The Brides of Dracula

Hammer film alert. The lovable Brits and their famous Pinewood studios deliver a horror film with substance. Unlike, their American or Italian counterparts, Hammer films are full of character development and typically a strong storylines which accompany the gore and mayhem. The Brides of Dracula fits this mold perfectly.

On the flip side, this is exactly why Americans falls asleep to British PBS shows – too much character development can be a bore. This film fits somewhere in the middle. Not incredibly boring but not incredibly entertaining either.

The real Dracula is dead but lucky for the audience a left over Dracula (David Peel) is forced to live in captivity. Think Super Mario Bros. – ‘Sorry but the real princess is in another castle.’ This extra Dracula is chained down by his mother, but this has no impact on him wearing fancy suits and looking quite dapper.

A young woman (Yvonne Monlaur) is invited to the castle for a sleep over and discovers the extra Dracula chained up. Dracula, of course, throws a pile of charm at the girl and she unlocks him – thus releasing evil back into the world.

The pacing slows down a bit after the initial charismatic escape. Dracula takes the young girl as his fiancé and slowly kills off almost everyone in town. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) arrives with the intention of doing what Van Helsing always does – kill vampires. Cushing plays his role with much gusto and charisma

The atmosphere is ripe with gothic imagery and dreamlike qualities that only Hammer could create during this time period. The emphasis on red and dark tones worked well to help create the vibe. The score is rich and profound adding depth to many scenes and enhancing the moods. A fair amount of gore is present, used in non-gratuitous manner.

A well worn out story told by the masters of classic gothic horror films with just enough charm to make it worth a view for any horror fan. I liken Hammer films to books you are forced to read in school. At the time you read the book you may not care for it, but later on in life you reminisce fondly on them.

Snore Factor ZZZ

IMDB 1960