Customer Reviews

The Satanic Rites of Dracula

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This film is awfully tired in many respects, but the core idea -- that Dracula wants to die and take the whole world with him -- is interesting. The relocating of the Dracula story to '70s England doesn't work, as it robs the film of the gothic atmosphere that Hammer used to create so vividly. The spy movie stuff that's weirdly injected into the story is silly, and dates the film badly (in fact it probably looked dated when it was released). At the centre though is another sterling performance from Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, and his confrontation with Dracula is memorable. Overall, it's better than the previous film "Dracula A.D. 1972", but it still ends the Hammer Dracula series with a whimper.

You might only think you wanna watch this movie... but you don't have to.

Unless you really... really really want to see all 7 Draculas from Hammer Films starring Christopher Lee, you can "forget" to watch this one.

On paper, the idea of having Dracula in an office building and being tired of not being either alive nor dead and deciding to end it all is quite good, but the movie is slow, the back story about the cops trying to find the individuals responsible for the "human sacrifices" and kidnappings is boring and Dracula doesn't appear until 38 minutes in, and seems to pop out for no apparent reason. The finale is kinda well done, altho like all Hammer movies, the ending just seems rushed and thrown at you in 2 minutes... A weird bureaucratic end to a great saga.

Now... on to the more "meaty" part. Chances are that is you are reading this, you are curious and wanna invest 87 minutes of your life in episode VII of Vampire Wars. Well, Count Dracula and his Vampire Brides, aka The Satanic Rites of Dracula, aka Dracula A.D. 1973 (I know!) is now public domain, and you'll understand why when you see it!

The movie being public domain implies that anybody can take any copy of the movie, package it and sell it with whatever they want on the cover or in the movie, so depending on what "edition" you get, you might get a master, a VHS-rip or a DVD-rip of a ripped VHS, "digitally mastered", which means nothing else than "ripped using a computer".
I got both this edition:Count Dracula and His Vampire Brides A widescreen transfer, looks kinda good, even on an HDTV, which is pretty rare for public domain. Bonus features are mini-micro-biographies of Lee and Cushing

and this one: The Satanic Rites Of Dracula Looks awful and ugly, like a bad transfer overcompressed, even on an old 24" cathodic TV, altho it has the original title with the copyright mention of Hammer, the video and sound quality is not worth it.

Don't know about the "deluxe" and "widescreen special edition", but since it's public domain, chances are that some cheap DVD company labeled their fake master like this to sell that bull**** The movie is not that good anyway... If it were, Hammer or Warner Bros. would've included it on the 4 movie-set release or the "Hammer Collection" DVDs.

My best advice, if not to keep as far as possible from this vampire footnote, is to spend the least amount of money possible on it. Your time is worth more than 5$ for 87 minutes of that cheap entertainement.

BTW: Christopher Lee still is God!

This is the last of the Christopher Lee Dracula films. It is not hard to see why. The plot is more of an espionage story that inserts Dracula into it. There are some interesting ideas but Dracula only pops up towards the end of the film to add some excitement. London was the location for much of the film but it looks cold and deserted. A strange and sad exit for the greatest actor to ever play Dracula - Christopher Lee. Peter Cushing is, as usual, terrific as Van Helsing. Too bad they didn't have a better script to work with.

It's London in the 1970's, and Scottish Yard investigators think they have undiscovered a case of vampirism. Unbelievable, it becomes terribly apparent that the culprit may be none other than dracula him self, secretly plotting to unleash a fatal virus upon the world. this movie is only 87 minutes and it seems like it takes at least 4 hours to end! this movie makes no sense and the only reason why i gave it 2 stars is because it has vampires in it!

Not worth watching unless you like silliness. Dracula gets hold of a viral plague that can wipe out the Earth's population? So, if he unleashes this plague, who's going to be left for him to feed on?

Dracula belongs in the 1800's, not the 20th century. Even having Professor Van Helsing in this film does not help matters. Thank goodness Christopher Lee knew what he was doing when he decided to not make another of these movies. It was time to hang it up for sure.

An all-time Hammer turkey to avoid all together.

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.

This has to be the worst of the Lee-Cushing Hammer Draculas. One has to wonder if they had a film - lame - and they said - HEY lets put Lee in his cape in here and we will make money. Idiots! Sorry, I love Lee, Cushing and the other Dracula films but Hammer was in it for the bucks here and nothing else. The fact it was released under various titles tells you something, Satanic was one, but there was "Dracula is Dead and Well and Living in London" or uninspired "Count Dracula and his Bride". I mean that is ALL they could come up with?

Sequel to A.D., charming Joanna Lumley takes over from Stephanie Beacham as Van Helsing's granddaughter. Cushing is back as well. So bad it's sort of good...lol. Count Dracula decides to wipe out mankind with a super-plague so he can finally die? Well, I am sure they thought it sounded good on paper.

Of interest to Lee-Cushing fans, but others will yawn.

Hammer films is famous for producing some of the most effective vampire films ever. This, however, is not one of them.

Our protaganist this time around centers himself amidst a group of supposed witches in a coven. One finds out shortly what the purpose of this group is for and what Dracula intends to use their services for.

In short, this makes for a very poor plot and low budget effects, we only see Dracula approach one female victim and even then we are spared the horror of her fate.

For reasons that are only purley historical was this released on DVD. Hammer fans will be disappointed by this installment, and one can see why that studio shortly thereafter ceased making films.

OK, first let me say that I love this movie! Count Dracula decides to wipe out mankind with a super-plague, just so he can finally die. Just thinking about it makes me drool! He has a host of eeevil helpers, including chained-up vampire babes in the basement! Lots of fanged action! There are also satanic snipers, a mad scientist, motorcycle-riding hitmen, a naked sacrifice, etc.,etc., etc. Not to mention the fact that both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are awesome! Now, I got that out of the way to warn folks that this DVD has another title. It is also known as "Count Dracula And His Vampire Brides" (I think it should've been called "Dracula: Apocolypse" or something). .... Just thought you'd like to know...

A perfect combination of a vampire movie & Satanic thriller, Christpher Lee makes another memorable appearance as the fiend of the Night. There is quite a plan behind this particular world domination. Dracula recognizes the power of viruses, thereby commissioning a "defrocked" scientist to develop another 'black plague' to decimate the earth of its living inhabitants.

The dark disciples involved are essentially 'The 4 Horsemen of The Apocalypse' who will bring about mass destruction.

Blood Rituals, forboding ceremonies, in which the hoary hosts of Hell are summoned, & a black altar upon which a nude virgin reposes ever so seductively, at The High Priestess' bidding, a beautiful round black Baphomet table, around which the cultists gather is present here --- in sort of a "Knights of Satan" manner.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula is an 'occult'-classic that should be in every Satanic horror fan's collection.