James Bernard's music score is very effective, it isn't too complicated but what it is is very elegant in orchestration and effortlessly creates chills without ever being too obvious. The handsome sets and period detail are very evocative, and the colours are strikingly atmospheric. It's very beautifully shot and has a wonderfully sumptuous Gothic atmosphere throughout. Dracula: Prince of Darkness looks great though. The acting is very solid on the whole, but Francis Matthews is somewhat stiff and pallid as the hero, and his chemistry with Suzan Farmer, who with her charming sympathetic presence actually acquits herself pretty well, is a little on the dull side. The dialogue is also rather ham-fisted and over-silly, which was a bit of a shock to me seeing as the script was penned by Jimmy Sangster, whose scripts for Hammer are usually quite intelligent and nuanced. There are a couple of imperfections, with Dracula: Prince of Darkness' main flaw being the rather too-long a time it takes to set up, with some of the first thirty minutes being a little draggy. Horror of Dracula will always be my favourite of the Hammer Dracula series, but Dracula: Prince of Darkness is still very good and one of the best in the series. I suggest watching 'Dracula' and then following directly with 'Dracula: Prince Of Darkness' for a fantastic vampire double bill that is pretty hard to beat! Long live Christopher Lee!
#Tropes dracula resurrection movie
'Dracula: Prince Of Darkness' is yet another wonderfully entertaining horror movie from Hammer studios. Pop culture obsessives will also remember that Francis Matthews voiced Captain Scarlet in the cult Gerry and Sylvia Anderson puppet show 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons' (a show that Bud Tingwell was also involved with). Shelley co-starred with Keir in the excellent 'Quatermass and the Pit" and she, Matthews and Farmer appeared with Christopher Lee in the wonderful 'Rasputin: The Mad Monk' released the same year as this movie. All but the latter are familiar faces to Hammer fans. Andrew "Professor Quatermass" Keir almost steals the movie as the unconventional Father Sandor, and the four English travellers who find themselves the guests of Dracula are Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer and veteran Aussie actor Bud Tingwell. Apart from Christopher Lee the rest of the cast is also first rate. It's a great piece of acting, and Lee is an extremely underrated performer.
Christopher Lee gives his most memorable performance as Dracula, which incidentally has no dialogue whatsoever. Dracula doesn't put in an appearance until about half way through the movie, but he's worth waiting for. I actually enjoyed it a little bit more than 'Dracula' and it's one of the very best entries in the whole series, if not THE best. 'Horror Of Dracula'), 'The Brides Of Dracula' is, but considering Dracula didn't even appear in the latter, this in my opinion is the REAL sequel. 'Dracula: Prince Of Darkness' isn't technically the sequel to Hammer's 'Dracula' (a.k.a.
0 kommentar(er)
