THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA (1973) (WAC Blu-ray Review)

THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA (1973)

Label: Warner Archive 
Duration: 88 Minutes
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Alan Gibson 
Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Joanna Lumley, Michael Coles

A few short years after Dracula A.D. 1972 director Alan Gibson put the final nail in the coffin of Hammer's Christopher Lee-starring series of vampire films with a strange one, a spy-fi version of the story with the bloodsucker again resurrected by a satanic-cult in contemporary 70's London. Dracula enlists the cultists, lead by the Chin Yang (Barbara Yu Ling, Hardware), to help him carry out his ultimate diabolical plan, to unleash a bacteriological weapon that will wipe out all of humanity! 

The Secret Service first stumbles onto the apocalyptic-plot when one of their agents escapes a rural research facility, reporting on some occult activity, including a black mass and a bloody cock-killing. He dies shortly after, but the Secret Services jumps into action, teaming-up with Scotland Yard's Inspector Murray (Michael Coles) who returns from the previous film. Murray calls in Peter Cushing's Van Helsing to consult on the the strange case. It's Van Helsing who in turn discovers that a scientist colleague of his, Julian Keeley (Freddie Jones, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed), is in the service of Dracula, having perfected a virulent strain of the bubonic plague which the Prince of Darkness plans to unleash it and destroy all of mankind. 

Also returning from the previous film is Van Helsing's granddaughter Jessica, now played by redhead Joanna Lumley (Curse of the Pink Panther), who gets the chance to play the character more as a serious vamp-hunter this time around, at least more so than her party-girl predecessor was allowed to. 

The mix of apocalyptic plague, the satanic cult, bloodsucking and spy-fi thriller is a strange Hammer cocktail, but it does manage to strike a more dire tone than the previous entry. Christopher Lee gets even less screen time this time around, but he gets in quite a few words, but there's not much blood-sucking.

Peter Cushing is again driven and fills the screen with his presence, and though his screen time is limited so to does Christopher Lee.  The film loses its way with the espionage and spy stuff though, there's a fun opening scene of the Secret Service agent escaping the research facility with a motorcycle wiping out the front gate, some spy gadgetry, and some sniper action, but I found it a bit of an ill fit for a Hammer vamp flick. 

What does work for me was the final confrontation between Van Helsing and Count Dracula, taking place at the research facility as it goes up in flames, the red-lit lensing looks marvelous, flames everywhere, a plague infected man in the throws of an agonizing death, and a final battle in the woods nearby with Dracula entangled in a hawthorn bush is grade-A Hammer horror.

The wonderful finale doesn't quite make-up for the films other shortcoming, notably the lack of Dracula, the anemic amount of bloodsucking, and lack of proper Gothic atmosphere, but there is a return topless women, which was missing from the previous film, so it at least has that going for it. Not as bad a film as you may have been lead to believe, but also not a film befitting of the final Christopher Lee-starring vampire film for the Hammer legend.  

Audio/Video: The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) arrives on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive with a new 2K scan, presented in 1080p HD and framed in 1.78;1 widescreen. It looks lovely, grain is well-managed, fine detail is pleasing and the colors are vibrant and well saturated, with good contrast and strong blacks. 

The lone audio option on the disc is English DTS-HD MA Mono with optional English subtitles, dialogue is clean, defined and
well-balanced with the score from composer John Cacavas (Horror Express), which is a more traditional horror score than the swinging 70's score from Dracula A.D. 1972, it has a nice presence in the mix.  

The single-disc release comes in a standard Blu-ray keepcase,with a one-sided sleeve of artwork, the same artwork appears on the disc. The only extra on this release is an HD theatrical trailer for the film. Again, my only niggle would be that I wish Warner Archive would spring for at least a film historian commentary for these vintage Hammer films.

Special Features:
- Trailer (3 min) HD

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) is a lesser entry in the Hammer filmography, but that's not to say I didn't still have fun watching it. The mix of spy-fi, satanists and vampirism doesn't always mix easily but that finale is pretty great.  

The new transfer from Warner Archive is  impressive, regardless of how you feel about the film there's no denying the excellent transfer,if you're a Hammer film this is well worth picking up, and there's even more classic Hammer Horror on the way from WAC in late-December with Horror of Dracula (1958)!

MORE SCREENSHOTS FROM THE BLU-RAY

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DRACULA A.D. 1972 (1972) (WAC Blu-ray Review)

DRACULA A.D. 1972 (1972)

Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: PG
Duration: 96 Minutes
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Alan Gibson
Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Christopher Neame, Caroline Munro, Stephanie Beacham, Michael Coles

Warner Archive hace cracked open the crypt of Hammer Horror and the first blood-sucking release is the groovy 70's update Dracula A.D. 1972! The film is set in modern 70's London but opens with a prologue set in 1872, it's a brief but action-packed piece of work with Count Dracula (Christopher Lee, The City of the Dead) and his arch nemesis Van Helsing (Peter Cushing, Corruption) dueling atop a speeding horse carriage through the woods. It crashes and the bloodsucker is impaled by the spoke of a broken carriage wheel, the dying Van Helsing manages to plunge the wheel further into the vamp's heart, watching him slow-dissolve into smoldering dust before succumbing to his own injuries. 

