The Satanic Rites of Dracula

"Evil begets evil on the sabbath of the undead!"

1973 1h 28m EN

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 178

Horror

Synopsis

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The police and British security forces call in Professor Van Helsing to help them investigate Satanic ritual which has been occurring in a large country house, and which has been attended by a government minister, an eminent scientist and secret service chief. The owner of the house is a mysterious property tycoon who is found to be behind a sinister plot involving a deadly plague. It is in fact Dracula who, sick of his interminable existence, has decided that he must end it all in the only possible way- by destroying every last potential victim.

“Evil begets evil on the sabbath of the undead!”

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Cast

Christopher Lee
Count Dracula
Peter Cushing
Prof. Lorrimer Van Helsing
Michael Coles
Insp. Murray
William Franklyn
Peter Torrence
Freddie Jones
Prof. Julian Keeley
Joanna Lumley
Jessica Van Helsing
Richard Vernon
Col. Mathews
Barbara Yu Ling
Chin Yang

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan Gibson
Writers: Don Houghton
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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan Gibson, shot by Brian Probyn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 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#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and Michael Coles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Evil begets evil on the sabbath of the undead!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan Gibson directs. Brian Probyn behind the camera. John Cacavas scores. Chris Barnes cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
253 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Dracula (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Alan Gibson, shot by Brian Probyn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Cacavas. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Chris Barnes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and Michael Coles carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Evil begets evil on the sabbath of the undead!".
9IMDB entry: tt0070634 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "vampire", "scotland yard", "satanist", "gothic horror".
11Released under 26 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian Probyn
Original score: John Cacavas
Editing: Chris Barnes
Makeup / hair: George Blackler
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $544,476
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Part of

Dracula (Hammer) Collection

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

Also by

Alan Gibson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-10-31
★ 6/10
Hammer’s final Dracula film with Christopher Lee Two years after the events of “Dracula A.D. 1972” (1972) Scotland Yard & Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) discover that Dracula (Christopher Lee) is alive and well in the London area, disguised as an antisocial property developer with a mad scheme to unleash a lethal virus upon the Earth. “The Satanic Rites of Dracula,” aka “Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride” (1973), was the last of seven Hammer Dracula films starring Lee as the diabolic Count released from 1958-1973. The previous six are: “Horror of Dracula” (1958), “Dracula, Prince of Darkness” (1966), “Dracula has Risen from the Grave” (1968), “Taste the Blood of Dracula” (1970), “Scars of Dracula” (1970) and “Dracula A.D. 1972” (1972). While this is arguably the least in the series, it has a lot to offer once you get past Dracula’s henchmen riding motorcycles and wearing brown vests with wool fringe (no doubt this was ‘hip’ attire back in 1972 when the film was shot). It helps to grasp that Stoker’s original novel took place in what was then modern times, 1897, with Dracula being over 400 years old by that point. “Satanic Rites” simply envisions how the vampire lord would function in the early 70s. In Stoker’s book he’s a powerful and arrogant creature that holds a position of authority, a Count, and prefers to dwell in an intimidating castle in Transylvania or a gothic estate in London, not to mention acquires subjects to serve his purposes, like gypsies and Renfield. Here Drac’s DD Denham persona is the modern English equivalent to a Count in Transylvania hundreds of years prior. In both cases he’s an untouchable authority figure with minions carrying out his will. