Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Cineanalyst The eighth film in Hammer's Dracula series and the third of that series to feature both Christopher Lee as the Count and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" is a rather seamless continuation of the last film in the series, "Dracula A.D. 1972." That alone is unusual for the series, which frequently altered its locations and vampire facts from film to film. "Dracula A.D. 1972," for instance, with an opening sequence set in 1872, entirely disregarded the prior six films, which were set after that date. This time, there's a different actress playing Van Helsing's granddaughter, but the film is otherwise quite faithful to its immediate predecessor. And, fortunately, that didn't include continuing the depiction of hippie youth culture that partially ruined the former film.Although a rare competent Hammer sequel in this regard, it's otherwise a not very interesting Dracula feature. The premise of a centuries-old vampire rising to the top of a corporation and amassing a satanic cult is promising, but handled poorly here. Given the frequent use of flashbacks of a satanic ritual, the filmmakers seemed to think it more intriguing than I did. According to the time frame given within the narrative, Dracula managed these tasks within the span of little more than a couple years since the last time he died, and before that brief period of life, as it were, he'd been dead for a century. And, his plan is foiled even more quickly once Van Helsing is alerted to it. Apparently, Dracula is brilliant enough to master capitalism and cultism within a couple years despite most of his experiences being from the Victorian age and, perhaps, even more ancient than that; yet, he's also stupid enough to easily be defeated time and again by a family with an expertise in occultism. Contrary to Bram Stoker's novel, this Dracula isn't vulnerable to modern inventions; here, he uses the newest in surveillance technology, including trip alarms and cameras, and the inability to photograph him helps to temporarily foil the surveillance methods employed by the police. Dracula also employs modern science to increase the old threat of plague. Most incredulously, we're to believe Dracula does all of this because he's suicidal and wants to bring about Armageddon.Although "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" raises the stakes in the series--making Dracula a truly existential threat to all of humanity, Hammer's vampires remain quite weak. The supposed purity of running water being fatal to them, which the last film started, results in a scene where a herd of female vampires chained in a basement are wiped out by a sprinkler system. Once again, Van Helsing lists the ways vampires can be defeated, and you can take to the bank that the new one he mentions will turn out to be important by the end. This time, it's hawthorn bush-a particularly lame way to catch a vampire, I must say. Also, after a hiatus in the most recent Hammer Dracula films, the trope of a makeshift cross makes a comeback here.

simeon_flake I've seen some of the complaints about this particular DVD by Alpha-- and I've been burned by this once before. But--as far as this one goes--I have no complaints about the picture quality or the sound. As for the film itself, this would be the last on screen confrontation between Lee as the Count and Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing & I would say it was a good finale. There are some references to the last film, "Dracula A.D. '72," with a different actress playing Jessica Van Helsing & no great attempts to explain Dracula's latest resurrection. This time, the Count leads a cult & is bent on world domination and unleashing a great plague upon humanity. Some good touches throughout the film, such as the scenes with Dracula's cult sacrificing some young girl, and the vampires in the basement on the attack a few times. I think I might understand why Lee was getting burnt out on playing the Count by this point--"Satanic Rites" is not as good as all that preceded it, but it's still good entertainment. Cushing would return one more time as Van Helsing, with a different actor playing Dracula-- but as far this goes--"Satanic Rites" may be the last in the series worth watching.

callanvass This is the worst Dracula without a doubt. I wasn't exactly "bored" but it's fairly lifeless. One thing I noticed was that it lacks the stylistic touches that Hammer films usually have, which was always integral in my opinion. Everything seems old, worn down, and dreary. It wasn't a very positive experience. I will give credit to some solid cinematography of London, especially in the opening credits. There are some picturesque scenes that are really well done. They tried to rejuvenate the series with the contemporary setting, and placing Dracula in the modern era, but it doesn't fit at all. Count Dracula felt out of place in this movie. Christopher Lee himself doesn't look very enthusiastic about being in this movie. He seems to be on auto-pilot, not that I blame him. He didn't have a whole lot to do, and he didn't have a great deal of screen time. I read on Wikipedia that Lee was becoming more disillusioned with each new Dracula movie, and it shows. It wasn't a great performance, his send off is being killed by a thorn bush. How's that for gratitude? Peter Cushing is once again our protagonist as Van Helsing. Since this is set in the modern era, he is a "descendant" of the original Van Helsing in the earlier Dracula movies. Cushing is dependable as always, even when he doesn't have much to work with. I usually get excited whenever Lee & Cushing face off. Two of the greatest horror veterans in history, but it felt contrived and ordinary in this one, which is quite sad. Joanna Lumley is subtly sexy as Van Helsing's granddaughter. She doesn't have a whole lot to do either. I felt there were too many pointless characters. Aside from a good opening escape, and a suspenseful attack in a cellar, this movie doesn't have much as far as thrills go. Final Thoughts: It's a bit disillusioning to see Christopher Lee go out like he did. Hammer reinvented Dracula, and to see a series of this magnitude end on a whimper is saddening. 4.7/10

DarthVoorhees I found a lot to enjoy in 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula'. It's reputation of mediocrity is undeserved because this film really delivers what it's audience wants Cushing and Lee in finest form. While not an exquisite example of the horror film 'Rites' has an abundance of wonderful cheese that actually has some really funny twists on a Dracula series that sometimes had a lot of trouble defining what it really wanted to be.I'm a huge Christopher Lee fan but I've always found his Dracula pictures to be something of a mixed ordeal. I can definitely see and feel Lee's frustration with the character because Dracula is seldom given anything truly interesting to say or do. In the worst moments of Hammer's Dracula films Dracula serves as nothing more than a boogeyman and this I find is unacceptable when you have a talent like Lee and the most poetic horror character ever conceived. 'Rites' gives Dracula the most mythos and motive he has ever been given in a Hammer picture. Dracula has a method to his madness and that is truly saying something here. Lee actually has more than one page of dialogue to express his motives and hate, we get to know Dracula as a sick being with a deep burning hate for mankind rather than the animal lesser Hammer films tend to portray him as. Most importantly though we have Peter Cushing as Van Helsing who is finally able to give Dracula an adversary to play off of. A great deal of 'Rites' is nothing more than exposition in between bizarre imagery. Director Alan Gibson is a more than competent exploration director. The scenes of satanic orgies are fun in that they really do bring the audience to the realm of the strange but odd imagery is not enough to sustain a picture. Peter Cushing does that.The best entries in this series are the ones with Cushing. Peter Cushing was a special actor because he loves the material that is written. There is a great sense of urgency and passion in Cushing's delivery that even someone who knows the vampire mythos by heart is never bored. It's like watching a great singer go through their greatest hits. Peter Cushing was one of the all time great horror stars and 'Satanic Rites' is one of his best performances.Even more so than 'Dracula AD 1972' 'Rites' has a hell of a good time playing with the 70's era London. I love that Dracula sees corporate London and MP's as his tools of destruction. I probably liked this film a great deal more than '1972' because it isn't drenched in the kind of novelty of the time and because of this I admire the style and settings a heck of a lot more. This is the Hammer Dracula to check out and my personal favorite of the series. It delivers Lee's Dracula and Cushing's Van Helsing in a fun looking story with actual stakes...