Spikeopath Taste the Blood of Dracula is directed by Peter Sasdy and written by Anthony Hinds (AKA: John Elder). Out of Hammer Film it stars Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Sallis, Linda Hayden, Gwen Watford and Ralph Bates. Music is by James Bernard and cinematography by Arthur Grant.Trawling through all the sequels of Hammer's Frankenstein and Dracula series it becomes apparent that opinions differ greatly, a case in point is this, the fifth of the Dracula cycle. For her we have a Dracula film thought of very highly in some quarters, most notably in one of the Hammer Films' lauded literary bibles, myself, like the other 50% of Hammer film fans, just don't see that at all.Famously it's the Drac film where Christopher Lee had to be greatly coerced into reprising the role of the blood sucking count, financial rewards doth talk it seems. His apprehension with script and stale feelings were well grounded, with the final result begging the question as to how bad was the script before Lee's intervention?Story has three upstanding English gentlemen showing themselves to be model pillars of society by day, good stern parents/husbands and all that, but by night they are purveyors of a different sordid lifestyle, kind of like members of the naughty Hellfire Club! When decadent dandy Lord Courtley (Bates) offers then something tantalisingly more dangerous, they indulge and it results in murder and the rebirth of Count Dracula.After a neat opening which tags onto the ending of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, we find Dracula once again on a daft revenge mission, being a bit part once again in a film bearing his name, and saddled with minimal lines that really aren't worth a suck of the neck. Some striking sequences apart (Dracula birth - bloody retributions etc) the film feels like a confused blend of ideas. On one hand it's taking a caustic peak behind the curtain of upper crust Victorian England, on the other it tries to be a period based revenger fronted by the iconic beast of the title.Under Sasdy's direction the look has been stripped back from the Gothic colourful splendour of previous Dracula entries, in place is a more earthy approach, which isn't as appealing. Of course there's a so-so romance simmering away, plenty of heaving bosom and blood shot eyes, and Bernard's musical score hangs around like a moody step-father. Which leaves us with a Hammer Dracula that's not bad at all, it's just ordinary and not all it can be, where they shoehorned Dracula into what is in truth a serial killer like revenge picture. 6/10

Rainey Dawn A very good follow up to "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)"... "Taste the Blood" picks up exactly where "Risen" left off.The merchant Weller has found the dried blood of Dracula and his friend Lord Courtley wants to bring back his master. They meet 3 gentlemen in a brothel that is bored with their lives and talks them into buying a few of Dracula's belongings. The men go to an abandoned church and turn it into the devil's sanctuary, preform a ritual that the 3 bored men refuses to finish... a refusal that leaves Dracula's servant Lord Courtley dead. When Dracula is resurrected he vows revenge on the 3 men that took the life of Courtley.There is plenty of blood and gore in this film... it's not nearly as bloody and gory as today's films because the movie also has a very interesting story to tell and not a gore-fest! 9/10

Claudio Carvalho William Hargood (Geoffrey Keen), Samuel Paxton (Peter Sallis) and Jonathon Secker (John Carson) are respectable gentlemen in the community and they are devoted to charitable work. But they are actually a trio of hypocrites that go to brothels instead of charity. One night, they meet the arrogant Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates) in the brothel and they decide to invite him for a drink. They tell that they have boring lives and are looking for excitement. Courtley promises him pleasure if they make a pact with the devil and asks them to buy some Dracula's belongings from the merchant Weller (Roy Kinnear), including dried blood. They go to a derelict church where Courtley asks them to drink the blood of Dracula. They refuse to drink but Courtley drinks and falls on the ground, and Hargood, Paxton and Secker beat him to death. They leave the church and Courtley's body transforms in Dracula (Christopher Lee) that promises to kill them. Meanwhile Hargood has a friction with his daughter Alice (Linda Hayden) because she is in love with Paxton's son Paul (Anthony Corlan). When she leaves home, Dracula meets her and controls her mind. What will happen to Alice?"Taste the Blood of Dracula" is another great vampire movie from Hammer. The story is very conventional as usual, with Christopher Lee in the role of Dracula and the vampire afraid of crosses and holy water. The explanation for Dracula's appearance is confused but his revenge using the sons and daughters of the men that killed his servant is dark. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): Not available on DVD or Blu-RayNote: On 03 September 2017 I saw this film again.

AaronCapenBanner Peter Sasdy took a turn directing this fifth "Dracula" film in the Hammer series that sees Christopher Lee once again playing Count Dracula, who is revived by an evil disciple(played by Ralph Bates) who had lured three bored(and hypocritical) "proper" English Gentlemen, who bring disaster on themselves and their families as Dracula targets them for destruction by killing his servant, though a climatic confrontation in a church may bring him his final destruction... Clever(if contrived) opening ties in with the ending of the previous film before moving forward a few years. Christopher Lee is fine in a limited capacity, and though it is handsome looking, it is also too far-fetched to succeed, though does have a memorable finale. Series really should have ended here though(in a way, it did!)