[6]

Christopher Lee dons the fangs for the second time in this direct sequel to Hammer’s original Horror of Dracula. Dracula is resurrected when his loyal servant (Philip Latham) lures four stranded travelers, two brothers and their wives, to the castle. After one brother (Charles Tingwell) is killed for a blood sacrifice ritual, Dracula rises and sinks his teeth into the man’s wife (Barbara Shelley). The remaining brother and wife (Francis Matthews and Suzan Farmer) escape and team up with a grizzled priest (Andrew Kier). When Dracula and Shelley, now a vampire, come for Suzan Farmer, Matthews and Kier are forced back to the castle to rescue her and send Dracula back to the grave.

Even though he’s mute and his screen time is limited, a little Lee goes a long way. His performance is interesting and unusual, a more feral depiction than any of his other Dracula outings. The rest of the cast is strong, too — with Shelley giving a compelling performance as the most worried of the travelers. She’s even better when she becomes a vampire, hissing and writhing as she’s about to be staked. Andrew Kier’s character is clearly a stand-in for Van Helsing, but Kier makes it a memorable role with his boisterous charisma. Thorley Walters is noteworthy in small, Renfield-type role, locked up in an asylum and eating flies.

In addition to the strong casting and always sure-handed direction of Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher, Dracula: Prince of Darkness further distinguishes itself by dipping a toe into darker waters. While it certainly feels tame by today’s standards, the blood sacrifice ritual pushed the limits back in 1966, depicting Charles Tingwell turned upside down to bleed out over Dracula’s ashes. The film also pushes the kink factor when Lee uses a finger nail to slice his breast for Suzan Farmer to suckle. The film also dabbles in lesbian undertones — something Hammer would explore more regularly moving forward.

The screenplay patterns itself too closely after previous Hammer vampire films to be a real stand-out, but if originality’s not a factor, one might reasonably prefer this film over its predecessor for the enhanced, spooky atmosphere and Lee’s more monstrous performance.

With another fine bit of bombastic scoring by Hammer alum James Bernard.