Dracula A.D. 1972

Dracula A.D. 1972 (yep, 1972)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Alan Gibson

Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Neame, Michael Coles

From: Hammer

Whoops; I got wrapped up in other things last night so it wasn't until today that I finished this review. As is, I did not see anything last night so I won't be back until tomorrow night. Now, onto my opinions of this:

So yeah, I got wrapped up in other things last night so it wasn't until now that I completed this review. While this was not quite the movie I was expecting-or hoping for, really-I can still say that this is fine, although Peter Cushing and his strong role went a long way. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably label this a disappointment.

The movie starts off with Dracula and Van Helsing (Lawrence, to be specific) fighting on top of a moving carriage. There is no word on how the Count came back after the end of Scars of Dracula and the series timeline is also screwed up, but anyhow... both die. The rest of the movie is 1972 London. We follow a group of young adults who are what Hammer thought hippies were. Turns out, it was not too different from what Hollywood thought of hippies at the time... meaning, it's not an accurate portrayal. It's charmingly goofy.

The de facto leader is a guy who acts like he just saw A Clockwork Orange and he loves Alex so he decides to act like Alex. His name is actually Johnny... Alucard. Yes, they borrowed that from the 40's film Son of Dracula. With such a name, of course he'd love to do a Black Mass ritual to try and bring Dracula back. Yes, it is hippies who are doing this; see what I mean about “squares” not understanding that subculture? Luckily, Lawrence's grandson Lorrimer (also Cushing) is around and as he's studied this stuff for decades, he think he'll be able to stop this threat. Unfortunately, Lorrimer's granddaughter Jessica is one of the hippies...

This does not always go full hog and all the way with this idea. We should have seen the wackiness of Dracula walking around the swingin' city of early 1970's London. Could you imagine him in Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus? Instead, he never leaves an old abandoned church. Most of the hippies are goofballs and for me it was hard to take whiny pissant Johnny Alucard seriously. Still, I can say that this is fine. I did laugh at those goofball hippies and both Cushing's presence and his strong role were a big help here; he added a lot of class and his acting skills made you invested in this silly story. If not for him, then I'd have to settle for laughing at such things as Jessica Van Helsing's guy pal driving an ugly green/yellow Citroen Dyane (a version of the famed 2CV) that had a loud purple/gold pattern on the sides and back for some reason... or enjoy seeing Caroline Munro in a supporting role. Lorrimer and his rock-steady solid presence even made the low violence/gore quotient palpable.

I have heard only dire things about The Satanic Rites of Dracula; it'll be a long while before I see that and plus, I've had enough of vampire movies in general for a decent amount of time.

Oh, and I know he's a veteran British cinematographer, but I couldn't help myself... I laughed when I saw that the Director of Photography for this movie was named “Dick Bush”. That is all.