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The Satanic Rites of Dracula

The Satanic Rites of Dracula

List Price: $29.99
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Stay away from this turkey!
Review: This is it, the very last Christopher Lee as Dracula film to appear in the U.S. Take Dracula, biological warfare, political plots, Satan worship, and biker gangs. Mix them together with limp writing, stilted acting, and painful music and you get quintessential 1970's kitsch. While few of the Lee/Cushing films will ever be dramatic masterpieces, this is possibly the worst of the bunch. It is very definitely the worst horror film I've ever seen.

But that's really the point, isn't it. Christopher Lee has built a career out of a toothy grin and 20 lines per film. Peter Cushing is the archetypical overly serious destroyer of creatures of the darkness. We watch them to laugh at our own fears, not to dwell on them. The kind of film watching that is best as a group of friends watching the movie as they chat and make fun of it. A true cultural ritual.

The only painful part of the film is watching a pair of actors who have brought much entertainment to the world at what is very clearly the end of their careers. Somehow, you have to think that they deserve better than this. Old, tired and totally typecast, it would have been nice to have their last film be something more meaningful. Oh well, I did like the biker's sheepskin jackets.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: If You Can't Be Good Be Very, Very Bad
Review: This is it, the very last Christopher Lee as Dracula film to appear in the U.S. Take Dracula, biological warfare, political plots, Satan worship, and biker gangs. Mix them together with limp writing, stilted acting, and painful music and you get quintessential 1970's kitsch. While few of the Lee/Cushing films will ever be dramatic masterpieces, this is possibly the worst of the bunch. It is very definitely the worst horror film I've ever seen.

But that's really the point, isn't it. Christopher Lee has built a career out of a toothy grin and 20 lines per film. Peter Cushing is the archetypical overly serious destroyer of creatures of the darkness. We watch them to laugh at our own fears, not to dwell on them. The kind of film watching that is best as a group of friends watching the movie as they chat and make fun of it. A true cultural ritual.

The only painful part of the film is watching a pair of actors who have brought much entertainment to the world at what is very clearly the end of their careers. Somehow, you have to think that they deserve better than this. Old, tired and totally typecast, it would have been nice to have their last film be something more meaningful. Oh well, I did like the biker's sheepskin jackets.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not the best from Hammer
Review: This isn't the best of Christopher Lee's Hammer Draculas, but then again this is one of the last - so they've run out of ideas (see for e.g. Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires - a mix of vampire & kung-fu movie).

I'd only say you should see this after seeing earlier, & better Hammer horror films, such as Taste the Blood of Dracula, or The Vampire Lovers.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent horror movie
Review: This movie is a sequel to "Dracula 1972 AD". Peter Cushing (Van Helsing), Christopher Lee (Dracula) and Michael Coles (Inspector Murray) reprise their roles here. Joanna Lumley replaces Stephanie Beacham as Van Helsing's daughter, Jessica. Overall, I thought this was a decent horror movie, with an interesting plot. One thing I'd like to add. My DVD copy was distributed by a company called Platinum Disc Corporation. A few times throughout the movie, they insert their company logo in the bottom right of the screen. It's not a big distraction, but I don't expect to see commercial ads during a movie that I paid for. I guess that's the tradeoff for such a cheaply priced DVD. Finally, many people have criticized the ending as lame. Well, it's not terribly dramatic, but Dracula has been killed so many times, I guess the producers were looking for something new.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hammer at it's Best
Review: This was by far the best of Hammer's Dracula series. Chirstopher Lee and Peter Cushing square off for the final time as Dracula and Van Helsing and both end their seven film relationship with a bang. With a plot that contains more than just basic revenge this movie could hold the interest of a person that hates vampire films. Sure the movie contains a loophole or two but it is still and enjoyable film. I highly recommend you buy this movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Worst of Hammers Dracula Films
Review: What can I say that I bet hasn't been said about Satanic Rites of Dracula that hasn't been said before. By now Hammer had run way out of steam with there Dracula films, and Christopher Lee wanted badly to get away from the role. While the film isn't the worst Dracula/Vampire film ever made, it in no way adds up to the other Dracula films that Hammer made. As a matter of fact it's sad that in the same year Hammer's Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter came out, which in my mind could have saved Hammer and there vampire films for good, giving them a new hero and line of vampire films to play with, this film and the VERY VERY BAD Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires had to come along and put the nail in Hammer's coffin. Oh well, at least for the last time we get to see the always great Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing play roles that they by now had down pat, even if the lines and set up are campy as hell. Watch this one just for a good laugh to see how low Hammer Films had gone from it's heyday in the 50's and 60's to the low points of the 70's. This films gets 2 stars just for the fact that it has Lee and Cushing in the film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A disappointing treatment of a great Hammer title
Review: While Anchor Bay must be applauded for their efforts in re-mastering and releasing a major chunk of the Hammer catalogue, I found their treatment of this title rather disappointing, especially when compared with my un-remastered copy.

To begin with, this video is described as being in 'Widescreen' format, but this is misleading. While it does appear in a widescreen aspect ratio, this has simply been achieved by lopping the top and bottom of the print and thus resulting in a loss, rather than gain, of the original image.

Secondly, while the picture is much more vivid than previously, it is marred by constant interference which seems to be directly related to the audio track.

Surely, if Anchor Bay are going to market this collection as 're-mastered', then they should make the effort to do it properly.

On a positive note, the inclusion of theatrical trailers for both the US and UK releases was a real treat.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Final teaming of two great stars enhances a riveting story
Review: Works on every level that DRACULA A.D. 1972 did'nt. Vastly under rated, This up-dated setting has a weary Count Dracula bent on ending his own exiestence as well as that of humanity by releasing a deadly mutated form of Bubonic Plague. Fast paced and featureing a seldom seen way to keep Dracula powerless in the eerie climax set in a dark forest. Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and Christopher Lee as the Lord of the Un-Dead, who could ask for anything more? Superb transfer adds to the it's enjoyment. My only reason for not giving the movie 5 stars is the Lack of the Quality in the Movie Soundtrack. Why was'nt James Bernard used?


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