Dracula Has Risen From the Grave: Movie Review

8.5/10

The year was 1968, and Christopher Lee was back for his fourth Hammer Dracula movie.  "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" really stuck out in the series for its gruesome violence, it's great display of terror, and some beautiful camerawork too. I can definitely call it one of the better in the series, and one of the coolest horror movies of all time. 

The introduction credits were really awesome in my opinion, because they were super psychedelic, with the dripping colors running all over the place.  While this could be considered dated now, I really find it cool, because I love the vintage films of this time. On these credits, there is also some amazing music in the background that may be one of the most epic scores ever.  When the movie actually starts, right off the bat comes shocking horrors. A man is walking through the church, when he finds a dead woman hanging and covered in blood. The question is who did this, and why?  The presumption is Dracula, because of the lines said by a priest. Soon after, the movie moves forward a year forward to 1906, and a man named Monsignor Ernest Mueller claims that Dracula has been destroyed.  Mueller decides to check on East European Village, and is surprised to see what has happened. The first person he ran into was an altar boy that had now become a mute. The second person is a priest that has really lost any belief in his own religion. The two of them talk about concern that Dracula is back. They then take a journey to a mountain, and the priest decides to turn back about half way through. As he goes back, he falls and hits his head. In this moment, the blood from his body falls into the mouth of dead Dracula, and he is revived.... This foolishness begins a chain of attacks at the hand of this vampire, and the control that he puts on them.

The first forty minutes were very slow. There was a couple little shocks here and there, but a lot of it was used for character development and such. I really didn't mind this, because all of these scenes were done very well, and they set up the later parts to be even more shocking. This becomes very apparent during the forty five minute mark, because there is a very intense and amazingly done scene that takes place in the woods. This actually happens to be one of my favorite parts of the series, because it was so claustrophobic, and it was filmed very well to the point where one feels like they're experiencing it. I also love the setting of the woods in this moment, because even though there are places to run, there is no one there to help. 

Even though the idea wasn't first used in this movie, I really liked how apparent that the film made it that the victims of Dracula became his slave in a sense. You can really tell this in the ways that their sanity is compromised, and by the smiles on their faces when he comes by. They become mindless minions that have no problem at all in do exactly what he wants.  I think that this is much darker than just killing people, because it shows how the people that were loved at one point became evil in a sense. The other part of it that is really crazy, is that even though signs of the people going mad happen, a lot of the public don't care to say anything or even notice.

To make the movie even better, the cast was absolutely amazing. Starting off with my favorite horror actor ever, Christopher Lee completely kills it as Dracula in this installment.  He was darker than ever in this movie, because he didn't have to say anything, but just give a look with those sinister eyes, and stand there in the presence of scared people.  He was also extremely well at portraying the seductive side of Dracula for this movie in particular, because you can show how much the characters take pleasure in his advances that lead to their bite.  Even though we know he is bad, and the people probably do too, he just has a way of drawing them in with his suave nature, and there is really no going back for them.  Rupert Davies gave a very good performance as Ernest, because he was extremely likable with his aura and personality, and he was very convincing at showcasing his fear and such. Veronica Carlson was really neat as Maria Muller. She was an extremely beautiful girl, and you can initially sense a very pure nature to her.  This changes though, because when Dracula comes into her life, she becomes a very intense and romantic girl because of his seductions. Ewan Hooper gave a very realistic and suspenseful performance as the possessed priest, because one can totally sense how much change happened to him in his life, and even though he turns somewhat, you can tell that he has a want to be good, as he battles for his own life. 

When I first saw that this movie was rated G, I was worried that it was a weak movie with low caliber attacks. I was very surprised when I saw the actual product though. There is no way that this film would be G now, and it may actually be closer to PG-13 or R. There was some pretty gruesome scenes, especially one that features blood spraying everywhere.  This is a prime example of how censors really missed the mark at times, and I find it quite humorous to be honest. 

 I was actually super impressed, because the film had a much darker tone than a lot of the ones before, whether it was because of the violence itself or the atmosphere. I think part of this was the camerawork too, because the red tinted screen made very trippy and crazy feeling when it happened a couple times. 

The last half of the movie was pretty epic, and it blew my mind. There was constant pressure about Dracula, and there was a lot of fighting too. The ending was also pretty intense, and gruesome for sure, and it left the audience at a shock, which is always the best way to finish a horror film.  All of these scenes really shaped the movie to be one of the most exciting of the genre. 

Overall, this movie really made my day.  It was a high quality, and extremely intense horror movie, and even though it started off slow, it ended up blowing me away.  There was a great cast, great technical aspects, and it is worth the time of every horror fan.  Definitely give this film a chance, because I guarantee that it will blow your mind away.