Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

i must have seen a different film!!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This movie is so bad it doesn't deserve much of a review. The characters are so unbelievably stupid I could not bring myself to care if they died. Darwin told us that the weak must die in order for the stronger to prevail. If that is true, then these characters should have never been born. But, seeing as how they did appear, their deaths would have been a matter of "thinning the herd."

If you manage to overlook the continuity issues and rather large plot holes, you can have some fun with this installment of the Hammer Dracula series. The continuity problems begin right from the start if you consider how "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" ended, but if accepted as a stand alone film I guess it doesn't make too much difference. Still, I had to wonder why the Count would have wound up on the side of a mountain in a glass topped coffin to make his first appearance. His revival did look cool though, utilizing the blood dripping off the injured priest's (Ewan Hooper) forehead, which if you noticed, disappeared and reappeared again at the door of Dracula's castle.What I think intrigued me the most in the story was the way Maria (Veronica Carlson) made her way over to Paul's room and back atop the pub, walking along rooftops and never once exhibiting a fear of heights. That method of transportation didn't seem to bother anyone else either, anyone out for a bit of fresh air simply hopped out of a window and found a convenient ledge to walk out on.I was a little surprised to see that the traditional stake through the heart didn't work very well this time around, but as soon as I saw that iron cross from the castle door go over the side, I knew it telegraphed Dracula's eventual demise. Actually, it seemed pretty easy the way Paul (Barry Andrews) defeated the Prince of Darkness, a neat double whammy coming into play with the fall on the cross and a rising sun finale. I wonder if the shadow of the Castle touching the village church in the evening was ever a problem again.

As far as the Hammer Dracula films go, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is one of the better ones. For me, Horror of Dracula is still the best of the series and one of Hammer's classics.Hammer films are always well-made, and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is not an exception at all. If anything, the production values are one of the film's biggest strengths, with the beautiful photography, wonderfully moody red colour filtering and lighting and sumptuously evocative Gothic sets(with some jaw-dropping rooftop scenes, an adventurous move for Hammer) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave looks great. It's not just that it looks good, but the production values create a great amount of atmosphere, the use of reds really give off a moody eeriness that was just perfect and a morbid tension and sense of dread is created throughout. Freddie Francis, despite being more successful as a cinematographer, does a more than competent job directing(much better and far more adventurous than in his previous Hammer directing effort The Evil of Frankenstein), he directs with excellent style and while the story is not always as engrossing as it should be he gets the atmosphere of the film down-pat.James Bernard's music score booms thrillingly, without being too obvious or too much, and gives off a really creepy vibe. It does rouse the spirits as well and is beautifully orchestrated, so it is definitely more than just a loud-sounding score. The story is not the most consistently executed, but the atmosphere created is brilliant with an incredibly suspenseful and powerful final third. The film also starts off stirringly, and has a number of shocking moments, like the hanging girl, Dracula's visually striking and quite chilling if a little too easy resurrection, Dracula's reaction to the cross and Dracula's demise. The characters are not the most well-developed but they do maintain interest and enough is done to allow one to empathise with them. There are some great performances here too with not an obvious weak link. Barry Andrews is appealing as the hero and Barbara Ewing and Veronica Carlson are sexy and compassionate in their roles, Ewing especially brings a lot of fire and heart to a role that could easily have barely registered if not executed right. Rupert Davies is very memorable, bringing great authority and demeanour without being hammy and Ewan Hooper manages to bring depth to a purposefully weak-willed character. Christopher Lee dominates however, even with reasonably diminished screen-time and with not a lot of dialogue (more than in Dracula: Prince of Darkness, where he doesn't even speak) he is superbly chilling as Dracula, even the look of Dracula here is enough to induce goose bumps.Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is let down by the script, which is very formulaic and vague with an over-reliance on turgid melodrama in the mid-section, there are some really interesting ideas here but the film doesn't do enough with some of them. The story does get a bit dull and repetitive in some of the middle act of the film. In fact a lot of the first half was in need of more momentum, there are a few sloppy continuity errors(i.e. Dracula's reflection in the water) and the attempted staking was a powerful and striking part but also got a little ludicrous at the same time.All in all, a good entry in the Hammer Dracula series and one of the better sequels, but also could have been a little better. It has likened as 'a minor triumph of style over content'(not sure whether this is intended as praise or not), and while I do agree that the technical aspects fare much better than the writing, the latter while not the best is hardly disastrous either. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Has anyone ever played Dracula as such an angry vampire the way Christopher Lee has? When a monsignor "cleanses" Dracula's castle and leaves a cross at his front door, the vampire rises and wreaks havoc on everyone he encounters. After hypnotizing a cowardly priest and doing away with a sassy barroom wench, he goes after the monsignor's nubile niece. Though off camera for much of the time, Lee dominates the movie. He's evil incarnate, a maniac out for blood (literally). The direction by Freddie Francis is great, all high pitched and very colorful. The supporting cast includes hammy Rupert Davies as the monsignor, Veronica Carlson as his niece, Barry Andrews (as the dull hero), Barbara Ewing and Ewan Hooper. Norman Bacon plays an idiot man- child who alerts the townspeople of Dracula's return. Arthur Grant provided the high gloss cinematography and the rousing music is by James Bernard, who scored Hammer's first Dracula film 10 years earlier.