A few thoughts: The second Hammer Dracula film, and the last one that features Peter Cushing until the '70s. While some people might complain that this one doesn't have Christopher Lee, the amount of great material given to Cushing more than makes up for it. I love Terence Fisher movies, and this one is one of his best, but it still has some goofiness to it -- mainly, the vampire teeth are ridiculous. As far as the production goes, this is one of the best looking of the era. The lighting, cinematography, and set design (Bernard Robinson was the best) are all tremendous, every frame of the movie looking great from beginning to end. While the first Dracula is overall a better film, the visual style of this one might be an improvement. I love the way the story progresses, with characters developing and dying off unexpectedly. It's not the most unpredictable movie around, but the twists it takes are pretty great and the story holds up well. It lacks a great villain like the first movie, but the heroism of Van Helsing makes up for it.
Fans of gothic horror of the '50s and '60s, Peter Cushing, or just Hammer in general. This is one of their better films.
My grade: B+
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