Horror of Dracula

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91%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

On a search for his missing friend Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen), vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is led to Count Dracula's (Christopher Lee) castle. Upon arriving, Van Helsing finds an undead Harker in Dracula's crypt and discovers that the count's next target is Harker's ailing fiancée, Lucy Holmwood (Carol Marsh). With the help of her brother, Arthur (Michael Gough), Van Helsing struggles to protect Lucy and put an end to Count Dracula's parasitic reign of terror.

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Critics Consensus

Trading gore for grandeur, Horror of Dracula marks an impressive turn for inveterate Christopher Lee as the titular vampire, and a typical Hammer mood that makes aristocracy quite sexy.

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Ryan

The best of the Hammer Horror films. Iconic.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

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Alec B

Lee makes for a fantastic Dracula as he captures both the charming and animalistic aspects of the character in equal measure.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/28/24

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DanTheMan 2

Taking full advantage of their success with revitalising Frankenstein, Hammer immediately set about bringing the iconic Count to the big screen and, I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but they more than succeeded and trumped the Universal takes in one fell swoop. Directed by Terence Fisher with an immense flair for the blood-curdling shot, technicolour nightmare, Dracula is every bit the classic now as it was back in the 50s. Taking full advantage of the original tale's shock value, Hammer spared no expense in crafting their first take on the Count. Beautifully lavish and interconnected sets, the powerfully erotic and monumentally sinister score by James Bernard coupled with the Jack Asher photography full of foreboding atmosphere proves a real treat. Cushing and Lee are absolutely fantastic and relishing their roles as Van Helsing and Dracula respectively, Lee especially brings with him all the heroic, romantic, erotic, fascinating and dynamic aspects from the character's original text. Rounding out the cast with incredible Michael Gough, Hammer's Dracula combines gore and grandeur in a through-and-through classic more suggestive than explicit but oh-so daring for 1958.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/03/23

Full Review

Lucas C

Horror of Dracula is my third favorite Dracula movie. Peter Cushing is great as Van Helsing and Christopher Lee is fantastic as Dracula. I highly recommend watching this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/29/23

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Steve D

The cast is strong but the changes didn't help the story.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/07/23

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Audience Member

Hammer Studio's take on the late Bram Stoker's classic tale of horror is better than I thought it would be. With the late Peter Cushing and the late Christopher Lee (In his first performance as Count Dracula.) you almost can't go wrong. Both actors are, as usual, terrific. They have a great chemistry on screen even as adversaries. I find it a little odd that Christopher Lee only had dialogue in two scenes of this movie and they are at the very beginning, However that is not too much of a problem for the movie as it is very entertaining. The story is not too bad, but it is just mediocre at best. The changes to Bram Stoker's novel are a little odd. In this movie (Titled "Dracula" for its release in Britain. The title was changed to "Horror of Dracula" for its US release so not to confuse audiences with the classic 1931 film adaptation starring the late Bela Lugosi.) Johnathan Harker travels to Dracula's castle to work as a librarian but he was actually sent by Dr. Van Helsing to kill Dracula. There are many other changes from the novel as well, but the changes do not have too much of a negative effect on the movie. The final climatic fight between Van Helsing and Dracula is not great, but it is well done for the most part and a very fitting way to conclude the film. In the end "Dracula" aka "Horror of Dracula", is not a great movie but the performances by the two lead characters make the movie very entertaining and worth seeing at least once.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Terence Fisher

Director

Peter Cushing

Doctor Van Helsing

Christopher Lee

Count Dracula

Michael Gough

Arthur

Melissa Stribling

Mina Holmwood

Carol Marsh

Lucy Holmwood

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Dorothy Masters

New York Daily News

Unlike most of Hollywood's quickies, Horror of Dracula has allocated time, thought and talent to an enterprise which successfully recaptures the aura and patina of yesteryear's Middle Europe. Some of the photography is good enough to frame.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 16, 2021

Full Review

Times (UK) Staff

Times (UK)

Altogether this is a horrific film, and sometimes a crude film. but by no means an unimpressive piece of melodramatic story-telling.

Jul 31, 2020

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

This Hammer classic will be good for a laugh, and some shivers.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 9, 2012

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

This is the first film to really mine the erotic appeal of vampires: Dracula seduces Mina and Lucy like a devil tempting good to the dark side through sex, more suggestive than explicit but daring for 1958.

Oct 15, 2022

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David Hogan

hoganreviews.co.uk

The Hammer Dracula is every bit the classic now as it was back in the 50s and is still the version I mentally refer back to when I see a reference to the classic tale.

Rated: 5/5

Oct 23, 2021

Full Review

Claudia Andrei

Electric Sheep

Not only Hammer's first take on the Bram Stoker classic, but undoubtedly its finest.

Oct 13, 2020

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Synopsis

On a search for his missing friend Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen), vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is led to Count Dracula's (Christopher Lee) castle. Upon arriving, Van Helsing finds an undead Harker in Dracula's crypt and discovers that the count's next target is Harker's ailing fiancée, Lucy Holmwood (Carol Marsh). With the help of her brother, Arthur (Michael Gough), Van Helsing struggles to protect Lucy and put an end to Count Dracula's parasitic reign of terror.

Director: Terence Fisher
Producer: Michael Carreras
Screenwriter: Jimmy Sangster
Production Co: Hammer Films, Universal/Universal Int
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 8, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2010
Runtime: 1h 22m

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