User reviews

This rather odd entry in the Count Dracula film cycle finds the count (Christopher Lee) positioned as the head of a corporate conglomerate that has a group of high-level mucky-mucks enmeshed in a plan to unleash a new strain of uber-virile plague on the world. Why Count Dracula wants to kill off the world's population and therefore eliminate his food supply is never made clear; indeed, when vampire specialist Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) poses that very question to him, the count looks like he'd never thought of that before. The screenplay tries half-heartedly to explain it via some psycho-babble about the count really subconsciously wanting to bring about his own destruction and put an end to his tortured soul, etc. Nice try, but it doesn't fly.

The film is pretty short on atmosphere or scares, but there's some fun to be had anyway. Cushing is so assured in his performance that he almost makes you feel like you're watching something of substance, while a young Joanna Lumley is buxom and fetching as Van Helsing's in-peril granddaughter.

Grade: B-

Hammer's last throw with Christopher Lee who refused to do another Dracula after AD 1972. He regarded the last Hammer's as such a departure from Stoker as to be sacrilegious. This replaces horror with a thriller. Dracula in a thriller? French Connection was a thriller. How does the suave and deadly Count become transplanted into a more style which uses more realism? He cannot, he is incongruous. Consequently Dracula makes almost no appearance until the last 15 minutes. The rest of the film is a chase between his henchmen and Cushing with the police. The quality of the Dracula films had deteriorated in their glamour and stylishness and transferring to the modern day was an attempt to inject glamour again. The most interesting piece of this film is the satanic rite of the title. Its images and practises have been used by the Church of Satan and other occult groups. The actor, scientist and parapsychologist Stephen Armourae has referred to it in articles and the actress Mia Martin has appeared in some of his drawings and paintings. Oddly despite such a high profile release none of the actors including Pauline Peart and Mia Martin did anything since despite their glamour and looks.

Hammer's penultimate Dracula film and the last one to feature a tired Christopher Lee in the title role.

This is a significant improvement over Dracula A.D. 1972, but Peter Cushing is used significantly less in the fight scenes (which are not particularly good anyway).

The story, which revolves around a revived Dracula (in disguise) getting government ministers and leading doctors to help him take over the world with the plague has its merits. Infact, the story is well-paced and it's content is refreshingly varied (bike chases, cellars with female vampires, a plague victim etc).

Freddie Jones turns up with a superbly jittery performance as a scientist (he was also excellent in "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed").

Christopher Lee doesn't get enough screen time, but his scenes with Peter Cushing are, as you might expect, good (n.b. the scene in the tower block where Van Helsing goes to expose D.D. Denham as Dracula). Lee, also gets a chance to utter the immortal lines "..my revenge has spread over centuries and has just begun..." (which is apparently from the book).

If you go into this film with an open-mind, you won't be too disappointed - there is certainly plenty going on, even if the plot is not very tightly structured.

If you've seen Dracula AD 1972, then there's nothing terribly novel about this follow-up in seeing Christopher Lee's Count moving about contemporary London. Part of the charm of the Hammer franchise IS the formula, which is virtually abandoned for this often dull story of corporate machinations and devil worship. Visually, it's pretty drab, apart from some fun 1970s fashion, if you're into that sort of thing. Peter Cushing is dependable as always as the warm yet formidable Van Helsing (or his descendant anyway), and Joanna Lumley is certainly pretty as his granddaughter and assistant but despite an introduction that promises some kind of competency on her part she is never allowed to be anything but a hysterical, run-of-the-mill damsel in distress. The rest of the cast is unremarkable. As is the entire film.

I guess Christopher Lee had had enough of Dracula, and this was his swan song. This has a clever twist, bringing the old guy back one more time. It involves the Count trying to bring a plague on humanity by using a group of significant businessmen to do his bidding. Of course, it's the same old crosses made by two sticks of wood, and so on. Cushing does his usual spooky character, this time a latter day Van Helsing. I have to say I enjoyed it.

