Critic Reviews
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Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
Dracula A.D. 1972 isn't a great movie. But it is an undeniable hoot to watch especially if, like the Count, "you've got an eye for London's hot pants... " And who doesn't, really?
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
This isn't a terrific rationale for another horror flick but, given Miss Beacham's ability to heave, and her bosom to heave with, it will have to do.
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, Time Out
Crass Hammer trash.
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Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Rather awful, this is one of the sadder entries in the Dracula canon.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A modern version of Dracula that is the weakest in the Lee-Hammer series.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
A sad way to watch a formerly great series enter its death throes.
Read all 6 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Actually a pretty good vampire movie for a movie with the year in the title. Lee is brilliant as Dracula as usual, even if the rest of the cast is bad. It's not great, but I enjoyed it.
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If nothing else, Dracula A.D. 1972 will prove that Hammer was on its way out and its best days were behind it. Unfortunately, this movie isn't much more than gimmicky fodder for some MST3K-styled razzing. Christopher Lee is barely passable despite the fact that he helped define… More
If nothing else, Dracula A.D. 1972 will prove that Hammer was on its way out and its best days were behind it. Unfortunately, this movie isn't much more than gimmicky fodder for some MST3K-styled razzing. Christopher Lee is barely passable despite the fact that he helped define the role of Dracula and Peter Cushing almost seems age inappropriate in his role once he goes into vampire hunting mode. There's plenty of foxiness to drool over but if these guys are supposed to be teenagers I'm supposed to be Jesus' understudy. The blatantly modern setting (which I understand is supposed to be the point) makes Dracula A.D. 1972 not feel like a Hammer movie. Some effects were neat, but since when the hell can you kill a vampire with regular, tap, non-holy water?
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I don't know what all the fuss is about here. People seem to really loathe this entry, but I really dig this update of the Hammer Dracula series and I think it was about time some fresh ideas were thrown in there. Yeah, there's that cheesy 70's jazz soundtrack, but it… More
I don't know what all the fuss is about here. People seem to really loathe this entry, but I really dig this update of the Hammer Dracula series and I think it was about time some fresh ideas were thrown in there. Yeah, there's that cheesy 70's jazz soundtrack, but it adds a lot of charm and sets it beautifully in the era in which it was produced. I particularly enjoyed a lot of the camera work and angles by Dick Bush. I'm actually shocked it got made at all, to be honest. It's so over-the-top and modernized, I can't believe that Cushing and Lee had anything to do with it. Though, in those days, these men were working actors, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Not that that detracts from the film - it's just a marvelous and crazy film that most people hate but I particularly enjoyed it.
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een reading the other comments of this film For some reason over the years various film critics and horror film book authors have been unjustly mean to this film. I mean you have Peter and Christopher together which is always a good start. A couple of smashing birds ( note the… More
een reading the other comments of this film For some reason over the years various film critics and horror film book authors have been unjustly mean to this film. I mean you have Peter and Christopher together which is always a good start. A couple of smashing birds ( note the 70's lingo ) in Stephanie Beacham and Marsha Hunt and an absolute corker in the very sexy Caroline Munro ( who of course also advertised Lamb's Navy Rum , did a Bond Movie and perhaps the pinnacle of her career appeared as one of the hostesses with Ted Rogers and Dusty Bin on 3 2 1 ) I love the music too all very 70's. Christopher Neame's death scene was superb as was the final fight between Pete and Chris ( with that crazy 70's music once again ) is very well staged. Although Mr. Cushing looks as he's going to collapse going up and down those spiral steps.
The hilarious 70's costumes on the blokes look like they might have once belonged to Richard O'Sullivan in Man About the House. One chap spends the whole film dressed as some kind of 'kinky' monk.
The crazy 70's lingo is very funny and the group at the beginning at the party 'Stoneground ' well I'm just lost for words.
All in all I think this film is an absolute corker. If you haven't seen ignore the negative comments sit down and enjoy it.
I think it's a corker.
