Les Maîtresses de Dracula

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.

The Brides of Dracula is not as good as 1958's Dracula(or Horror of Dracula), but it is almost as good and a very good follow-up, a near classic in fact. Yvonne Monlaur is rather wooden in the female lead role, the bat effects are truly laughable and the film drags a tad at the halfway mark but that's it for the flaws personally.

Hammer horrors are always at least visually good, and The Brides of Dracula certainly looks good. In fact it looks fantastic, to me it's one of the best-looking Hammer films. The photography is smooth, rich in colour and enhances the atmosphere rather than detracting and the sets are some of the most sumptuous and atmospheric of any Hammer horror. The music in its most haunting parts positively induces tingles down the spine and while there are a couple of clumsy loose ends the script is one of Hammer's most nuanced. The story is filled with marvellous atmosphere and Gothic ghoulishness and is always compelling and easy to follow, the standout scene is the ending which is like a fairy-tale nightmare come to life.

Terrence Fisher's direction is unflinching and the performances on the whole are very good, especially from a classy and typically impeccable Peter Cushing as one of the best screen Van Helsings and Martita Hunt as a sometimes sympathetic but genuinely scary Baroness, especially in the scene when she's standing behind Monlaur. Freda Jackson is chilling also and chews the scenery with glee(and not in a negative way despite how it sounds) and Miles Malleson brings some amusing comedy that doesn't feel out of place at all. David Peel is nowhere near in the same league as Christopher Lee- then again it's really difficult to follow Lee in any role really- but while a little fey in places he is a worthy and charismatic substitute.

Overall, a near classic if with its weak spots. 8/10 Bethany Cox

As in the tradition of the B western Dracula makes no appearance in this Hammer horror film The Brides Of Dracula. But there are brides aplenty for the Count Meinster and there's also Dr. Van Helsing making house calls as it were.

Peter Cushing is the intrepid vampire hunter who knows well that Dracula is not the only undead creature out there. The Count Meinster has been terrorizing the population of his area of Germany for some time now and he's collected a bevy of beauties to do his bidding.

The Dowager Countess Meinster is played by Martita Hunt and for her kid's own good she has him chained up. Never mind that though, a passing woman takes pity and frees him. That brings in Van Helsing.

Cushing is always good and David Peel is the matinée idol vampire who was a trendsetter without knowing it. It would be another thirty years before Frank Langella, Tom Cruise and folks like that would start playing undead creatures let alone the whole Twilight Saga.

You'll have a few frights before this one is over.

I'm not a big fan of this type of films, but this movie stands out for its good production.

Hammer films have made numerous Dracula based films to a point where seeing yet another Dracula themed movie is a torture. But if there's a movie that's worth seeing amongst all of its mediocre Dracula movies, this one is it. Peter Cusing, and Yvonne Monlaur are superb in this movie as are some of the other casts. The atmosphere is stuffy as usual, and there's not a moment to lighten up, but if there's an element that adds color to this movie is that all the women at the girls school are eye candies. A rare situation in a movie of this sorts, and amongst all the ugliness, makes the movie tolerable to watch.

No masterpiece by any means, but if you're looking for a classic horror movies, this movie is one worth watching.

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.