a_chinn
Solid Hammer Horror follow-up to their first Dracula picture, "Horror of Dracula." Christopher Lee is sadly absent from this sequel, but Peter Cushing is back as Professor Van Helsing. Instead of fighting Count Dracula, Van Helsing fights Dracula's many "brides" and his disciple Baron Meinster. Directed by Hammer regular Terence Fisher, he brings plenty of spooky atmosphere to the picture, as well as Hammer's usual dose of blood and heaving bosoms. SPOILER ALERT! I did quite enjoy the film's finale where The Count's disciple is killed by the shadow of a windmill that forms a cross, which was a terrific visual and also something of a nice nod to the finale of the original Universal version of "Frankenstein."
Wizard-8
"The Brides of Dracula" is considered by many fans of the Hammer studio to be one of their best efforts. To some degree, I can understand why. First of all, the movie looks very nice, with excellent production values and professional photography. As the vampire hunter, Peter Cushing gives another solid performance, coming across as believably skilled and cunning against his foes. And the movie has a pretty good climax that you'll remember for a long time afterwards.But at the same time, I couldn't help but notice some flaws, namely with the script. The first thirty or so minutes are pretty good, fast-paced and with a lot going on. But after the thirty minute mark, there are a number of long and slow bits where little to nothing important is happening. Some actions from the characters are a bit hard to swallow, like how the heroine decides to free the Baron from his being chained up after talking to him for just a minute or two. And it's odd that the vampire Baron actually doesn't appear that much in the movie despite him being the main threat.Don't get me wrong - if you are a fan of Hammer horror movies, you'll probably enjoy this particular production. But if you are unfamiliar with Hammer, I would suggest you first watch some of their other (and better) productions to get an idea if you'll enjoy this somewhat flawed one.
TheLittleSongbird
The Brides of Dracula is not as good as 1958's Dracula(or Horror of Dracula), but it is almost as good and a very good follow-up, a near classic in fact. Yvonne Monlaur is rather wooden in the female lead role, the bat effects are truly laughable and the film drags a tad at the halfway mark but that's it for the flaws personally.Hammer horrors are always at least visually good, and The Brides of Dracula certainly looks good. In fact it looks fantastic, to me it's one of the best-looking Hammer films. The photography is smooth, rich in colour and enhances the atmosphere rather than detracting and the sets are some of the most sumptuous and atmospheric of any Hammer horror. The music in its most haunting parts positively induces tingles down the spine and while there are a couple of clumsy loose ends the script is one of Hammer's most nuanced. The story is filled with marvellous atmosphere and Gothic ghoulishness and is always compelling and easy to follow, the standout scene is the ending which is like a fairy-tale nightmare come to life. Terrence Fisher's direction is unflinching and the performances on the whole are very good, especially from a classy and typically impeccable Peter Cushing as one of the best screen Van Helsings and Martita Hunt as a sometimes sympathetic but genuinely scary Baroness, especially in the scene when she's standing behind Monlaur. Freda Jackson is chilling also and chews the scenery with glee(and not in a negative way despite how it sounds) and Miles Malleson brings some amusing comedy that doesn't feel out of place at all. David Peel is nowhere near in the same league as Christopher Lee- then again it's really difficult to follow Lee in any role really- but while a little fey in places he is a worthy and charismatic substitute.Overall, a near classic if with its weak spots. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Rainey Dawn
This movie starts out really good... enter Van Helsing and it stays a good movie for awhile then somewhat goes down hill. The ending was OK - I liked the idea of the windmill - in fact that is very creepy! To me the movie hits a lull around 50 min to an hour into the film but does pick back up in the end.David Peel was pretty good as Baron Meinster but just not very convincing as a vampire IMO. Martita Hunt is ideal for the role of Baroness Meinster - she is quite good in this movie. Yvonne Monlaur was very pleasing to watch as Marianne. And Peter Cushing is, once again, smashing as Doctor Van Helsing.Just some random thoughts on the title of the film because the title is a bit disappointing - yes The Brides of Dracula does fit it to a degree because as they basically said in the beginning narration that Dracula is dead but his brood is still around but maybe a title like "Meinster Manor", "Castle Meinster" or even "The Baron" would have fit the film better. But I guess they needed "Dracula" in the title to help tie in Dr. Van Helsing's part. Hummm... why does a film that surrounds Dracula have to have his name in the title? Personally I would have liked to see this title reserved for Dracula's 3 brides.Anyway, I would have rated the film higher except for the fact there was a bit of a 30 minute lull.6.5/10
AD
