REVIEW - Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

Dracula A.D. 1972

UK - 1972

Directed by - Alan Gibson

Starring - Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Neame

Color - 96 Min - Rated PG

So I'm sitting around doing nothing special when, seemingly out of the blue, I build up the urge to watch an old Hammer horror film. With so many good choices in their back catalogue, which do I choose? 1958's Dracula, regarded in some circles as a better film than Universal's original? The Lovecraftian overtones of Quatermass and the Pit? Maybe one of the psychological thrillers like Maniac? Or do I go with a firm favorite of mine like Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed? No, of course not. Have you read this blog before? Obviously I'm going to pick the goofiest choice possible. Obviously I'm going to be watching Dracula A.D. 1972. Obviously.

"It was my will you watch this movie, mortal."

Actually, there are goofier choices to be made (Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, anyone?), but Dracula A.D. 1972 was the start of a new and short-lived shift for the Hammer horrors as they ventured out of the period piece comfort zone and set their sights on more experimental films set in the contemporary, thus it's usually the film singled out as the 'beginning of the end' for Hammer Films. Personally, I don't see why it's so vilified. It's certainly not a classic by any stretch, but it's still a solidly entertaining horror romp with many of the staples from previous Hammer productions, save the gothic atmosphere of the Victorian/Edwardian era stories. It seems to me a lot of the fans were just agitated the studio had the audacity to try its hand at something new in the face of sagging grosses and studio-wide budget cuts. Although to be fair, the change in tone from the previous Dracula films to this one is quite jarring, especially if you were a fan watching them all in sequential order.

The story begins with an action filled prequel set in 1872, as Lawrence Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) and Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) battle atop an out of control horse-drawn carriage tearing through central London. The horses soon manage to break free of their tethers and the carriage suffers a violent crash, sending Van Helsing flying whilst Dracula is apparently buried beneath the carnage. Van Helsing, injured from the crash and on his last legs, drags himself over to the wrecked carriage only to see Dracula pull himself free. Oh, but what rotten luck for the master of the undead! One of the wooden carriage wheel spokes has broken into a conveniently shaped stake and has managed to impale Dracula right in his one weak spot! Karma's a bitch sometimes, eh Count? Van Helsing makes damn sure the stake stays put in his final act and both man and vampire die together. However, one of Dracula's minions, Alucard (hee hee - Alucard, get it?), arrives just in time to collect all of his master's ashes and the stake that killed him. Perhaps when the stars are right, Alucard (played by Christopher Neame) may be able to bring the vampire back from the eternal darkness...

Dracula, you say? Bitch, please.

The viewer is then violently brought forward one hundred years in time to swinging early 70's London, where a swank Michael Vickers theme tune that wouldn't be out of place in a blaxploitation flick lets us know that this is no ordinary Dracula film. The story now revolves around a group of hippie youngsters who like to party and don't know any better (in other words, the kind of kids Jason Voorhees would mutilate with a butcher knife in about fifteen minutes flat). The gang leader is a charismatic young man by the name of Johnny Alucard... hmm. Also involved in the group is Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beacham), the granddaughter of the current vampire slayer, Abraham Van Helsing (Peter Cushing again). Johnny's quite jaded with the current scene of crashing parties and hanging around coffee bars, so he suggests a real 'far out' idea to his friends - a black mass. The rest of the youngsters take this suggestion to mean that they'll simply be hanging out with a bag of pot and a Ouija board, and thus readily agree, because they're too stupid to realize 'Alucard' is 'Dracula' backwards (hilariously, Van Helsing is seen at his desk later in the film actually making a diagram to point this out to viewers too dumb to realize themselves. Perhaps they just put it in for the Americans?).

Johnny turns out to be an ancestor to the Alucard we saw in 1872, and his black mass at an abandoned church is an attempt to bring his master back to Earth (in a plot point with some vague similarities to Taste the Blood of Dracula). The rest of the youngsters show up, get wasted on peyote, and do some chanting at Johnny's behest while he dances around the altar and calls out to Satan and every named demon you could think of. It's actually quite an intense scene, one of the highlights of the film, and it culminates in one of the girls, Laura (played by the sultry Caroline Munro), receiving a blood bath and, naturally, being sacrificed to the newly reborn Count Dracula (in quite possibly the most badass reveal shot ever).

Wait! That's not the cup of a carpenter!

The London police (Michael Coles as the unnamed Inspector and David Andrews as the also unnamed Detective Sergeant) discover the body of Laura the next morning, and soon enough resident esoteric expert Professor Abraham Van Helsing is brought in on the case, quite intrigued by the fact that poor Laura had been drained of her blood yet at the same time fairly mortified that his granddaughter was involved in some fashion. In the subsequent days, Jessica's friends are murdered one by one by the vampire lord and his minion in an effort to get to her. Dracula's plan ultimately involves a black wedding with Jessica, and if the vampire lord is successful, he will have his ultimate revenge on the Van Helsing family. A confrontation between Dracula and Professor Van Helsing is inevitable. But which one will survive?

No doubt the plots to the Dracula films were starting to get more and more far-fetched as the series went on, yet when you had two master thespians on set like Cushing and Lee, you were going to get a solid, serious, class-act performance out of both of them no matter how far-fetched or ridiculous your story was. As far as Dracula A.D. 1972 is concerned, it's the Peter Cushing show. He hoists what could otherwise be a very silly comedy onto his wiry shoulders and makes you believe every damn word that comes out of his mouth, such is the charisma and screen presence he had. Christopher Lee, growing ever more disillusioned with the Dracula part by this point in time, takes more of a backseat role in this film (though the scenes he does appear in are still gangbusters). Instead, young Christopher Neame as Alucard was pushed forward into the main villainous role for much of the film, and he does a fantastic job, especially in his confrontation with Van Helsing. Neame brings a vaguely Malcolm McDowell-esque quality to the film; indeed, the character of Johnny Alucard is in the same hemisphere as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, only Alucard is slightly more into Satan.

London was still quite a swinging place in 1972, so the film is very colorful, perhaps too much so for some horror buffs. A number of the interior shots, especially Alucard's lavish bachelor pad, wouldn't be out of place in an Austin Powers film some twenty-five years later. It's also quite odd to see Van Helsing dodging traffic in the heart of Chelsea whilst donning a tweed jacket and cardigan as opposed to him riding a horse and buggy wearing a frock coat. While I do agree that a scary movie should generally be dark and gloomy, I can also appreciate the change of pace director Alan Gibson was going for here. The level of 'groovy' is tempered somewhat by a number of great shots inside the interior of the abandoned cathedral where the Count is now making his home. Dracula is thankfully kept away from the gaudy multicolored lights and confined to mist-covered shadows.

I'll have your blood, Steve Davis!

While the film may fall just short of the high standards set in previous Dracula outings and suffers from the occasional cheesy scene, Dracula A.D. 1972 is still worth a watch if you're a horror fan in the mood for some grisly fun and games. Expect just a hint of camp heading in and you won't be too disappointed.

3.5 / 5