Dracula: Prince of Darkness

Original title: Dracula, Prince of Darkness

1966
Approved
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

11K

YOUR RATING

Christopher Lee in Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

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Vampire Horror Horror

Ten years after his demise, Count Dracula is resurrected by his servant and preys on four unsuspecting English tourists who have taken shelter in his castle.Ten years after his demise, Count Dracula is resurrected by his servant and preys on four unsuspecting English tourists who have taken shelter in his castle.Ten years after his demise, Count Dracula is resurrected by his servant and preys on four unsuspecting English tourists who have taken shelter in his castle.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

11K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Alan
(as Charles Tingwell)

Thorley Walters

Ludwig

Philip Latham

Klove

Walter Brown

Brother Mark

George Woodbridge

Landlord

Jack Lambert

Brother Peter

Philip Ray

Priest

Joyce Hemson

Mother

John Maxim

Coach Driver

Peter Cushing

Doctor Van Helsing
(archive footage)
(uncredited)

Alistair Dick

Monk
(uncredited)

Lee Fenton

Monk
(uncredited)

George Holdcroft

Monk
(uncredited)

Director
- Terence Fisher
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
In the scene where Dracula is being "resurrected" from a coffin into which his ashes have been spread, from blood dripping down from a poor victim (provided by Klove) Dracula is made to "manifest himself" over a period of about a minute. This was achieved by overlapping "dissolves" of a series of twelve locked-down camera shots, involving first the ashes, then a skeleton, then some body-fat on the skeleton, et cetera, along with swirling mist, until we finally perceive the full form of Dracula. He doesn't appear fully dressed as is usually the case. The shot moves to outside the coffin and a bare arm reaches out. The vampire's clothes were seen in earlier scenes awaiting his return.

Goofs
At the beginning of the film, the dead girl being carried in the funeral procession is breathing heavily.

Quotes
Alan Kent: You forget about all of this in the morning, you'll see.
Helen Kent: There'll be no morning for us.

Alternate versions
The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC with edits to blood flows during the resurrection scene, a closeup shot of Helen's staking, and a shortening of the seduction scene where Dracula pulls a hypnotized Diana towards his chest wound. Video releases featured the cut cinema print though all widescreen DVD releases feature the fully uncut version.

Connections
Edited from Horror of Dracula (1958)

User reviews128

Review

Featured review

The count plays second fiddle to a no nonsense priest.

Christopher Lee first put on his max factor fangs for Hammer productions in 1958. The result was the marvelous technicolor classic "The Horror of Dracula". Despite the film's awesome success it took Hammer eight years to convince Lee to do a sequel. The result was the far less heralded but nearly as good "Dracula-Prince of Darkness".

Taking place ten years after the vampire king's demise at the end the of "Horror", "Prince of Darkness" concerns two British couples traveling through central europe on a sight seeing venture. Ignoring warnings to avoid Castle Dracula the foolhardy band enter the vampire's abode and must battle for their lives against the recently resurrected count. One couple escapes and finds sanctuary at the nearby monastery of the Abbott of Kleinberg.

Enraged, Dracula pursues to reclaim his lost prey. Unfortunately, the master bloodsucker must first contend with the Abbott who knows how to deal with toothsome troublemakers.

Lee is his ghoulishly macho self in the title role. Hammer pinup girls Barbara Shelly and Suzan Farmer are appropriately pretty. Peter Latham is effective as the count's creepy man friday, Klove. But the real star of this outing is Andrew Keir as the Abbott, Father Sandor. Tough, gruff, witty and righteous Sandor is a every bit as worthy an opponent for the count as Van Helsing was in the original.