1973's "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" may have been commissioned by Warner Brothers to fulfill a 2 picture Hammer contract, but with the colossal failure of "Dracula A.D. 1972" and the same production team at the helm (Alan Gibson directing from a Don Houghton script), production would proceed with little confidence as "Dracula is Dead and Well and Living in London." Warners disowned the final product, issued in the US five years after completion with the title "Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride," Christopher Lee's 7th and final appearance in the title role, teamed for the third time with Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, who had destroyed his nemesis in modern day King's Road to conclude "AD," only to learn that the Count was swiftly revived by a new acolyte for a new mission, bringing in the nation's most powerful men in a plot to infect the world with a rapid mutation of bubonic plague. One general, one politician, one landowning Baron, and one Nobel Prize winning bacteriologist are installed under the pretense of using the weapon only as a deterrent, the vampire cult stationed at remote Pelham House, where blood rituals take place and biker guards attired in afghan prowl the grounds with sniper rifles. What a jumbled mishmash, keeping Lee offscreen until the final third, when his initial faceoff with Van Helsing evokes fond memories of past glories, and includes the bilingual Lee's personal tribute to Bela Lugosi by adopting a vaguely Hungarian accent. He remains a shadowy figure seated behind his desk as the reclusive entrepreneur D.D. Denham, the light reflected away to avert suspicion, Van Helsing armed with a silver bullet but not before making inquiries of the mysterious Denham, a helpless captive to witness Dracula's suicidal triumph. The ridiculous ease with which all vampires are dispatched also afflicts the central character himself, denied access to final revenge by the branches of a hawthorn bush (the object of Christ's crown of thorns), sent tumbling into an unworthy demise to quietly expire one last time, as opposed to the finale of "Horror of Dracula," a thunderous music score fully engaging the viewer in its thrilling battle of arch nemeses. The satanic rites themselves are superfluous and take up the entire opening half hour, after which Cushing effortlessly carries the picture on his own while protagonists fall like dominos; he'd be back for a 5th outing in Hong Kong, "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires," while Lee concludes his run with more screen time than in any previous Hammer entry except "Scars of Dracula," at least bowing out in a literal blaze of glory.

I definitely feel a bit out of synch with the general consensus here because this entry in the Hammer Dracula series is one of my favourites. I would say I even enjoy it more than the original, which is doubtless tantamount to sacrilege in some people's eyes. I don't know, this movie just successfully entertains as far as I'm concerned.

The setting is in contemporary times, early 70's London. The story has the evil count gathering together various industrialists, politicians and scientists as part of a nefarious plan to wipe out civilization. He bases his operations from a remote house where satanic rites are practiced, involving these aforementioned individuals plus a number of female vampires who are chained up in the basement. Professor Van Helsing is on hand as usual to attempt to thwart his nemesis's plans.

There's just so much going on in Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride that it simply never gets boring. While it may lack the lush Gothic setting of most of the other entries in the series, I actually think it gains a reasonable amount from the 70's vibe. The idea of Dracula living under a false name in a tower block in the middle of London is a strangely good one, and some of the other locations are well utilized too, like the basement full of vampires for example – the scene where Van Helsing's grand-daughter comes into contact with these creatures is well orchestrated. There's a pleasing over-all smattering of action, nudity and gore throughout the picture to keep genre fans happy, while the film is on occasion quite stylish as in the scenes of the satanic ceremony. And of course it is never a bad thing to have Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing together in a film.

I would suggest that this is a movie that doesn't really deserve its poor reputation. I certainly find it a very enjoyable bit of fun. I do somewhat think that Hammer's 70's productions in general have been given a worse rap than they deserve. For anyone who enjoys British horror films from the period, I think this one is worth seeing.

I've had this one on my mind ever since a friend of mine mentioned it a few days ago. I didn't have anything better to do tonight, so I figured that I might as well pop this one in for my evening's entertainment. Well first off, it's not hard to tell that this was made in the 70's. The music and the styles of hair and clothing certainly give it away, but I think that gives it a charm of sorts. Cushing and Lee were great as always, although Lee was was very underused this time around. I don't think he got to say a single thing until over an hour into the film! Oh well, Cushing's performance made up for Lee's absence, I guess. Christopher Lee did have a great entrance, if nothing else...the smoke billowing around him and the lighting from behind made for a great effect. Though many complain about it, I thought this was a very unique and interesting take on the classic Dracula story. Though I'm not usually a fan of satanic conspiracy films, I throughly enjoyed this, and I recommend it despite it's dated feel.

