Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Taste The Blood Of Dracula

By james  Nov 11, 2004

Pros: Good script and cast

Cons: Sidelines Lee

Three Victorian thrill-seekers dabble in black magic for kicks and find themselves reviving no other than the prince of darkness himself - Count Dracula. TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA is the third sequel to Hammer's 1958 blockbuster DRACULA (US: HO...RROR OF DRACULA). It marked the directing debut of Hungarian born director Peter Sasdy and he was fortunate to have a fairly strong screenplay by Hammer producer and company director Anthony Hinds (under his usual pseudonym John Elder). The script tends to sideline Christopher Lee as was usually the case in later Dracula films (much to the actor's dismay), but it skillfully depicts the hypocracy of Victorian society with three Victorian pillars of the community preaching religion and discipline to their families but commiting the ultimate sin against christ behind closed doors. The cast is excellent featuring Lee, Linda Hayden (fresh from shooting BABY LOVE), John Carson, Geoffrey Keen (later 'M' in the Bond movies) and Peter Sallis a versatile all-round character actor.As some other users have correctly pointed out, the US version was heavily cut, but it has just been reissued on DVD in the UK with much of the missing footage put back, so it is now possible to enjoy TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA pretty much as it was intended to be seen. Read more Less