Dracula has his own Mueller investigation to contend with in Dracula Has Risen From The Grave

Actually, Dracula has defrosted from the freezer and he conspicuously has a reflection at a key early point in the movie, but they’re minor grumbles as Lee thaws out old fang face and Hammer horror really start to make the character their own. We’ve crept into the early 20th century and but we’re still in 19th century eastern Europe, of course, however, we’ve left the literary roots of Stoker’s novel far behind in favour of a more lurid, cinematic approach to the vein-erable Count.

When Monsignor Ernest Mueller (Rupert Davies) visits the village nestling in the dormant yet menacing shadow of Castle Dracula, he finds the townsfolk still living in fear and the local priest (Ewan Hooper) suffering a crisis of faith. Determined to put an end to the evil haunting the town, the Monsignor climbs up to the castle where the Monsignor conducts an exorcism and places a large metal crucifix across the door. Too frightened to accompany the monsignor, the priest stops halfway up the trail and when the mountain shakes as the exorcism is performed, he falls and hits his head on a rock, blood from his head wound dripping down into the frozen lake where it revives the entombed Count Dracula (Christopher Lee). Exiled from his castle by the crucifix, Dracula sets out to avenge himself against the Monsignor and his family.

Dracula’s a real force to be reckoned with in this blood-curdling tale. Taking control of the faithless priest as his servant, Dracula decamps to the town and sets about snacking on the buxom barmaid while he plots his revenge. The Monsignor’s niece (Veronica Carlson) quickly catches his eye and soon the race is on to save her from the count’s toothsome advances.

There are some great set pieces here and some interesting ideas thrown into the mix, not least of all our heroine’s suitor revealing himself to be a staunch atheist, much to the monsignor’s outrage and Dracula’s advantage. It’s a sexy, pacey action horror adventure. Lee seems to have renewed gusto for the role and the supporting cast are terrific value. The production values are everything you’d expect from Hammer in their pomp and director Freddie Francis makes free with the old claret to ensure a thrilling time.

The finale of “Dracula Has Risen From The Grave” is one of the best of the series as Dracula finally manages to get that pesky crucifix off his front door only to fall and impale himself on it at the bottom of the ravine. Put that in your song, Alanis Morrissette! This, and the adventure that follows directly on from it, “Taste The Blood Of Dracula”, are probably my two favourites out of all the Hammer movies. This is indeed a golden period of Dractober!

dracula has risen from the grave review
dracula has risen from the grave review


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Paddington In Peru (2024) Review

Paddington In Peru (2024) Review

Paddington In Peru gets by on the bear essentials. You have to admire the team behind the Paddington movies, not least of all for their courage in returning for a third outing when the previous two have set such an impossibly high standard to live up to. For better or worse, Paddington...

Ma (2019) Review

Ma (2019) Review

Ma doesn't need to spike your drink to put you to sleep The most horrifying thing about this lukewarm all-filler, no-killer thriller "Ma" is how much on-screen talent is wasted in telling its flaccid, predictable and profoundly stupid story. When Maggie (Diana Silvers) is moved...

Mile 22 (2018) Review

Mile 22 (2018) Review

You’d have to get up pretty early in the morning to find a more obnoxious film than Mile 22. “Mile 22” is a movie every bit as toxically moronic, tone-deaf and self-flagellating as a daily schedule which starts the day at 2:30am for literally no good reason. It’s a hateful, ignorant and...

Dinosaur 13 (2014) Review

Dinosaur 13 (2014) Review

Don't tell the Government but I've dug up a review of fossil documentary Prior to 1990, there had only been 12 Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils discovered and none as large and as complete as “Sue”, the T-Rex fossil uncovered during a dig in the badlands of South Dakota. “Dinosaur 13” tells the...

The Babysitter (2017) Review

The Babysitter (2017) Review

Slashing its way onto Netflix this Friday 13th, The Babysitter is a Halloween Home Alone delight. When his parents leave for a weekend getaway, 12-year-old Cole (Judah Lewis) doesn’t really mind that he’s the only kid in his class who still has a Babysitter. And, to be fair, who would if...

Crawl (2019) Review

Crawl (2019) Review

What a croc! Crawl tries to run before it can walk. It’s said that the easiest way to tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile is whether you see them later or in a while. This may not help with multiplex-friendly monster movie “Crawl” though, because shortly after the...

Swiss Army Man (2016) Review

Swiss Army Man (2016) Review

Avada cadaver! There’s more than a faint echo of “South Park” in “Swiss Army Man”, the feature debut from writer/director duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. And like “South Park”, its sharp insightfulness has been unfairly obscured by a focus on its deceptively juvenile sense of...

The Monuments Men (2014) Review

The Monuments Men (2014) Review

If it had more fun and energy they could have called it Raiders Of The Lost Art. In the closing years of Word War II, a unit is put together and tasked with tracking down and recovering artworks stolen by the Nazis during their occupation: The Monuments Men. With the Nazis in full...