October 4th - BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960)

Sorry this took me so long to post. I couldn't log on to this site for some reason while I was at work to write my review.

I never knew this but Brides of Dracula is actually the sequel to 1958's Horror of Dracula. Horror of Dracula is one of my favorite Dracula films and for me, no one beats Christopher Lee as Dracula. I always believed the second film was Dracula- Prince of Darkness but I was wrong. This is the sequel and what threw me off is that Dracula isn't even in this film!

The bizarre story is about a young student teacher who gets mixed up with an old family curse. Unbeknownst to her, she accidentally frees a young man chained in his room but happens to be a vampire. The town is now attacked by the vampire and it's up to Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing, who returns from Horror of Dracula) to stop the vampire. The story centers on the young woman who frees the vampire but then suddenly switches POV once Van Helsing comes into the picture. It's really odd.

The title of the film is also strange to me since there are no brides and there is no Dracula (although a brief reference is made of him) . Minor complaints though because like most Hammer films, the movie is filled with great atmosphere such as bats, castles, and graveyards. Peter Cushing is always good and his charming and kind Van Helsing is always great to watch. The women are beautiful and the direction is decent and shot in a nice wide scope.

If I have any complaints, it would be the thrown together screenplay and the title of the movie. But it's still worth a look. If you have never seen any Hammer films from the 50's, 60's or 70's, you are missing out on some great horror films.