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The problem with putting Victorian-period character in modern day settings is that they look terribly out of place, especially when they're put against '70s youth counter-culture.
The story starts out with a great chase, that ends with Lee's Dracula impaled on a… More
The problem with putting Victorian-period character in modern day settings is that they look terribly out of place, especially when they're put against '70s youth counter-culture.
The story starts out with a great chase, that ends with Lee's Dracula impaled on a broken carriage wheel, and Cushing's Van Helsing expiring from his wounds. A passerby comes upon the scene, and scoops up some of Dracula's ashes and signet ring. Fast forward to 1972. The passerby is still with us, now having assumed the name Johnnie Alucard (is there anyone who doesn't know what that spells backwards?), and Cushing is back, this time as one of Van Helsing's descendants. After a happinin' "freak out" at an uptight society party, Alucard and his hippie buddies (including Van Helsing's buxom niece) decide to throw a black mass. What they don't realize is that Alucard intends to bring back Dracula from the dead, so it comes as a surprise when Alucard pours blood all over Caroline Munro's ample busom. And who should show up, but Dracula himself. Far out, man.
The big problem with this movie is that Dracula just does not work in the context of hippies. Dracula can work in modern day (witness The Satanic Rites of Dracula, the next in the series), but not when he's surrounded by all of these hippies.
Despite the logical shortcomings of the movie, it's always fun to see Lee and Cushing working together (although it seems as though Lee was having himself written out of these Hammer movies). If you're a fan of Lee or Cushing, watch this just for them.
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This is a much better film than it sounds. Lee and Cushing play their famous roles perfectly and the 1970s background gives new life to an almost worn out Hammer tale.
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I did not watch the films in order from the 4 pack DVD set of Hammer Dracula films a friend let me borrow. I watched this one immediately after Horror of Dracula and it makes a good companion piece. I kept thinking that this is what would happen if Dracula reappeared in swinging… More
I did not watch the films in order from the 4 pack DVD set of Hammer Dracula films a friend let me borrow. I watched this one immediately after Horror of Dracula and it makes a good companion piece. I kept thinking that this is what would happen if Dracula reappeared in swinging '70s London. It starts with another great action scene of Van Helsing (Cushing) and Dracula (Lee) fighting in 1870s London. Then we jump to 1970s London with some funny, groovy music over the opening credits. There is a group of young friends who always look for new wild experiences. Though truth be told, many are not into really far out adventures. Neame plays Johnny Alucard a new addition to the group and a "follower" of Dracula. Some people may remember that Lon Chaney Jr. in Son of Dracula also used the moniker Alucard. Johnny leads the group in a ceremony to bring Dracula back to life. Lee doesn't have much dialog, but it works. He is still menacing in the role fourteen years later. Dracula is less than thankful to his "follower" and bodies start piling up. One of the twenty-somethings in the group of friends is Jessica (Beacham), who happens to be the granddaughter of a descendant of Van Helsing. This new professor Van Helsing is appropriately played by Cushing. It is great to see the two actors together again. This time Van Helsing gets token help from an Inspector (Coles), who as expected in these modern times is more skeptical of the supernatural. The urban environment that Cushing races through trying to track down Dracula is interesting. The swinging '70s slang is way entertaining, man. The blood and sex has been ramped up as audiences by this time have come to expect it. A fun horror pic with a satisfying cat and mouse game.
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Classic vampire horror with Christopher Lee as Dracula, who is risen from the grave by a seemingly unhinged man in London in 1972. Dracula makes his way through a group of young friends but has his heart set upon the grand daughter of the famous vampire hunter, Van Helsing. This is… More
Classic vampire horror with Christopher Lee as Dracula, who is risen from the grave by a seemingly unhinged man in London in 1972. Dracula makes his way through a group of young friends but has his heart set upon the grand daughter of the famous vampire hunter, Van Helsing. This is pretty fun for the most part with inappropriately upbeat music in the death scenes!
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It gave me a penchant from big brunettes in open topped dresses...Dracula was a god!
Read all 9 featured audience ratings
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