Review of Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) by Thomas L — 11 Aug 2011

This flick breaks the record for number of red flag moments in the first 20 minutes. And by red flag, I mean warning signs that this is gonna be a tough one to get through. 70's rock blares on the soundtrack as we are introduced to Johnny Alucard (a bit patterned after Alex from A Clockwork Orange) - a no good punk who convinces his friends to participate in a ritual of black mass to reincarnate the prince of darkness.

Christopher Lee stars as Dracula and Peter Cushing is VanHelsing's son in this trendy English flick that tries to modernize the Hammer Dracula motif. Lee and Cushing try their hardest to keep some hope alive in a series that was obviously losing it's relevance.

The soundtrack is straight up awful - it belongs in a blacksploitation flick, not a Hammer horror film. Though parts of this are laughable and entertaining, it is really missing that gothic flair so present in the other Dracula flicks.

And when did vampires start dying is plain water, when did that become a rule? Not without it's moments, Dracula 1972 AD is far from being a worthy addition to the Hammer saga.