Today's Blu-ray review may not be available in time (the North American street date is November 10) for the spookiest time of the year, but if you're like me, you love all things creepy year round.
I know I keep saying it, but Shout Factory/Scream Factory continues to impress with their acquisition of older titles from Hammer's filmography. Then of course, the restorations the company does with these films are usually nothing but absolutely astonishing.
One of these forthcoming older titles isThe Brides of Dracula, released sixty years ago in 1960. The film was directed by Terence Fischer, arguably Hammer's best director. He helmed cornerstones of the production company's business, such as Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, The Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein Created Woman, Horror of Dracula, and The Devil Rides Out.
Some fans are fine withThe Brides of DraculaNOT starring Christopher Lee, Hammer's iconic Dracula, while others are hesitant to embrace this title. According to one of the disc's bonus featurettes, Lee was not included in this film because his agent asked for too much money. He did, however, appear in Dracula: Prince of Darkness, which was released in 1966.
Anyway, the film followsMarianne (Yvonne Monlaur), a young teacher on her way to the girls academy where she's about to start a new job. Along the way, she's sidetracked by a minion of the localBaroness Meinster (Martita Hunt) and Marianne's coach disappears with all her luggage, leaving her stranded.
The Baroness then invites Marianne to her castle to stay the night. While there, she glimpses a man (David Peel) on a balcony, seemingly about to jump to his death. She rushes to his room only to discover that he is chained by the ankle to the wall. Ever the good samaritan, she sneaks into the Baroness' room and somehow finds the correct key that unlocks the young Baron.
Well, nice job, you just unleashed a vampire! Although I'm not sure what kind of weak-sauce vampire can be be simply chained to a wall by one leg. There are other plot holes and omissions, elsewhere in the film, too. We learn in one of the bonus features that Fischer was not allowed to change a word of Jimmy Sangster's script. Though if you're not put off by that,The Brides of Draculacan still manage to entertain. In particular, this film would make a good "gateway" horror film for kids who are inclined to the darker side of storytelling.
A few local maidens end up undead as well, in campy, white-face-paint fashion and flowing white nightgowns. To aid in the mystery of the attacks, Dr. Van Helsing (the late, great Peter Cushing, one of Hammer's best actors and bankable stars) arrives and astonishes the villagers with his down-to-earth reason and rationale. You may have guessed that Van Helsing and the Baron face off in the finale. By the way, Cushing did many of his own stunts back in the day, and he's really impressive here when he battles the Baron.
I have to say that Peel as the Baron isn't great, but Freda Jackson in the Renfield-like role of Greta, the Baroness' assistant, was absolutely fantastic. She cackles like no one's business when plotting evil deeds and making nefarious plans. Watching the film for both her and Cushing alone is worth your tim.
As for the image, the film looks absolutely spotless with only a slight flicker in one scene that I detected. Shout Factory has presentedThe Brides of Draculain both1.85:1 And 1.66:1 aspect rations, but for the purpose of this review, I watched only the1.85:1 version.
Special Features
The trailers Hammer made were always entertaining, so check those out if you pick up any of these releases. The Terence Fischer mini doc was lengthy and informative of his life and career, and the other featurettes served a similarly "fine" purpose.
I enjoyed Severin Films' featurette on the history of Oakley Court the most; it's a large stone manor that quite a few films have used as exteriors, includingThe Brides of Draculaand several other Hammer films. The most famous production to use this location is The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
If you'd like to pre-order The Brides of Dracula Blu-ray, you can do so at Shout Factory's website here.
