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Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Melissa Stribling, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh ... see more see more... , John Van Eyssen , Miles Malleson , Valerie Gaunt , Barbara Archer , Geoffrey Bayldon , George Benson , Olga Dickie , Janina Faye , Charles Lloyd Pack , George Merritt , George Woodbridge , Paul Cole , Humphrey Kent , Judith Nelmes , William Sherwood

This Hammer Studios classic is far closer to the letter (and spirit) of the Bram Stoker novel than the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula. The premise finds the infamous count journeying from his native T... read more read more...ransylvania to England, where he takes a headfirst plunge into the London nightlife, and begins to rack up victim after victim. In the process, Dracula also runs into his arch-nemesis, Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), which ignites a battle of wills between the two. Heavily censored in Britain when released (with the goriest moments truncated), this outing was restored by the BFI in the mid-late 2000s. It put Lee and Cushing on the map and paved the way for many sequels starring the two, and for many non-Dracula follow-ups with these actors as well. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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74% liked it

9,262 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

28 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 22 min.

Directed by: Terence Fisher

Release Date: May 8, 1958

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DVD Release Date: October 1, 2002

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Stats: 559 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (559)

  • cosmo313
    September 25, 2011
    cosmo313
    This was the first film in Hammer's series devoted to updating Dracula, making variations that, unlike Universal, were filled with a bit more mature content such as blood, cleavage, and being in color.

    This film follows the basic story as created by Bram Stoker, but of course ta... read morekes plenty of liberties. The result though, is a very entertaining and gothic take that I actually enjoy a tad more than the Bela Lugosi Dracula, mostly because this one, despite a couple of slow patches, doesn't really come off as boring like the Universal film did. Yell at me all you want, but that's how I feel.

    Christopher Lee maybe speaks like 17 lines during the movie, all of them to John Van Eyssen's Jonathan Harker, and all within the first like 15 minutes or so. The rest of the time he's a silent (save for some grunts or snarls) suave badass with some killer red eyes and one of the coolest "don't mess with me" faces ever. He's a joy to watch. Another good performance comes from Peter Cushing as the classic nemesis Dr. Van Helsing. He's the guy who knows something's up, and is bound and determined to put things right.

    The film has a great look, Terence FIsher provides competant direction and, though some of the effects look a little dated and cheesy, they're still pretty cool.

    You might think that if you've seen on take on Dracula, then you've seen them all. Well, even though that's sorta true, you should give this one a watch, if only for the awesomeness that is Christopher Lee.
  • matertenebraum
    February 10, 2011
    matertenebraum
    It's difficult to overestimate the significance of Dracula. Far more so than its predecessor, The Curse of Frankenstein, it set the tone for Hammer's movie output over the next two decades - the two decades (1956-1976) when British films, or at least British horror films, were am... read moreong the best, most admired and most imitated in the world. A far cry from the terribly English whimsy of the Thirties and Forties, or the provincial, "arty" stuff that's predominated since the end of the Eady levy in the 1980s.

    With this movie, Hammer not only created an international star out of Christopher Lee, but a worldwide phenomenon that persists, in series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and films like Sleepy Hollow, to the present day. Taking the Kensington gore quotient of The Curse of Frankenstein, and combining it with an unprecedented dose of eroticised violence, Dracula revolutionised horror, ultimately leading to the breasts and blood exploitation movies of the Seventies, as well as the heavy sexual overtones of films such as Alien and The Company of Wolves.

    The movie benefits from two astonishing central performances. Christopher Lee's Dracula is a creation of passionate intensity, to whom Cushing's monomaniacal Van Helsing is the antithesis - fire and steel; hot-blooded animal instinct versus cool scientific rationalism. This has led some critics to identify Van Helsing as the real villain of the piece, a brutal fanatic who coldly pounds a stake through the vampirised Lucy. Either way, both actors give supremely effective performances. The final confrontation between the two remains the single most iconic scene in any Hammer film. Hardly surprising, given their on screen charisma, that Lee should reprise his role six times and Cushing four.

    The most influential British movie of all time, Dracula's electric mix of sex and death fuelled a global revolution in genre film-making, and presented Hammer with a formula that they would return to again and again over the next two decades.
  • ajv2688
    November 17, 2010
    ajv2688
    Hammer's first Dracula movie. It's really very cool, it's slow and atmospheric, but Lee is so perfect as Dracula, I loved him.
  • rayman0071
    October 6, 2010
    rayman0071
    Christopher Lee launched one of his signature roles as the bloodsucking count in the lavishly produced 1958 adaption of Bram Stoker's famous vampire yarn. This familiar storyline finds Dr. Van Helsing(Peter Cushing)hunting the legendary king of the vampires who has left Transylva... read morenia for the blood-rich shores of England. Produced by England under the legendary Hammer Studios,this 90 minute horror yarn features a strong cast including Michael Gough,and Carol Marsh. This was the movie that launch a string of Hammer-produced "Dracula" films all starring Christopher Lee.
  • rubystevens
    July 8, 2010
    rubystevens
    who needs twilight when there's peter cushing and christopher lee! hammer rebooted dracula with a good dose of sex and most of the original story, minus renfield and the bats. cushing was fantastic and lee became an icon. terrific ending!
  • mjgildea
    May 20, 2010
    mjgildea
    Horror of Dracula has got to be one of Hammer's best. Any time you get Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together in front of the camera with Terence Fisher behind it, you're going to be hard pressed to go wrong. Fisher creates eerie atmosphere (the first shot of Dracula alone is... read more scary as hell) and even the dated but still effective make up don't bring Horror of Dracula down. Cushing is THE Van Helsing just as Lee is THE Dracula and this movie is a damn near perfect showcase for both actors at the height of their powers. Great, great stuff.
  • DrBenway
    January 25, 2010
    DrBenway
    After Bela Lugosi defined the role in the original DRACULA in 1931, countless sequels followed which eventually lead up to the character being featured in films alongside Abbott & Costello and other tiresome Universal monsters. The horror was played out and Dracula became a rat... read moreher silly villain. Over 25 years later, Hammer Studios would recreate/reinterpret the novel and give us Christopher Lee, who would own the role for years to come. Then there's the perfect casting of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. The image of Dracula which had become campy was gone and in its' place we get a film with eerie atmosphere created by great cinematography, good acting, simple but effective special effects and a new horrific Dracula who is genuinely creepy with his bloodshot eyes and awful hissing.

