'The Brides of Dracula' review by MartialHorror
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THE BRIDES OF DRACULA(1960)
(Directed by Terence Fisher)
"Brides of Dracula my ass....."- Signed by MartialHorror
Plot: A vampire is freed to prey on town villagers, and sets his sights on an energetic, young woman. Can Van Helsing, vampire hunter extraordinaire, save the day?
Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Hammer horror film…….Oh, what was it? Oh yeah, I watched that double feature DVD with “The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll” and “Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb”. While neither were terrible films, I was personally disappointed. But it’s been even longer since I viewed “The Horror of Dracula”, a fun, exhilarating, old-school vampire film with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee going face to face. Luckily, it was time for me to check out his sequel. I was excited to see Cushing and Lee doing more battle on my T.V screen, only to notice that Christopher Lee’s name was not in the credits…..Damn it! To be honest, I could live with it. I prefer Cushing’s Helsing to Lee’s Dracula but it’s the title that puts me off. When you see a movie called “The Brides of Dracula”, YOU EXPECT SOME FREAKING DRACULA ACTION! Would it have killed them to call it: “The Brides of the Vampire” or something instead? Luckily, the film itself manages to stay afloat, despite the lame marketing. With that said, it feels more like three films wrapped in one package, so I’ll do this review in three parts.
Part 1: In many ways, the first part is simply act 1, but it is also the most successful act in terms of sheer terror and atmosphere. We open with a statement that while Dracula is dead, his legacy is that there are other vampires out there. We are then introduced to Marianne(Yvonne Monlaur), who finds herself stuck in a mysterious village in Transylvania. Before she knows what's going on, she meets the Baroness Meinster(Martita Hunt), a mysterious woman who offers her a place to stay at her castle. The naïve Marianne agrees, despite the villagers pleas for her not to go. But as soon as she gets there, she notices that not all is right. For one, the Baroness has locked her son, the Baron Meinster(Peel) away. When Marianne meets the Baron, she is intent on freeing him. She succeeds, but doesn’t realize that he is a vampire. When Marianne finds the Baroness dead, she runs away screaming. What I love about this opening act is how everyone is shrouded in mystery and they all seem to have a pinch of menace about them. Add to this the superb art design and gnawing suspense, you have a great opening to a film. With that said, it’s been 30 minutes into the movie and we’ve yet to see Peter Cushing…
Part 2: Marianne wakes up the next day being attended to by Dr. Van Helsing(Peter Cushing). There he is! Knowing she was probably attacked by a vampire, he helps her get to her Dance school, where she is set to teach. Van Helsing then becomes our main character as he tries to catch the Baron, while the Baron is slowly terrorizing the villagers by feeding on the women. This segment is good, but it’s strange to see the main character suddenly change. There is also some goofy ‘bat’ sequences. They are distracting because the film is very melancholy, while the bats are just silly. Still, it’s pretty fast paced, the cemetery scenes are chilling(notice the parallel of becoming a vampire and being born?), and of course, Cushing is superb.
Part 3: The Baron returns to Marianne and proposes to her. Apparently she forgot about the whole ’dead Mother’ thing and quickly presumes he is harmless so she agrees. But the Baron’s sights aren’t set only on her, but on some of her fellow female teachers as well. This isn’t really a major part, but it once again, feels like it belongs in a different movie. Terence Fisher actually delivers some of the scariest scenes in this part and the atmosphere is thick, but oddly, I don’t like it as much as the others. It just feels out of place. Great finale though.
The acting is pretty solid all around, although there are a few weak minor characters who ham it up. Peter Cushing(Van Helsing) is always superb to watch, but David Peel(Baron Meinster) was the one who caught me off guard. He’s no Christopher Lee, but that’s because he isn’t meant to be. While Lee’s Dracula simply looked at humans as food, the Baron is much more sexually charged and seems to be a bit psychotic. Because he is a handsome guy, he can quickly turn terrifying when he wants to be. These two men are the major reason this movie succeeds. Yvonne Monlaur(Marianne) does pretty good as well, although I wasn’t really interested in the role. Martita Hunt(The Baroness) is freaking creepy in her limited screen time. Great job.
As I’ve divided the film into three parts, you can guess the films most notable criticism: It’s poorly structured. The shifts between leading roles, the sudden turns in the story, and the different feel of each segment causes the pacing to become uneven and the overall film to be….Well, three different films spliced into one. Luckily, the great casting and Fisher’s great sense of atmosphere, mystery, menace and terror turn it into a solid frightfest. Oh yeah, the art-design is superb too but……Is that any big surprise for a Hammer horror film?
Violence: Some. It was harsh in its day, but probably PG-13 worthy now.
Nudity: None, but of course, vampirism in these films are always likened to sexuality.
Overall: “The Brides of Dracula” isn’t a great film, but it is a good sequel that goes out of its way to be different. Check it out, especially if you liked the original. I will say that they don’t make horror films like this anymore.
3/4 Stars
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