Original post:
Blu-ray Review: THE BRIDES OF DRACULA - ScreenAnarchy
- V Rising: Here's what to expect when you enter Dracula's frozen domain of Mortium - PlayStation - April 22nd, 2024
- Dracula: I Never Read.... Books - Sound&Vision - April 22nd, 2024
- V Rising Ruins of Mortium Trailer Brings the Fight to Dracula - PlayStation LifeStyle - April 22nd, 2024
- Keanu Reeves refused to hurl abuse at Winona Ryder when making Dracula - LADbible - April 22nd, 2024
- Our oppressive tax system can be analogized to Dracula - Washington Times - April 22nd, 2024
- Vlad The Impaler, Inspiration For Dracula, May Have Cried Tears of Blood: Study - NDTV - March 24th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC): Does the Reward Outweigh the Risks? - InvestorsObserver - March 24th, 2024
- Abigail's 1936 Inspiration Teases An Appearance By 1 Classic Horror Character (Not Dracula) - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- Off The Telly - 4. "She is basically the sister of Dracula" - BBC - March 24th, 2024
- Is Dracula Token (DRC) Heading the Right Direction Thursday? - InvestorsObserver - March 16th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC), High Volatility and Rising Sunday: Is it Time to Cash Out? - InvestorsObserver - March 16th, 2024
- 'Dracula A.D. 1972': when the iconic vampire met the hippies - Far Out Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) Do the Risks Outweigh the Rewards Wednesday? - InvestorsObserver - March 8th, 2024
- Luc Besson to Direct Dracula, Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz Will Lead Retelling of Bram Stokers Gothic Classic - Variety - February 19th, 2024
- Luc Besson to Direct Dracula, Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz Will Lead Retelling of Bram Stokers Gothic ... - IMDb - February 19th, 2024
- New Dracula Movie Is In Development With Different Retelling Of Bram Stoker's Story - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- Caleb Landry Jones to Re-Team With Luc Besson on Dracula Origin Story - Hollywood Reporter - February 19th, 2024
- Caleb Landry Jones And Christoph Waltz To Star In Luc Besson's Dracula - Empire - February 19th, 2024
- New Dracula Feature Will Delve Into The Vampire Lord's Origins - Horror News Network - February 19th, 2024
- In This Moment to Launch the Godmode Tour with Kim Dracula - Knotfest - February 19th, 2024
- Dracula's Chivito: New protoplanetary disk discovered with Pan-STARRS - Phys.org - February 19th, 2024
- In 'Dracula: Blood Hunt,' the Lord of Vampires Takes the Daughter of Blade Under His Wing - Marvel.com - February 19th, 2024
- Embrace The Darkside! Richmond Ballet Redefines Valentine's with Dracula - rvamag.com - February 19th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) What Does the Chart Say Sunday? - InvestorsObserver - February 19th, 2024
- Dracula's Chivito Is This Year's Best Name For A Newly Found Astronomical Object - IFLScience - February 19th, 2024
- From Billie Holiday to Dracula, is there anyone Zahra Newman cant play? - Sydney Morning Herald - February 19th, 2024
- Review: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Presents a New Take on 'Dracula' From a Female Perspective - Cincinnati CityBeat - February 11th, 2024
- A 103-Year-Old Lost Film Was Actually The First Dracula Movie, Not The Movie People Think Is The First - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- February 2020 (version 1.43) - Visual Studio Code - February 3rd, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC), High Volatility and Falling Friday: Is it Time to Cash Out? - InvestorsObserver - February 3rd, 2024
- Is Dracula Token (DRC) Heading the Right Direction Wednesday? - InvestorsObserver - February 3rd, 2024
- The Weekly Pull: Detective Comics, Resurrection of Magneto, Universe Monsters: Dracula, and More - ComicBook.com - January 26th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) Do the Risks Outweigh the Rewards Monday? - InvestorsObserver - January 26th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) Falls 47.02% Wednesday: What's Next for This Bearish Rated Crypto? - InvestorsObserver - January 26th, 2024
- The Real History That Went Into Bram Stoker's Dracula | TIME - January 18th, 2024
- Dracula writer Bram Stoker revealed as a humble minute taker for actor charity - The Guardian - January 18th, 2024
- 'Abigail' Trailer Dracula's Daughter Is on the Hunt - Collider - January 18th, 2024
- Which 'Dracula' Movie Is the Most Book-Accurate? - Collider - January 9th, 2024
- Arundel Playhouse celebrates a successful 2023 and kicks off 2024 with 'Dracula: The Bloody Truth' - SussexWorld - January 9th, 2024
- THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER Almost Featured Van Helsing and a Werewolf-Like Dracula GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - January 1st, 2024
- The strong Dracula Open Youth & Junior Tournament will take place in Romania on February 11-19 - Asian Boxing Confederation - January 1st, 2024
- Is Dracula Token (DRC) Heading the Right Direction Tuesday? - InvestorsObserver - January 1st, 2024
- Defining Dracula: A Century Of Vampire Evolution : NPR - December 23rd, 2023
- Was Dracula a Real Person? | Britannica - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula, a Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really Is Easy, Entertaining, and Empowering - Portland Mercury - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula: The women fight back - Oregon ArtsWatch - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula parrots: what are they and do they feed on blood? - BBC Discover Wildlife - December 12th, 2023
- Wonka | How Hook and Dracula informed the look of this autumn's musical - Filmstories - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula and rabbits and the tooth fairy...oh my! Omaha dentists trade in their traditional scrubs, making the experience less frightening - KETV Omaha - November 2nd, 2023
- Week in theater: Dracula flies into Denver, Sweeney Todd in Longmont and holiday productions are on the horizon - Boulder Daily Camera - October 16th, 2023
- When Keanu Reeves & Winona Ryder Accidentally Got Hitched On The Sets Of Bram Stokers Dracula & They Didnt Realize It Was For Real - Koimoi - February 10th, 2023
- Nina Price and Dracula Will Be the Villains of #Blade #MarvelStudios - Latest Tweet by Marvel Updates - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- A Dracula where the women fight back - The Boston Globe - October 19th, 2022
- Owners infuse Romanian history to Dracula-themed wine bar in downtown St. Pete The Crow's Nest at USF St. Petersburg - The Crow's Nest - October 19th, 2022
- Meet Dracula authors great-grand nephew tonight! - wnky.com - October 19th, 2022
- Cape Cod theater: Halloween season with 'The Addams Family,' Dracula - Cape Cod Times - October 19th, 2022
- "A Tale of Two Villains: Theme and Symbolism in Dracula and the Harry Potter Saga" Available Now from Histria Books - openPR - October 19th, 2022
- Netflix Added 36 New Movies and Series This Week - What's on Netflix - October 19th, 2022
- The Vampire and Its Cultural History Exponent - Exponent - October 19th, 2022
- Corin Hardy Releases The Schedule For His Halloween Horrorthon 2022 - Empire - October 19th, 2022
- Shows like Interview with the Vampire: 8 titles to sink your teeth into next - Android Authority - October 19th, 2022
- 2022: The Year of Dracula, Vampire Interviews, Nosferatu, Renfield and more - PW-Philadelphia Weekly - October 11th, 2022
- Bram Stokers Dracula review Gary Oldman is Pierrot from hell in blood-red 90s take - The Guardian - October 11th, 2022
- Cary Elwes on Bram Stokers Dracula at 30: Gary Oldman spent most of the time sleeping in a coffin - Yahoo Movies UK - October 11th, 2022
- The Best New Horror Comics in October 2022: Werewolf by Night, Creepshow, Dracula, and More! - Den of Geek - October 11th, 2022
- Ranking The Horror Movie Sequels That Sent Their Monsters To Space - Den of Geek - October 11th, 2022
- I picked up a book for 1 at a charity shop I was stunned when I found out its true value... - The US Sun - October 11th, 2022
- Abbyr Shen Reesht - Say That Again 9th October 2022 - Abbyr Shen Reesht - Say That Again - Manx Radio - October 11th, 2022
- Top 8 Horror Classics To See In Theaters This October - Bounding Into Comics - October 11th, 2022
- 'Dracula' in Spanish finds new blood after 91 years : NPR - October 2nd, 2022
- Watch Dracula Season 1 | Prime Video - amazon.com - October 2nd, 2022
- Feature: Ben Stevenson's Dracula, presented by the Nevada Ballet Theatre, to Bring Gothic Grandness - Broadway World - October 2nd, 2022
- We get real about love, sex and beauty this October on SBS VICELAND - SBS - October 2nd, 2022
- Celebrating the Glorious Horror Films of 1992 - Nerdist - October 2nd, 2022
- Plan your October in North Texas with these spirited events - KERA News - October 2nd, 2022
- October 2022 Programming on the Criterion Channel Announced - CriterionCast.com - October 2nd, 2022
- Horror as Folk: Viy and Even More Pastoral Folk Horror - Signal Horizon - October 2nd, 2022
- Intimacy and Manipulation: A Reading List of Fictional Diaries - Literary Hub - October 2nd, 2022
- 8 Horror Movies To Watch This Fall - Study Breaks - October 2nd, 2022
- 5 times Horror Franchises went to space and struggled to return to Earth - We Got This Covered - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero