It seems as though Vincent Price week is out, and Hammer week is in at CotF, and as I've seen very few Hammer films, I'm determined to see more. This particular film was one I had planned on buying..... Until I found someone had uploaded the whole thing to Youtube, and even though I would have been much happier and more comfortable in my room, I still got a kick out of this one......
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave is the fourth Dracula film in the Hammer timeline. The story focuses on a young atheist Paul. He is criticized for his views by his girlfriend's family, and the film has a religious undertone to it. Anyways, Dracula holds dominion over the local Priest who does his bidding. No one would ever suspect him. The storyline is familiar (to put it nicely) enough when Dracula obviously wants Paul's love interest for his own use and eventually Paul must confront him and inevitably emerge victorious.
Most of the movie is just backstory for what the viewer really wants. It takes a while to really get going after the film-opening kill. The biggest disappointment is the elusive Christopher Lee who's scenes are far too limited, and we get even less dialogue from him (guess Hammer was trying to save a few bucks, or Pounds rather). He gives a powerful, screen dominating performance, but hasn't much to work with. The movie does however clearly show he is a woman-beater. Even still the violence is few and far between which might leave some horror hounds disappointed. No matter, when it comes down to it, you can easily kill an hour and a half with this one and come out with a positive attitude.
Once again, the item that helps elevate yet another horror film: The sets. In particular the brilliant, beautiful rooftop sets. They are to die for. The atmosphere has the trademarks we expect, so again we have a film that contains the bare essentials that more often than not make up for other flaws. Another positive note to retain is that the character's seem a little more intelligent and logical than usual, and the film is not nearly as contrived as it could be. Other than that there really isn't too much to say about this film. It's about as good as Scars of Dracula, if not maybe a little better and though it comes up short in some departments, it's generally an ok film I could watch once every October until I croak. THREE STARS OUT OF FIVE.
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