Horror

Dracula A.D. 1972

- The Count is back, with an eye for London's hotpants . . . and a taste for everything

Set in London in the early 1970's, supposedly for teen thrills, Johnny organises a black magic ceremony in a desolate churchyard. The culmination of the ritual, however, is the rejuvenation of Dracula from shrivelled remains. Johnny, Dracula' s disciple, lures victims to the deserted graveyard for his master's pleasure and one of the victims delivered is Jessica Van Helsing. Descended from the Van Helsing line of vampire hunters her grandfather, equipped with all the devices to snare and destroy the Count, confronts his arch enemy in the age-old battle between good and evil.

Release Date : 1972-06-26

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Hammer Film Productions

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles : Dracula 7: Dracula A.D. 1972

Cast

Character Name : Count Dracula

Original Name : Christopher Lee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Professor Van Helsing

Original Name : Peter Cushing

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jessica Van Helsing

Original Name : Stephanie Beacham

Gender : Female

Character Name : Johnny Alucard

Original Name : Christopher Neame

Gender : Male

Character Name : Inspector

Original Name : Michael Coles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gaynor

Original Name : Marsha Hunt

Gender : Female

Character Name : Laura Bellows

Original Name : Caroline Munro

Gender : Female

Character Name : Anna

Original Name : Janet Key

Gender : Female

Character Name : Joe Mitcham

Original Name : William Ellis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bob

Original Name : Pip Miller

Gender : Male

Character Name : Greg

Original Name : Michael Kitchen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective Sergeant

Original Name : David Andrews

Gender : Male

Character Name : Matron

Original Name : Lally Bowers

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mrs. Donnelly

Original Name : Constance Luttrell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charles

Original Name : Michael Daly

Gender : Male

Character Name : Police Surgeon

Original Name : Artro Morris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Crying Matron

Original Name : Jo Richardson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hippy Boy

Original Name : Brian John Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hippy Girl

Original Name : Penny Brahms

Gender : Female

Reviews

talisencrw

@talisencrw

2021-06-23

Yes, I know I'm giving this WAY TOO MANY marks, but, hey, I love all of the clashes between Sir Christopher Lee's 'Count Dracula' and Sir Peter Cushing's 'Van Helsing' (perhaps the greatest characterizations of those two characters, over a series of films, in cinema), and the then-contemporary (now almost 45 years ago!) update certainly is intriguing. So sue me.

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

A misjudged mess. Good grief! Hammer Horror Films were very much in a flux come 1972, so in a bold (yet ultimately ill conceived) attempt to move with the times and grasp a new audience, they turned to old faithful to resurrect their hopes - Count Dracula. Pic starts with an exciting prologue in 1872, where we see Dracula (Christopher Lee) and Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) battling to the death. We witness Drac's ashes buried near to the grave of Helsing, and then it's fast forward to 1972... It must have seemed like a good idea at the time - letting loose one of the most iconic monsters in movie history in contemporary London - but it never works, lacking horror vibrancy and very much coming off as a pastiche of former glory. A rather excellent resurrection section of film aside, pic is just too quirky and kitsch for its own good, more laughable than anything remotely scary. Other major problems hurt the possibility of enjoying it on some sort of parodic level. Dracula never actually does much, confined to a small location (again!), so not really tearing up contemporary London as it happens, while the 1972 "youths" who form the core of the narrative are actually out of date themselves! Something further compounded by the quite dreadful musical score, which should have been confined in a locked safe a decade earlier. Some of the more notable Hammer touches try to battle there way through the murk, but it's a losing battle, the company's visual identity lost amongst a daft script and cartoonish direction. It has fans, and viewing it now some decades later one can at least embrace it with a modicum of endearment, but it's a poor pic and signals the start of a sad era for a great production company. 4/10