The Satanic Rites of Dracula Blu Ray Review (Warner Archive Collection)
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (aKa Dracula vit toujours à Londres & Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride) is a 1973 horror film directed by Alan Gibson (Dracula A.D. 1972 , Hammer House of Horror, Goodbye Gemini, & Tales of the Unexpected). It was produced by Hammer Film Productions. It was originally titled “Dracula is Dead…and Well and Living in London”. It was the eight Hammer film featuring Dracula & the final one to star Christopher Lee as Dracula for the legendary studio. It’s a direct follow up to Dracula A.D. 1972. In 1974, Secret Service agent barely escapes from an English country house where satanic rituals are celebrated. He informs his bosses that 4 high profile members of society including a a peer, a general & a famous scientist are all involved in this dangerous cult supposedly lead by Chin Yang (played by: Barbara Yu Ling from The Camp on Blood Island & Hardware). Colonel Mathews (played by: Richard Vernon from Goldfinger, The Tomb of Ligeia, & The Pink Panther Strikes Again) brings in Inspector Murray (played by: Michael Coles from Dracula A.D. 1972, Murder, Underworld Informers, & Sweeney!) to investigate.
He suggests that they bring in Professor Lorrimer Van Helsing (played by: Peter Cushing from The Abominable Snowman, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Brides of Dracula, & Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors) for additional help. Secret Service secretary ends up kidnapped & runs into the prince of darkness himself Dracula (played by: Christopher Lee from The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Mummy, & The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll). Agent Torrence (played by: William Franklyn from City After Midnight, Breakout, Pit of Darkness, & Paradise Island) & Van Helsing’s granddaughter Jessica (played by: Joanna Lumley from The Wolf of Wall Street, Corpse Bride, Trail of the Pink Panther, & Curse of the Pink Panther) join the investigation. Van Helsing goes to his scientist friend Professor Julian Keeley (played by: Freddie Jones from Wild at Heart, Dune, Krull, & Firestarter) looking for clues which leads him to visit the mysterious D. D. Denham. This sets off a crazy chain of events & a diabolical plan is revealed! Can they stop these unknown monsters before it’s too late????
The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a title that you would expect to be the darkest & most brutal entry from the Hammer Dracula franchise but that’s not true with this sequel. It might be the most unique chapter in the history of Dracula because it has a completely different vibe to it compared to the others. It’s more of a spy thriller compared to being a Gothic type of horror film. Hammer was trying to capitalize on the popularity of James Bond at the time so they produced a hybrid feature hoping to get more attention worldwide from it. One of my favorite things about this follow up was that several characters/actors came back from the previous Dracula A.D. 1972 project. So it had a real solid supporting cast to back up the great performances from Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing. Joanna Lumley was good as Jessica Van Helsing but I wish the original actress could have returned for the role instead of being replaced by someone else. Not a fan of when that happens for a franchise & it’s usually not as good as the original. The character was much different here compared to the other feature. The twist & last act was great but it felt a little rushed, they should have gave it some more time. Hammer delivered a quality production with this & tried to bring some fresh air to the series after so many similar outings. I definitely appreciate what they did with The Satanic Rites of Dracula & it stands out on it’s own. RECOMMENDED for fans of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Spy films, Hammer films, & the Dracula universe!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Archive! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer from a new 2K scan is definitely the best this film has ever looked on home video! It blows away all the previous releases including the overseas blu ray. The color correction & restoration for this is very impressive. It’s almost like seeing it for very first time! The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is a major improvement from the past releases. The dialogue is very clean & the music here sounds awesome on the track. The Satanic Rites of Dracula will feel like a whole new experience with these upgrades. It also has English SDH subtitles. The only extra on this disc is the “Theatrical Trailer”, it’s been remastered in high definition. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
