Dracula AD 1972. 100 years after being killed (again) by Van Helsing (again), Dracula (Christopher Lee) is resurrected (again) by a bunch of gullible youngsters looking for a thrill in early 70s (1970s!) London. The man manipulating the youths is their sinisterly-named "friend" Johnny Alucard (never trust a man whose last name is an anagram for Dracula). Fortunately for London, Van Helsing's grandson, Van Helsing, who just happens to look exactly like his grandfather (conveniently for Peter Cushing!) is on the scene, unaware that he and his grand-daughter (Stephanie Beacham, recast as Joanna Lumley in the next film) are already on the Count's hit-list. This early 70s Hammer thrusts the series into the (then) modern era, and works surprisingly well. Christopher Neame, who
Doctor Who fans will recognise as the evil Skagra from the tom baker story
Shada, works well as second-string villain Johnny, and the final showdown between Dracula and Van Helsing is the most intense and thrilling climax since the original. Though there are two more films after this in the series, this is actually the last I haven't seen, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I have almost all of these. Great fun. I love this series!