7/10

In this the last of the Hammer Dracula films, screenwriters tried to add a touch of James Bond, with Dracula heading a SPECTRE-like organization bent on world destruction and, of course, out to suck a little blood on his way to Armageddon. There is a bevy of pretty vampire girls, and loads of tooth and nail struggles to the death, but not much of this is very engrossing. Part of the problem is the laughable looking horde of motorcycle thugs who serve the evil count, as all seem to be dressed in clothing that makes them look like refugees from London's Carnaby Street; their hairstyles only underscore this impression. Hammer should have ended the franchise earlier.

When information surrounding a strange satanic cult and their rituals begins to surface via the investigations of a group of Scotland Yard undercover agents, fear soon begins to spread as the names involved turn out to be high-ranking political officials, leading scientists and the like and the ritual practices seem inherently tied to vampirism. An expert on vampirism is called in to investigate, one Prof. Larimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) who soon comes to fear the worst...that these events are somehow tied to the one and only Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) who now it seems plans on using a deadly virus created by the scientists under his control to wipe out all humanity!

Yes I know the plot does sound somewhat convoluted and it ultimately comes across that way on the screen as well unfortunately. The ending feels extremely rushed although there is a neat showdown between Cushing Van Helsing and Lee's Count yet once more. I also enjoyed the performance of Michael Coles as Inspector Murray but was disappointed how he wasn't more actively involved in the film's conclusion. Could have been better.

Saw Satanic Rites last night for the second time, and paid more attention this time. The film, if you`re waiting to see a lot of Dracula will be a bit of a let down (but let`s face it, since Taste the Blood of Dracula, I don`t think Christopher Lee has had 30 minutes screen time with all of the Dracula films joined together.) The movie starts slowly, with, for once, no Dracula resurrection scene. He`s just back, and does not appear until well into the film. (He appears in a scene obviously stuck in because they realized he had not made an appearance at all so long into the film). When Peter Cushing appears, you start to feel like this is a proper Hammer film after all. Peter Cushing really does this one justice. Then from the time he visits D.D.Denham, it is a pretty good Dracula picture. The action between our hero and villain gets going, and builds up to a reasonable finale. This is better than Dracula AD 1972, but as I have said before, the whole series should have stayed in Victorian times. Joanna Lumley is radiant as Jessica, who's character returns from the previous film. It is a pretty scary premise. Dracula, finally sick of being resurrected for 2 or 3 days at a time, wants to end it all, but in doing this, he wants to take everyone with him. THE WHOLE WORLD! It is a good plot which just happens to have Dracula as the figure-head. For once Christopher Lee gets a reasonably decent script and delivers his lines beautifully. A couple of points. In some of the Dracula films, we are introduced to new but apparently tested ways of dealing with the fanged one. Dracula, Prince of Darkness introduced clear running water, as used at the end of DPOD, in Dracula AD 1972, and in Satanic Rites. Then in AD `72 we are introduced to the fact that the good Count can be knobbled with a silver bladed knife. Handy, since Van Helsing has one. Then in this movie, Van Helsing introduces the Hawthorn bush, from which Christ recieved his crown of thorns. Guess where Drac ends up near the end? Do these things really work? Or is it just that sunlight and the old stake are boring now, and the writers just make these things up? I feel a bit cheated when someone like Dracula can be beaten by lightning, drowned in a moat (NOT running water), or overcome in a church (whereas he had already killed a girl and placed her body in a full blown God worshipping church.) This film, when it gets going, is a pleasing finale to the Christopher Lee years as Dracula, and to boot, Peter Cushing delivers a really good performance too.

This is, objectively speaking, a bad movie. It is rendered watchable by a few good preformances and one or two interesting ideas. By the end, however, it looks like the budget ran out or the makers lost interest. As I mentioned, there are a couple of good ideas - particularly that Dracula wishes to end it all by destroying the world. The nudity is less cheesy than in some other Hammer films of the period which is a relief. The biggest letdown, given that the film tries to be as much a thriller as a horror, is that the action scenes are very poor. The climax in particular leaves poor Drac looking very dim and impotent. He's a far cry from the dynamic figure who revolutionised the character's image in Dracula (AKA Horror of Dracula).

