SATAN, BABY! SATAN!
Ghoulish greets to one and to all! Your humble narrator was informed today that for the remainder of this blog (this year, anyway), I will be linked to the blogging page on our mothership paper, "The Daily Local News." This is exciting because not only will the 180-plus people I post this to not read this blog, it now had the potential to not be read by thousands! Isn't that just exciting, mediocre news, everyone!?
Yes, that's right. I rule the school.
Now, on to the reason we're here today - our selection for the sixty-seventh day of the 100 Movie challenge; "Dracula AD: 1972!" This is the second to last Dracula movie in the Hammer House of Horror series and the first to feature a modern updated version of the fiend.
Thanks again for following along at home (I know some of you are doing a damned fine job of it)! I love you all! MWAH!
Dracula AD: 1972 (1972): Directed by Alan Gibson. Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Stephanie Beacham and Christopher Naeme.
The Skinny: The sixth film in the Hammer House of Horror series revolving around the seemingly unkillable Count, this movie attempts to bring the series into the present by having Dracula be revived by one of his disciples and preying on the hipsters that permeate the swinging London Underground of the early 70s.
What's Good: This film is the next to last in the series and fails to follow the previous film's ending ("Scars of Dracula") into the new film, as the others usually do. This is a fun entry in the series and although it lacks some of the more Gothic trappings of the other films, watching Drac prey on hippies is a fun time. Plus there are some "way-out" party scenes straight out of something like "Austin Powers" or "Tonight Let's All Make Love in London." Plus it returns Peter Cushing to his rightful role as Drac's arch-nemesis, Dr. Van Helsing.
What's Bad: Again, if the mythic castles and foggy moors and horse-drawn carriages of the other Dracula films is what excites and attracts you, then you will be disappointed. If you can accept that the directors were trying to beat one or two movies out of this dead horse of a series (which they did with the thriller, "The Satanic Rites of Dracula"), then enjoy this fun-time romp for what it is.
Why We Like It: It's Hammer, it's Cushing, it's Lee, and he's killing hippies. What's not to love?
Memorable Stuff: The Satanic Black Mass where one of the hipster teens is sacrificed to Dracula can once again rise from the grave, with an assist from his acolyte Alucard (that's "Dracula" spelled bacwards) is pretty damn good. Beyond that, the ending, when Drac meets his fate - as usual - at the hands of Van Helsing, is probably the highlight of the film.
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