Ah, hammer. When discussing my love of horror with people I always tell them that I was weaned on Hammer; straight from my mums tit, to Hammer movies; I saw my share of Universal ones too, and a bit later their take on Frankenstein would be the classic movie I clung to as my favourite, but it was hammer, and specifically Hammer's Dracula movies that shaped my childhood obsessions.
More than once my mum made me a cape (I kept growing out of them) and every fancy dress party was an excuse to 'be' Dracula. We spent a lot of time in Whitby, and from the age of 5 or 6 I was on first name terms with the staff at The Dracula Experience (which hoses Sir Christopher's actual cape!), and would spend the bulk of my weekends there; often in fancy dress. I even waded into the sea on Boxing Day one year for charity in full Dracula getup. When school made us do a presentation about our hero, I wanted to choose Dracula; when I was told it had to be someone real, I chose Bram Stoker, as it would give me an excuse to write about Dracula!
Why am I telling you all of this? To make it clear that I cannot possible give an unbiased review of this movie. My attachment to it is founded so deeply, that I can't even tell you why I like it (and much less what on earth my preschool self would have seen in it) I just do.
The score is great, Lee is superb in the role; for my money he still holds the title of best onscreen depiction of the count; why we all mimic Lugosi's terrible mishmash of an accent when we want to 'sound like a vampire' is beyond me - we ought to be mimicking Lee's slow, deliberate, tones.
Cushing, of course, brings his own iconic performance to the table as Dr. Van Helsing. With only a couple of exceptions, in fact, most of the cast put on a grate turn. The sets are superb, and the sweeping camerawork draws you in to a slow burning gothic horror. That said, it may be a little too slow for some viewers.
I love this movie. I have no idea if you will too.
