…no, not the Marvel AVENGERS of today but the original British THE AVENGERS from the late 1960s. It’s no wonder that Christopher Lee didn’t want to do this this movie after the abomination that was DRACULA A.D. 1972 but fortunately he was persuaded and this final film in the Hammer Dracula series is a fitting end. Director Alan Gibson, who had worked on Hammer’s TV series JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN and done A.D. 1972, brings a tight, no-nonsense sensibility to the proceedings this time around which benefits the film enormously. There are no period sets, the background lighting is nothing special, and the photography is no better than it should be but the film moves along at a brisk pace and the performances, especially by Peter Cushing in his last go as Van Helsing, are fully committed.
This time around the screenplay is a good one creating a background that makes sense for Dracula being in the modern world. That his principal followers turn out to be a scientist, a politician, a general, and one of England’s largest landowners is a clever way of showing us that there’s more than one type of vampire who prey upon the living. Adding henchman on motorcycles not only livens things up, it gives the film a crime thriller and espionage overtone. Of course there are vampire girls in various states of undress (and fangs of various sizes as well) to be dispatched along with an evil head disciple who is there to do Dracula’s bidding. And then there is Dracula himself, the ultimate CEO of a large corporation lording over the proceedings.
There are a couple of new twists added to the traditional vampire lore that include a fear of silver (but what about Dracula’s silver ring at the end?) and the hawthorn bush which provided Christ with his crown of thorns. In addition to Cushing and Lee, Michael Coles (a dead ringer for David Warner) returns as Inspector Murray from the previous film and Joanna Lumley is a welcome replacement for Stephanie Beacham as Van Helsing’s granddaughter Jessica. Veteran character actor Freddie Jones makes the most of his one big scene. His description of what his new strain of bubonic plague can do is unbelievably chilling. It seems that Dracula has gathered these people together to bring about Armageddon so that even he can die permanently.
The film had a rather difficult history. In addition to Lee not wanting to do it at first (with the working title of DRACULA IS DEAD AND WELL AND LIVING IN LONDON one can see why), Warner Brothers decided not to release it in America. It played in London on a double bill with BLACULA for a brief time and didn’t reach the U.S. for 4 years when it was released by a much smaller distributor as COUNT DRACULA & HIS VAMPIRE BRIDE (beware DVDs with this title as they offer a cut version of the film). I haven’t seen this low budget Alpha video release but at least they got the title right. The Anchor Bay double bill with DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS is the way to go as you get 2 for 1 although there is now a Blu-Ray available. A must see for fans of Hammer’s Dracula series.
The Capsule Critic 