A hundred years later in the then modern year of 1972 we find Dracula being resurrected by a descendant of one of Dracula's disciples, the tongue-in-cheekily named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame, D.O.A.). Brought back to the undead through an overwrought black magic ritual performed in a decrepit old church in the heart of London. It's a campy blood ritual starring Caroline Munro (Slaughter High) as the centerpiece.

With the vintage vamp is back in action drained bodies begin showing up around town,  drawing not only the attention of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Murray (Michael Coles, Satanic Rites of Dracula) but also a descendant of the famous vampire hunter, Lorrimer Van Helsing (also played by Cushing 'natch). Dracula sets his sights on making Lawrence's hippy, fun-loving granddaughter  Jessica (Stephanie Beacham, And Now The Screaming Starts), hoping to have his revenge on his do-gooder nemesis by making her his newest vampire bride! 

Notably this was the first re-teaming of Peter Cushing's Van Helsing and Christopher Lee's vampire since Horror of Dracula (1958), a mod-world reunion that is certainly cheeky in places. I don't think it was made that way, but the swinging London scene has aged with humor, stuff like the Austin Powers series has probably forever tainted this era in that respect.

However, despite hating this movie as a kid, I sort of love it these days, from the wah-wah inflected grooviness of the score, to the fun performs from American hippy-rockers Stoneground, there's a lot of goofy things to love about it. Plus we have excellent turns from Lee and Cushing who are just fantastic. I will say that having Lee's bloodsucker confined to the church is a limiting thing, but he still manages a wonderful performance with his signature presence, as does Cushing who carries the film along.

Christopher Neame is pretty great as the wicked Johnny Aculard, I love the scene of him breaking some a Staffordshire porcelain figurine at an aristocratic party the hippies have crashed at the start of the film, and when he says "dig the music kids!" during the black magic ritual, stuff like that is why the film is regarded as campy, but I think it's more tongue-in-cheek than outright camp. Sadly Caroline Munro is here and gone, I do wish she had a more major role to play, but it is a memorable one, and Stephanie Beacham is damn decent as Van Helsing attractive blonde descendant, nicely filling the role and the prerequisite plunging neckline duties.  

Highlights for me would be the carriage scene from the prologue, the deliciously overwrought black magic ritual, and pretty much anything happening inside the church. Despite this being set in the mod 70's the church scene have a that familiar Hammer Gothic atmosphere we all love so much. There's also a fun scene of Van Helsing batting Aculard that is well-done, but also a bit comical, with the vampire hunter warding off the newbie vamp the reflected light from a vanity mirror, causing him to accidentally falls into a shower where is killed by the sunbeams from a skylight. Dracula A.D. 1972 is a film that's been maligned by Hammer fans for years, myself included, but watching it with fresh eyes I think it's kind of an under appreciated gem of the Hammer canon, the humor and modern setting is an adjustment, but not an awful one in my opinion.

  
Audio/Video: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) arrives on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive with a new 2K scan from an interpostive, the image is impeccable. Free of blemish and sporting a filmic fine grain veneer that brings out some lovely detail. The garish 70's colors looks well saturated, with the dated fashions and decor looking wonderful, with deep blacks and solid contrast levels. This a HD lovely presentation of this maligned late-era Hammer entry, the sort of spiffy upgrade that might make one reconsider their thoughts on the film. 

Audio comes by way of English 2.0 DTS-HD MA Mono with optional English subtitles, it's crisp and clean, well-balanced. The fun but dated wah-wah score from Mike Vickers (At Earth's Core) sounds terrific here, as does the performance from 70's rockers Stoneground, including the awesome "Alligator Man" which always brings a smile to my face.

The single-disc release comes in a standard Blu-ray keepcase, the one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original key art, an excerpt of the same artwork appears on the disc. The only extra on this release is an unrestored widescreen HD theatrical trailer for the film that will certainly make you appreciate the new scan. I do wish that WAC would spring for at least a new commentart track on their releases, there's a lot to be told about these Hammer classics, and they're deserving of a decent commentary track at the very minimum, but the new A/V presentation is luscious and much appreciated. 

Special Features
- Theatrical Trailer (3 min) HD

I've come around on this film quite a bit, I loathed in in my youth, I thought the anti-Gothic mod-70's London setting was awful, but now I can appreciate it for how fun and lively it is. Cushing and Lee are top-notch, and there's actually quite a bit of Gothic flavor here for those looking for it, but there's also some 70's lunacy and dated lingo from th era, but it all adds up to a damn decent Hammer entry. Very pleased to see it get the lush HD presentation it deserves from Warner Archive.