Dracula Has Risen From the Grave Year: 1968 Director: Freddie Francis Written by: John Elder Threat: Vampire Weapon of Choice: Cross Based upon: none Color/B&W/3D: Colour Language: English Country of Origin: UK IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
Horror of Dracula
The Brides of Dracula
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Scars of Dracula
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Dracula A.D. 1972
The Satanic Rites of Dracula

Rish's Reviews
First off, great title.
Second off, great movie.
A year has passed since Count Dracula's reign of terror brought to an end. But as tyranist's seven identical twin daughters have taught me, evil always comes back for more. When two priests attempt to cleanse Castle Dracula of its undead influence, they accidentally release Dracula from his icy grave. Using a rather unusual choice for a human servant, Dracula takes his show on the road to a little (German?) village, where the only businesses in town are a pub and an inn. And those are one and the same.
The production value of these films is consistently impressive, and the sets just can't be matched. Sure, some of the special effects could be better achieved today, but I'm certain the locations and sets would cost a fortune.
I commented to tyranist, and I don't know that he feels the same way, that this was easily the best of the Hammer Draculas we saw, with a very strong story, likable characters, and twists I didn't see coming.
Amazingly, they took what was a potential weakness (no Peter Cushing) and turned it into a major strength of the film. Because Van Helsing isn't there to lead the way, we don't know who will have the strength to thwart the vampire's plans. Will it be the pious Monsignor, the weak-willed small town priest, the curly haired young student, the jolly barman? Well, I guess it could be the amazingly hot, virginal preacher's niece, but experience has taught me that the Count tends to eat girls like this for breakfast.
After the last movie, where Dracula hissed, growled and seethed, but never spoke, I found it a great deal more interesting when he was a thinking, reasoning, plotting man. I'm unsure why he didn't speak in Prince of Darkness, but there's a new Hammer book coming out I'd like to pick up that gives background on all the films they produced. It's sure to tell me the answer. And If I weren't a greedy, self-centered sod, I'd buy you one as well.
If I didn't mention it before, the girl in this movie was really, really attractive.
I don't know how they could possibly improve on this one, unless it would be to make the blood look less like pink tapioca pudding. But hey, that may be a selling point for some.
I'd Recommend It To: friends, little kids, pet store employees, nuns, passersby on the street, etc..
Posted: October 8, 2007

The tyranist's thoughts
I wish I'd been alive when Hammer films were regularly playing in the theatres. As it stands I have to look back over the years wondering how great it would have been to hit the cinema on a Saturday night to take in one of the Dracula flicks. Now, Rish and I can only grab the DVDs and try to cover them as we go. At least, with DVD we have better versions than we had in the days of VHS.
So Christopher Lee is back in this one and is just as menacing as ever. He makes a great vampire, even though the vampires are rarely the focal point of the action in these flicks. Unfortunately for me, I suspect that if Mr. Lee ever asked me for a small favor, let alone tried to mesmerise me, I'd be in his thrall. And he was really great here. In fact, the entire cast did well. So many times I expect these movies to be nothing more than melodramas, but they are usually well scripted and well acted.
I'm not entirely sure I agree with Rish's assessment that this is the best of the Hammer Dracula's so far as I have a soft place in my heart for the first, Horror of Dracula, but it was certainly very good and is a notch above the other sequels. I can only imagine it goes down hill from here.
The other truly notable thing about this production was the sets. I've always loved the sets for Hammer's films, but here they worked perfectly and set up the action as well as portraying a sense of place and time. I'd give an awful lot to live in some of the places I've seen in a Hammer film.
Anyway, I can ramble more or just recommend this one heartily. Especially if you are any kind of Hammer or Lee fan. Well worth the time spent.
Posted: October 8, 2007

Total Skulls: 7

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?