This was the first hammer film I've ever seen, and I was not HUGELY impressed. Maybe it's just cause I had such high expectations, I don't know (all my friends say such good things about hammer films). The main plot is that Dracula (Christopher Lee) is running a satanic cult in modern London (well, modern in the 70s). The plot was kinda boring at times, and you didn't get to see near enough of Dracula in my opinion. But there were things I liked about it; for one thing, the colours and sets on the film were just gorgeous. Everything was very vibrant. And, when you did see Dracula, Lee portrayed him extremely well. His rival, Van Helsing, (Peter Cushing) is also well acted. It's only everyone else in the movie that fails to be interesting. I'm not going to give up on Hammer films though. Just this one might not have been a good starting choice.

Mark my words, "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" is indeed a very silly film, but vampire movies are silly in the first place so why not go for broke? Hammer Films was at the end of their rope by 1973 and knew it, so they mixed vampire hijinx with spy movie intrigue and cast Dracula as the megalomaniac villain instead of Goldfinger. You have to give them points for coming up with a new angle, even if the result doesn't really resemble anything Hammer did before it -- even "Dracula A.D. 1972", which this is something of a direct sequel to.

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing both play their next-to-last performances as Dracula and the tireless Professor Van Helsing as they pit their wits against each other for the final time ... Both would return in their respective roles once more in separate films that are even more bizarre than this one (Lee the absurd "Dracula & Son" and Cushing in the even more absurd "Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires", which also isn't as bad as you've heard), and while they are on screen together for only a few scenes fans of Hammer's production line really do need to treat themselves to this baby at least once. Though Euro Horror favorite Freddy Jones actually steals the show in a far to brief appearance as a biological warfare expert driven mad by his contract work for Dracula's SPECTRE-like criminal organization.

The plot is far from simple: Count Dracula is alive & well in his Undead state, living (or, not) in London where he commands a sect of Satanists fronting for a global syndicate bent on unleashing a plague on humanity that will ultimately deprive Dracula of his supply of shapely office girls upon which to feed. Without any fresh donors to resurrect his corporeal state from a glass vial filled with his ashes or dehydrated blood -- depending on the needs of the script -- he will finally find eternal rest. Or something like to that extent. One of the sad things about the manner in which this film has been dismissed is that it actually dares to depict Dracula as a creature with actual plans rather than a Simple Simon existence of sucking human blood & unleashing his revenge against those who trespass on his property.

But the results are admittedly somewhat difficult to take seriously. Or rather if you DO insist on taking it seriously what you are confronted with is a bizarre turkey of a modern day vampire thriller with motor cars and subway trams, police inspectors, bell bottomed fashion babes and secret agent operatives firing chirping silencer equipped automatic weapons mixed with the Gothic hullabaloo of Satanic blood sacrifices, vampire babes chained up in basements, and Dracula lurking in the shadows. The mixture of themes is jarring if you are used to the foggy castle on the hill approach but one thing is for sure: The movie is never boring, moves at a brisk pace, and allows it's lead actors some impressive scenes that almost work.

Redemptive moments are found in another grand show by Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, who's uncanny ability to look concerned and impart dire urgency on those whom he addresses never wavers for a second. Perhaps this speaks best for the talents of Cushing, who like John Carradine can make even the most ridiculous dialog sound completely on the level. There are also some interesting touches like the depiction of modern skyscrapers framed as Gothic castles, strange costuming for the bad guys consisting of cave man vests over "A Clockwood Orange" inspired coordinated polyesters, and an orchestrated rock music soundtrack that sounds like it may have influenced David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs". Or rather he ended up with a similar sounding creation at any rate.

One bit of consternation for fans revolves around the film's availability on home video. There is a common misconception that "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (and it's Americanized re- release title, "Count Dracula & His Vampire Brides) has lapsed into public domain leading to an overkill of low-budget DVD & video releases over the years of a widescreen laserdisc version. Anchor Bay Entertainment's excellent DVD has since gone out of print and even that version features an assembly of the film that was subjected to BBFC pre-release cuts that have never been restored. Yet it's the best that one can do, look for a used copy maybe or their still quite passable VHS pressing, it's available for a few dollars and is an actual digitally remastered anamorphic widescreen transfer from the original elements.

6/10: You really can't call yourself a Hammer fan and not give this one a chance, and can rest assured that it's OK to laugh.

Detectives investigating a cult involving various VIPs undercover vampirism, so drag in Van Helsing (Cushing) who decides pretty quickly that this is all part of Dracula's plan to destroy the world.

