Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Chris W

  
  It's a typical Hammer film, filled with great gothic set deign and art direction, cleavage (and a bit of actual boobs), and of course some blood and gore, all strung together by a lurid and ridiculous plot. Picking up where its predecessor Dracula Has Risen From the Grave left… More
  It's a typical Hammer film, filled with great gothic set deign and art direction, cleavage (and a bit of actual boobs), and of course some blood and gore, all strung together by a lurid and ridiculous plot. Picking up where its predecessor Dracula Has Risen From the Grave left off, the ending of that film is slightly retconned so as to have Dracula's demise witnessed by a guy travelling through the countryside who decides to take the Count's cloak, dried blood, and ring. Later on, that guy, Weller, sells Dracula's things to three bored wealthy English gentlemen with an interest in the occult, and, after drinking some of Dracula's blood, the three guys beat Weller and leave him for dead. He transforms into Dracula, who, upset over his servant being killed, seeks revenge on the three men. This is a nutty plot, but it does have some neat ideas. Unfortunately, the technical apects and the ideas can't ave a film if the execution is boring and subpar. I liked individual moments, but overall found this to be a bore. Heck, Dracula is barely in it, and Lee says mayeb 10 words the whole time. Of course, since he's Lee, he's got a commanding presence, even though he rarely speaks. He's a high point, and it's a hame he's got limited screentime. You can't say that Hammer made uninteresting films, that's for sure. It's just a bummer that they weren't always very competantly made or as entertaining as they should have been, which is definitely the case here.

• Bruce B

  
  A Hammer Films Production thats is over the top, With Christopher Lee who said maybe 10 words during the whole movie, but still one of the best vampire movies of the seventies I have seen, And Linda Hayden put herself over the top as a beautiful women of the seventies. A 4 star film… More
  A Hammer Films Production thats is over the top, With Christopher Lee who said maybe 10 words during the whole movie, but still one of the best vampire movies of the seventies I have seen, And Linda Hayden put herself over the top as a beautiful women of the seventies. A 4 star film with a good story line.

• AJ V

  
  Just like all the other Dracula movies from Hammer starring Lee. Lee is a great Dracula, but I always wish we could see more of him in the movies, including this one. The story is somewhat similar to Stoker's original story, but not as good. This movie is really predictable… More
  Just like all the other Dracula movies from Hammer starring Lee. Lee is a great Dracula, but I always wish we could see more of him in the movies, including this one. The story is somewhat similar to Stoker's original story, but not as good. This movie is really predictable and kinda stupid, but it's okay.

• Cassandra M

  
  A trio of seemingly respectable, well-to-do Victorian gentlemen (played by Geoffrey Keen, Jonathen Secker, and Peter 'more cheese, Gromit?' Sallis) form a secret club in order to experience the wildest thrills that life has to offer. However, their limited imaginations mean… More
  A trio of seemingly respectable, well-to-do Victorian gentlemen (played by Geoffrey Keen, Jonathen Secker, and Peter 'more cheese, Gromit?' Sallis) form a secret club in order to experience the wildest thrills that life has to offer. However, their limited imaginations mean that they soon become bored, and so they decide to take their lead from disgraced aristocrat and practising Satanist Lord Courtley (a marvellously slimy Ralph Bates), who suggests that they attempt a ritual to bring the infamous Count Dracula back to life. When the three men panic during the ceremony, and beat Courtley to death, they flee the scene, not realising that Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) has indeed returned from the dead, and now seeks retribution for the killing of his loyal acolyte. Although Hammer's Dracula movies rarely strayed far from their well-worn formula-Dracula lives; Dracula kills; Dracula dies-their lush Gothic atmosphere, fine ensemble casts, and sumptuous cinematography usually meant that, even when the script was somewhat lacking, there was still plenty to enjoy. Such is the case with Taste The Blood Of Dracula, which features a so-so story and a surprisingly unremarkable turn from Lee (who is forced to deliver some particularly dodgy dialogue), but manages to keep fans entertained with some gloriously camp performances from the rest of the cast, some fine direction from Peter Sasdy, and loads of Hammer's trademark Gothic trappings. Plus, this entry in the series also stars the gorgeous Linda Hayden-one of my favourite actresses from the late 60s/70s-whose presence makes it a must-see as far as I am concerned. Her transformation from wide eyed innocent to slutty vamp slave (with cleavage on display, naturally) is reason enough to seek this one out!

