The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Director:

Alan Gibson

Writer:

Don Houghton (writer)

Release Date:

October 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The King of the undead marries the Queen of the Zombies

Plot:

In London in the 1970s, Scotland Yard police investigators think they have uncovered a case of vampirism...

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Good Versus Evil | Dracula | Secret Cult | Sequel

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Count Dracula
Peter Cushing	...	Prof. Lorrimer Van Helsing
Michael Coles	...	Insp. Murray
William Franklyn	...	Torrence
Freddie Jones	...	Prof. Julian Keeley
Joanna Lumley	...	Jessica Van Helsing
Richard Vernon	...	Col. Mathews
Barbara Yu Ling	...	Chin Yang
Patrick Barr	...	Lord Carradine
Richard Mathews	...	John Porter
Lockwood West	...	General Sir Arthur Freeborne
Valerie Van Ost	...	Jane
Maurice O'Connell	...	Hanson
Peter Adair	...	Doctor
Maggie Fitzgerald	...	Vampire girl

Also Known As:

Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride (USA)
Dracula Is Alive and Well and Living in London
Dracula Is Dead... and Well and Living in London
Rites of Dracula
Dracula braucht frisches Blut (West Germany) [de]
Dracula och djävulsdyrkarna (Sweden) [sv]
Dracula vit toujours à Londres (France) [fr]
Ritos Satânicos de Drácula, Os (Brazil) [pt]
Ritos satánicos de Drácula, Los (Spain) [es]
Satanici riti di Dracula, I (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:R (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Australia:M | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film and TV Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Marc Zuber replaced Ian Dewar.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Jessica is attacked by the female vampires in the basement of the sinister cult house, the brunette vampire menacing her from the rear is missing an important bit of anatomy- vampire fangs.

Quotes:

Count Dracula: [Speaks to Van Helsing] In the days to come, you will pray for death... release...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Christopher Lee in a cloak....part 7

The last film in Hammer's Dracula-cycle certainly isn't the best in the series but it remains fascinating to see how the legendary horror studios continue to bring variation to the old theme. After all, Dracula once started out as a subversive myth and in this film he's used like a metaphor to generalize "new" forms of evil such as diseases, the apocalypse, greed and fraud. The elaboration of "Satanic Rites of Dracula" isn't always as professional as it should be, but – for Hammer fans – there are more than enough elements to enjoy, including Cushing & Lee in their finest form and a grotesquely violent climax. Compared to most Hammer films, however, this title contains less action and a lot more talking. The setting in present time is something you support or not…but even if you don't really like the combination of count Dracula and luxurious skyscrapers, I think you should still appreciate the efforts Alan Gibson is making to uphold the vile image of our bloodsucking friend. The Satanic Rites of Dracula is the last film in the series and definitely worth checking out if you're fan of the Lee-Cushing team or just Hammer in general.