Nice to see William Franklin and the great Richard Vernon in support, but of course it's the final battling of Cushing and Lee that pulls the crowds on these things. Since the wonderful original in the 50s and 2 fair follow ups - Prince of Darkness / Risen from the Grave, there have been some pretty lame stories and scripts particularly Taste the Blood, AD 1972 and sadly this. Nothing changes very much in terms of plot and it is just the fleeting appearances of Lee and the wonderful Cushing, both playing it completely straight that makes this worth a look - not good though.

This is really not a good movie. It does have its good points...namely the presence of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. But as a Dracula movie, and more importantly as a Hammer Horror movie, it really doesn't make the cut.

Turning Dracula into a devil-like creature to be worshipped by a cult was just not a good idea. Making him a successful business man at the same time made the idea just plain lame. There was also a somewhat obvious "Avengers" element to the film, with the government organization searching for Chris Lee reminding me very much of the early years of that TV series.

If you're a Dracula or Hammer completist, give the movie a look. Otherwise, don't bother...unless you're getting it for free or would like to give it an MST3K-ing with your friends.

I first saw this in the mid 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. This is the eighth film in Hammer's Dracula series and the seventh and final one to feature Christopher Lee as Dracula and the third one of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing.

This film takes place two years after the events of the previous one. A large headquarter owned by a reclusive personality has been built upon the cemetery where Dracula died in the previous film. Van Helsing is once more approached by the Secret Service after one of their officer gets hold of information regarding elite personalities performing satanic rituals in a mansion located on the outskirts.

Although this one doesn't contain my fav aspects like the castle, chariot or the sleepy n foggy village, i found the building/Dracula's abode creepy enuff, being built on graveyard n almost nobody inside the whole tower except for the Count. This is much better than the previous one. Wow, this one starts like a spy thriller, then sci fic a la biological warfare with pathogens and all n then our usual Dracula stuff. Coincidentally i saw this movie on the 23rd of this month. The cop who played Secret Service agent Torrence (William Franklyn) is a striking resemblance of Benjamin Netanyahu. A Bollywood actor Marc Zuber has a very tiny role of that of a sniper with a moustache. What happens to his character in the end is never explained.

I loved monster movies as a kid, and Christopher Lee's Dracula has always been my favorite. Way back then I had read monster magazines showing still photos of "The Satanic Rites" and now that I've seen the movie (a 2nd time) I am convinced that it was a lot cooler to look at those pics and yearn to watch it back then than to have seen it. There probably won't be a third time, unless it is to view a better copy. The cheap DVD I bought looks like a 2nd generation VHS copy, and I have older movies in this Dracula series that are rendered beautifully on DVD. Why some of these commenters liked this movie puzzles me because I am the biggest Dracula/Lee fan and this was really bad. They must be Avengers/Dr. Who fans.

Yes, Lee portrays a Howard Hughes/Dr. No type of vampire in this one. He admitted to despising these later films because it went so far away from Stoker's novel it was ridiculous. Dracula was also given very little to do in most of these movies and in this one they decided to make him a recluse. Wow, one commenter even said that this added 'mystery' to the film! What bull. Just another bad story with Dracula in almost a cameo. Because of the outstanding way Lee portrays the Count we want to see him more, not less. No, we don't want him to break off in his own TV series like the Fonz, just more to say and do in these flicks. Another commenter says he is killed by a Hawthorne bush. Wrong! First, Dracula follows Van Helsing's shouts like a naive child. "Count Dracula...Over here!!!" He walks into the bush and is subdued, then Van Helsing stakes him. A Hawthorne bush, now? At this point vampires in general have become so weak that they can't handle daylight, garlic, running water, or thorny plants. Do they run away when you show the cross sign with 2 index fingers?

This movie is simply...bad! The evil biker guards were skinny wimpy looking British blokes with white fur lined jackets, and are neither intimidating nor effective. Van Helsing's granddaughter is unconvincing as her character meddles in his affairs for no good reason. "Why sometimes I think she knows more about the occult than I myself do..." says Van Helsing. Yeah.....riiiiiight. The opening sacrifice scene features the most skinny and unattractive nude female ever in movies. The choice is puzzling considering all the beautiful, voluptuous and talented Hammer Horror actresses they had. I'm thinking of going back to Borders and getting my $5.99 back for the bad quality of both the DVD and the content. Take it from a big Dracula/Lee expert....this one sucks! 3 stars thanks to Lee and Cushing, without them it would have been a 1.