A few thoughts: The first Hammer Dracula film I didn't like, this sixth entry lacks the menace, atmosphere, and pacing of the first several in the series. I felt like I was watching this movie for hours, yet it's only 90 minutes long. While there are a few cool shots and moments, a majority of this movie feels like treading water. Not only this, but Christopher Lee is given a lot of dialogue this time around but still very little to actually say. The lead performance by what's-his-face is an absolutely unconvincing bore, and while Michael Ripper and Michael Gwynn are both pretty great, they are given far too little screentime to save the picture. One more thing that stood out to me as particularly lousy was all the effects used in this movie -- for example, in several shots there are bats flying around that look less convincing than the ones used in the original Dracula from 1931. While each previous film had slowly gotten worse throughout the series, this was the first time I would actually call one of these movies pretty bad. Such a shame.
I just wouldn't. Hammer made far too many good movies - and good vampire movies, specifically - to waste your time here.
My grade: D
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