Dracula: Prince of Darkness

"DEAD for Ten Years DRACULA, Prince of Darkness, LIVES AGAIN!"

1966 1h 30m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 305

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Whilst vacationing in the Carpathian Mountain, two couples stumble across the remains of Count Dracula's castle. The Count's trusted servant kills one of the men, suspending the body over the Count's ashes so that the blood drips from the corpse and saturates the blackened remains. The ritual is completed, the Count revived and his attentions focus on the dead man's wife who is to become his partner; devoted to an existence of depravity and evil.

“DEAD for Ten Years DRACULA, Prince of Darkness, LIVES AGAIN!”

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Cast

Christopher Lee
Count Dracula
Barbara Shelley
Helen Kent
Andrew Keir
Father Sandor
Francis Matthews
Charles Kent
Suzan Farmer
Diana Kent
Thorley Walters
Ludwig
Philip Latham
Klove
Charles Tingwell
Alan Kent

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Terence Fisher
Writers: Jimmy Sangster
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Dracula (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Michael Reed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Barnes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christopher Lee and Barbara Shelley and Andrew Keir carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Terence Fisher directs. Michael Reed behind the camera. James Bernard scores. Chris Barnes cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
360 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Dracula (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Michael Reed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Chris Barnes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Christopher Lee and Barbara Shelley and Andrew Keir carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "DEAD for Ten Years DRACULA, Prince of Darkness, LIVES AGAIN!".
10IMDB entry: tt0059127 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 8 themes, including "vampire", "halloween", "castle", "sequel".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Reed
Original score: James Bernard
Editing: Chris Barnes
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Roy Ashton
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $280,379
Box office: $364,937
Return: 130% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Part of

Dracula (Hammer) Collection

A Hammer Films Productions horror film series inspired by Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

Also by

Terence Fisher

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-03-16
★ 7/10
Lee returns as Dracula after an 8-year absence. RELEASED IN 1966 and directed by Terence Fisher, “Dracula: Prince of Darkness” focuses on two English couples circa 1900 traveling the mysterious forests of Eastern Europe who are warned to stay away from a particular area that has an ominous castle. Fools that they are, they end up spending the night and the sinister Count is resurrected. Hammer did nine Dracula films from 1958 to 1974: Horror of Dracula (1958); The Brides of Dracula (1960); Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966); Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968); Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969); Scars of Dracula (1970); Dracula AD 1972 (1972); The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973); and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974). Christopher played the Count in every one of these except "The Brides of Dracula" and "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires." As such, "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" was Lee's return to the role after a long eight year absence. Most Hammer fans praise the first film in the series from 1958, which was Lee's first gig as Dracula, and it is a solid entry with the typical Hammer highlights, like lush Gothic ambiance, bright colors, Lee & Cushing and bodacious women, not to mention Lee's diabolical interpretation of the Count and one of the most stunning horror scores by James Bernard. But the truncated story wasn't completely satisfactory and there were too many 50's limitations IMHO. I prefer this sequel as it features all the Hammer hallmarks listed above, except Cushing. Some might complain about the slow first half, but I like the way the film takes its time and concentrates on the two couples, the spooky ambiance, and the build-up of suspense. Klove (Philip Latham) is a particularly creepy character with his courteous pretense. The way he resurrects the Count is a ghastly highlight. Interestingly, Lee doesn't have all that much screen time and not one line of dialogue, so he's basically a vampire bogeyman here. But the lush Gothic atmosphere is potent and the cast shines, especially Barbara Shelley as the doomed wife of a so-“cultured”-he's-stupid husband (Charles Tingwell). And Andrew Keir as Dracula's worthy antagonist, Father Sandor, a most formidable monk. I also appreciated the elaboration on vampire lore by Sandor (Keir). One reviewer scoffed at the idea that the undead have to be willingly allowed into a person’s abode, but this fits the parallel of vampires to evil itself, which first affects a person’s mindset (ideology) and THEN their behavior or lifestyle. In short, evil cannot overtake a person unless s/he willingly allows it. THE FILM RUNS 90 minutes and was shot in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England, (with, perhaps, some establishing shots from Romania, e.g. the mountains). WRITERS: Jimmy Sangster and Anthony Hinds. ADDITIONAL CAST: Francis Matthews & Suzan Farmer play the other couple. GRADE: B

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