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  • ythelastman89
    December 11, 2009
    ythelastman89
    This is by far one of the most well acted interpretations of Dracula ever. It has such a well rounded cast. The deviation from the story is actually not distracting in the least, it actually makes sense and creates a more believable film. I would go to say that it surpasses Unive... read morersal's version in nearly every way.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 2, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    Very well-shot and atmospheric. Peter Cushing steals the show here and Christopher Lee is very scary. My only complaint may be the pacing of the film, which seemed to drag on a bit here and there. Otherwise, fantastic!
  • cancercapricorn2002
    October 15, 2008
    cancercapricorn2002
    I still say that F.W. Murnau and Max Schreck did it before and did it better in "Nosferatu", but I can say that "Horror of Dracula". runs a very close second

    After watching this film again, I have no doubts why Christopher Lee is so well remembered for his portrayal of Count D... read moreracula and not just because he happened to put in the most screen appearances as said anti-hero to date. The black cloak clad over his well-over six foot frame lends an aura of menace and intimidation that no other version since Max Schreck has held with such ease. The initial scenes of him showing his charming side are, in my opinion, sorely missed later when he seems to have been reduced to the level of stereotypical vampire on the loose, but I'm willing to overlook this as I descended through the Dracula film series. Forget Lugosi; Lee is the definitive version of the Count.

    Peter Cushing, meanwhile, takes center stage as Dracula's driven, calculating adversary, Professor Van Helsing. Here, the script uses an old trick of literature by using the phonograph recording scene to subconsciously ask the viewer that if a man as intelligent and sophisticated as Van Helsing can believe in vampires, than why not the audience? As determined as a bloodhound on the scent of his prey, Van Helsing is not unsympathetic to the suffering of the Count's victims and their loved ones. But, by necessity, he must remain hardnosed and decisive on what needs to be done and not being afraid to tell the parties responsible for carrying out his wishs that this must be so.

    The ending suggests the influence of "Nosferatu" (the first instance in cinema were a vampire could be killed by sunlight), but I must admit that it stands, head and shoulders, above what Murnau's film wrought and, indeed, what Stoker's original novel had. Oddly enough, I feel no victory in Dracula's death. Rather, I feel that the world has lost something irreplacable, no matter how brutal that something was. It almost makes me kind of glad that the Count would rise again in several other Hammer sequels...

    Still a great film and well worth checking out.

View All Horror of Dracula Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
October 19, 2009
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

This Grand Guignol treatment bowled people over in the 50s, and it still yields some potent shocks. Full Review

Variety Staff
September 23, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

Both director Terence Fisher as well as the cast have taken a serious approach to the macabre theme that adds up to lotsa tension and suspense. Full Review

A.H. Weiler
March 25, 2006
A.H. Weiler, New York Times

Perhaps the constant hunt for hemoglobin is slowing our villain down, for this time there are strong indications that the once gory plot is showing definite signs of anemia. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
February 20, 2009
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Follows the Bram Stoker novel as loosely as any other adaptation up to that time, though this one is much leaner and meaner. Full Review

Steve Biodrowski
November 24, 2008
Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

Easily ranks in the pantheon of genre classics. Full Review

Tim Brayton
October 4, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

There will never be a greater vampire film than Nosferatu or Vampyr, not ever. But Hammer's Dracula puts up a strong fight to come in at third place. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
May 16, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It was for a long time regarded by horror fans as the finest horror film ever made. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
May 8, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

lee is dracula

November 2, 2007
Film4

A Great British horror film with bite. Full Review

David Jenkins
November 1, 2007
David Jenkins, Time Out

Christopher Lee's Dracula is a menacing and complex presence who never lets his fangs and cape dominate. Full Review

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    • Count Dracula: I am Dracula and I welcome you to my house. I must apologize for not being here to greet you personally, but I trust you've found everything you needed.
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Horror of Dracula Trivia

  • This silent horror film was an unauthorized production of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Stoker's widow demanded that all known prints and negatives be destroyed.  Answer »
  • Name the silent classic based on the story "Dracula."  Answer »
  • Peter Cushing stars as Dracula in Terence Fisher's Horror of Dracula (1958).  Answer »
  • In "Horror of Dracula", what is the distinctive characteristic of Christopher Lee's vampire role?  Answer »
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