Las novias de Drácula

Charming though they are, the Hammer horror films usually lack a certain something for me. Not quite enough 'edge', hampered, I guess by censorship at the time, they are often lack the exotic and the 'strange' present in many that followed from Spain say or Mexico or Italy. 'Brides' is perfectly well made with an excellent performance by Marita Hunt as the governess, perhaps she should have had a larger part. The young foreign student was convincingly played by a pretty Yvonne Monlaur but I felt Cushing seemed ill at ease. He didn't have the gravitas he usually brings to the smallest of parts and David Peel seemed most bland in the central role although neither he nor the rest of the cast were helped by such rudimentary 'vampire' teeth. What, I must say, though is just how wonderful the film looks. Fantastic sets and costumes all photographed perfectly and if some of the dialogue fell a little awkwardly or the acting a little flat, the lush and colourful Gothic look still prevailed.

This lush, hypnotic horror extravaganza from Hammer Studios improves steadily with age. The magnificent color design, the sets and the all-out performances of the superb cast makes this a classic right along with "Bride of Frankenstein." Each scene is filmed like a work of art, with purple and azure lighting in the backgrounds, marvelous set pieces and a knockout finale. One cannot say enough about the extraordinary cast. Two Shakespearian pros, Martita Hunt (the wizened Baroness Meinster) and her crazed maid, Freda Jackson (Greta)knock everyone else off the screen. Both also performed in the classic, "Great Expectations" and Martita had a stellar career in films. David Peele is stunning as the vampire. Beautiful, evil, arrogant, it's like watching Dorian Gray (which he performed on radio)at his peak. Yvonne Molnaur as the beautiful heroine is perfect. The vampire girls are all superb. I would put this superb classic at the top of any great horror films. You watch it today and see how modern horror films have degenerated. "Brides" was made by masters at their peak. Now, if we can only get this on DVD, maybe as a double feature with "Horror of Dracula." Bravo Martita, Freda and David Peele! If you never did anything else, you did yourself proud with this glimmering jewel of evil,incest and sex.

This is my favorite Hammer Film! Wonderfully written, superbly acted! Peter Cushing is a joy to behold as the "not always playing with a full deck" Van Helsing. His memorable scene in which he exsises the vampires bite from his neck is brilliant! The set pieces and atmosphere are second to none and gives the film an entirely uneasy feeling yet the movie is so brezzy and fun! There are also quite a few chilling scenes which will stick out in your mind for a while after the conclusion. And what a conclusion it is! Fast paced, exciting and quite unique in vampire lore. David Peel is unique to say the least as the king vampire and although Dracula is not to be found in this one, SO WHAT!!! A brilliant film on all counts!

The film begins by a narrator telling us Dracula is dead..but his disciples live on to spread vampirism. It's all about a beautiful woman named Marianne Danielle (Yvonne Monlaur) going to a woman's academy to teach French. It gets complicated but she ends up spending the night in castle Meinster. She also meets young, handsome Baron Meinster (David Peel) who's chained up in the castle by his mother...because he is a vampire. She doesn't know this and lets him loose. It's a good thing Dr. van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is around!

OK--this isn't perfect. Some of the plotting is clumsy (i.e.--why didn't the Baron just turn into a bat and fly out of his chains?), Manlaur is a TERRIBLE actress and the fake bats are pretty laughable (I saw the strings at one point!). Still this is just great. It moves quickly and has some great performances by Cushing (of course), Feda Jackson (as Greta--tearing the scenery) and a GREAT performance by Peel. He's sexy, handsome and scary as hell as the vampire. Hard to believe he was FORTY when he did this! Also I'm lucky enough to have a copy of the pristine print they released on laser disc and VHS in the early 1990s. The color is incredible and the picture and sound are crystal clear.

I'm giving it an 8--I WANT to give it a 10 but Monlaur and some clumsy plotting (what happens to the two female vampires at the end?) really work against it. Still--a must-see!

This is an excellent entry in the Hammer studios series of vampire flicks. Almost everything that fans love about this particular vein of horror is here; the great Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, atmospheric sets and lighting, a creepy baroness, direction from the celebrated Terence Fisher... damsels in danger and the various tropes of the genre. What could be considered missing is Dracula. This is potentially confusing since the film is titled 'The Brides of Dracula', but is clearly set after Dracula's first demise in the series time-line.

What sets this apart as a relatively very good film is the amount of events they managed to squeeze in - which allows actors such as Cushing to flex their ability in a few interesting scenarios. What hasn't aged so well is the writing/portrayal of the young 'heroine', who seems to spend most of her time stupidly wandering into dangerous situations - acceptable in some cases, but in this film it just makes you question what level of intelligence they were trying to impart to her character.

If you're a fan of 'modern' horror, which is more to do with exploitation, you will undoubtedly view this film as very dated with not much to frighten. If you like Hammer horror and understand what it's "all about", or have an interest in Gothic horror films from the 50s and 60s, this film will be a very enjoyable screening.