Review of Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) by David L — 29 Oct 2008

Although certainly not the best sequel to the Hammer Studios' ingenious Dracula series starring Christopher Lee, Peter Sadsdy's "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" is still a good entry to this wonderful cycle. The original Hammer Dracula of 1958 (aka "Horror Of Dracula") is, of course, unmatched, and some of the sequels, such as "Prince of Darkness" (1966) and "Scars Of Dracula" (1970) are, in my opinion, better than this movie, but "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" certainly has its very own allure and some great,creepy elements that Hammer fans should love to see, such as devil worshiping, black masses and possession.

The film begins with A man kicked out of a stagecoach wakes up in the middle of the forest, hearing some terrible, eerie screams, he starts running in fear, just to witness Count Dracula die another death, this time impaled on a cross. A few years later a bunch of rich gentlemen are bored with their lives, and willing to spare no costs or efforts to get a bit of excitement... needless to say things go bad for the rich gentlemen from here."Taste The Blood Of Dracula" has the typically great Hammer photography and, once again, an eerie soundtrack (allthough some of the other Dracula films had better scores), and all the other typical Hammer elements. Christopher Lee is once again wonderfully eerie in his role, and most the supporting performances are also good. This is one of my favorite Hammer films, but it definitely has a few weaknesses (which I won't give away, since it would mean giving away parts of the plot), but it is overall another great entry to the Dracula series, and Hammer fans should not not miss it.