Taste the Blood of Dracula

Infobox Film
name = Taste the Blood of Dracula


caption = Promotional poster for "Taste the Blood of Dracula"
director = Peter Sasdy
producer = Aida Young
writer = Anthony Hinds
Bram Stoker (character)
starring = Christopher Lee
Geoffrey Keen
Gwen Watford
music = James Bernard
cinematography = Arthur Grant
editing = Chris Barnes
distributor = Hammer Studios
released = May 7, 1970
runtime = 91 min (cut, USA)
95 min (uncut, UK)
country = UK
language = English
preceded_by = "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave"
followed_by = "Scars of Dracula"
amg_id = 1:48704
imdb_id = 0065073

"Taste the Blood of Dracula" is a British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions and released in 1970. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, and was directed by Peter Sasdy. The film is marketed with the tagline "They taste his blood and the horror begins!"

Plot synopsis

In a prologue, an English business man named Weller travelling in Eastern Europe comes across Dracula as he dies in "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" and collects his dried-up blood, his cloak and his ring

Three English gentlemen - Hargood, Paxton and Secker - have formed a circle ostensibly devoted to charitable work but in reality they indulge themselves in brothels. One night, they are attracted by a young man who burst into the brothel and was immediately tended to after snaping his fingers, despite the brothelkeeper's objections. The gentlemen are informed that he is Courtley, who was disinheirited for celebrating a Black Mass.

Hargood, hoping for more intense pleasures, wants to meet Courtley, who promises them experiences they would never forget but insists that they come to see Weller and purchase from him Dracula's ring, cloak and dried-up blood. They all meet with him at an abandoned Church for a ceremony during which he puts the dried-up blood into goblets and mixes it with drops of his own blood, telling the gentlemen to drink. As they refuse, he drinks the blood himself, screams and falls to the ground. As he grabs the gentlemen's legs, they begin to kick and beat him with increasing vigour - not stopping until Courtley dies, at which they flee in disgust at what they have done. While the three return to their respective homes and get on with their lives, Courtley's body, left in the abandoned church, transforms into that of Dracula, who vows that those who have destroyed his servant will be destroyed.

Dracula begins his revenge with Hargood, who has begun to drink very heavily and also treats his daughter Alice harshly, furious that she continues to see Paul, Paxton's son. Dracula takes control of Alice's mind via hypnosis and as her drunken father chases after her, she picks up a shovel and kills him. The next day, Hargood is found dead and Alice is missing. The police inspector in charge of the case, refuses to investigate Alice's disappearance.

At the funeral, Alice hovers around behind bushes and manages to speak to Paul's sister Lucy, telling her to meet her that night. As they enter the abandoned church that night, she tells her to meet "someone". Lucy assumes that the someone to be Alice's lover but instead is greeted by Dracula, who turns her into a vampire.

With Hargood dead and Alice and Lucy missing, Paxton fears that this is all Courtley exacting revenge and, together with Secker, visits the abandoned church to look for Courtley's corpse. They find the corpse missing but also discover Lucy, asleep in a coffin, with marks on her throat. Secker realizes she is a vampire and tries to stake her, but Paxton shoots him in the arm, forcing him to flee. While Secker stumbles his way home, Paxton weeps over his daughter's body. When he finally develops the courage to stake Lucy himself, Lucy awakes and Dracula appears. Alice and Lucy pin Paxton down and drive a wooden stake through his heart.

That night, Secker's son Jeremy sees Lucy, his lover, at his window and comes down to see her. She sinks her fangs into his throat, enslaving him while Dracula watches. The enslaved Jeremy then stabs his father to death on Lucy's orders. On the way back to the church, Lucy begs for Dracula's approval but instead he simply drains her dry and leaves her truly dead. Back at the church, he prepares to bite Alice but the cock crows and he must go back to his coffin.

As the dead body of Secker is found, the police inspector quickly deduces that Jeremy hated his father and stabbed him in a rage. Paul, who is also present, disagrees but the inspector refuses to listen and hands him over a letter - "ramblings of a lunatic" as he calls it - in which Secker instructs Paul on how to fight the vampires.

Paul, following Secker's instructions, makes his way to the abandoned church. He finds Lucy's drained body floating in a river en route. At the church, he bars the door with a large cross and clears the altar from the Black Mass instruments, replacing them with the proper materials. He calls for Alice, who appears together with Dracula. Paul confronts Dracula with a cross but Alice, still entranced, disarms him. She seeks Dracula's approval but he dismisses her. He tries to leave but is prevented by the cross barring the door. His way back is also barred by a cross which an angry and disappointed Alice had thrown there. He climbs the balcony and begins to throw items at Paul and Alice. However, he accidentally runs into stained glass window containing a cross. He breaks the glass but suddenly realizes the changed surroundings and hears the Lord's Prayer recited in Latin. Dazzled, Dracula falls unto the altar and dissolves into dust.

Cast

*Christopher Lee as Count Dracula
*Geoffrey Keen as William Hargood
*Linda Hayden as Alice Hargood
*Peter Sallis as Samuel Paxton
*Anthony Corlan as Paul Paxton
*Isla Blair as Lucy Paxton
*John Carson as Jonathan Secker
*Martin Jarvis as Jeremy Secker
*Ralph Bates as Lord Courtley
*Roy Kinnear as Weller
*Michael Ripper as Inspector Cobb

Trivia

*Vincent Price was originally pegged to play one of the dissipated British gentlemen, but when the budget for the film was cut, Price could no longer be afforded and was released from his contract.
*The scenes of the gentlemen's visit to the local brothel were heavily edited on the film's original release. They are fully re-instated on the DVD release.
*In its original release, it was rated GP (General Public), but when it was re-released to DVD it was rated R for sexual content/nudity, and brief violence.

External links

*imdb title|id=0065073|title=Taste the Blood of Dracula
*amg movie|id=1:48704|title=Taste the Blood of Dracula
*rotten-tomatoes|id=taste_the_blood_of_dracula|title=Taste the Blood of Dracula