• Tim S

  
  This is not the greatest entry in the series, but it has some of the best performances and some of the goofiest ideas floating around in it.

• Lee ?

  
  My personal favourite of the Hammer Dracula movies. Moving things to Victorian London with the lavishly built sets gives things a better atmosphere. A good musical score, a bit of blood and nudity and a fast-moving plot all contribute to an entertaining nights viewing. It's silly… More
  My personal favourite of the Hammer Dracula movies. Moving things to Victorian London with the lavishly built sets gives things a better atmosphere. A good musical score, a bit of blood and nudity and a fast-moving plot all contribute to an entertaining nights viewing. It's silly and cheesy but fun.

• Wahida K

  
  Christopher Lee Dracula Movies make me giggle.

• David L

  
  Although certainly not the best sequel to the Hammer Studios' ingenious Dracula series starring Christopher Lee, Peter Sadsdy's "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" is still a good entry to this wonderful cycle. The original Hammer Dracula of 1958 (aka "Horror Of… More
  Although certainly not the best sequel to the Hammer Studios' ingenious Dracula series starring Christopher Lee, Peter Sadsdy's "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" is still a good entry to this wonderful cycle. The original Hammer Dracula of 1958 (aka "Horror Of Dracula") is, of course, unmatched, and some of the sequels, such as "Prince of Darkness" (1966) and "Scars Of Dracula" (1970) are, in my opinion, better than this movie, but "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" certainly has its very own allure and some great,creepy elements that Hammer fans should love to see, such as devil worshiping, black masses and possession. The film begins with A man kicked out of a stagecoach wakes up in the middle of the forest, hearing some terrible, eerie screams, he starts running in fear, just to witness Count Dracula die another death, this time impaled on a cross. A few years later a bunch of rich gentlemen are bored with their lives, and willing to spare no costs or efforts to get a bit of excitement... needless to say things go bad for the rich gentlemen from here."Taste The Blood Of Dracula" has the typically great Hammer photography and, once again, an eerie soundtrack (allthough some of the other Dracula films had better scores), and all the other typical Hammer elements. Christopher Lee is once again wonderfully eerie in his role, and most the supporting performances are also good. This is one of my favorite Hammer films, but it definitely has a few weaknesses (which I won't give away, since it would mean giving away parts of the plot), but it is overall another great entry to the Dracula series, and Hammer fans should not not miss it.

• Dr Blood  

  
  The motivation for Dracula's revenge is the weak link in this tale and Christopher Lee is reduced to only a few lines overall.

• Adam M

  
  Great Dracula tale from Hammer. In this one, three church going, well off family men escape from their families on sunday nights to indulge in some decadance including burlesque dancing and stuff. On one of these nights the men are disturbed by a man who claims they can live this life… More
  Great Dracula tale from Hammer. In this one, three church going, well off family men escape from their families on sunday nights to indulge in some decadance including burlesque dancing and stuff. On one of these nights the men are disturbed by a man who claims they can live this life forever if they sell their souls to the devil. This involves bringing back to life "the most evil man of all time", Count Dracula. They eventually agree and begin the ritual but pussy out at the last minute, kill the man and run off but that doesn't stop Dracula returning back to life to get revenge on the three men that killed what was his servant. Definately one of the best Hammer Dracula's i've seen with a good cast, decent story, a fit woman(Linda Hayden) and some gore. Highly recommended for vamp fans.

• Anthony V

  
  This film is everything you see a Hammer horror film for: blood, sex and some twisted offbeat situations. This is the kind of film mommy forbade you to watch when you were younger and still remains a guilty pleasure.

• Barry L

  
  These films helped me fall in love with brunettes at a very early age...Complete twaddle but absolutely brilliant at the same time....

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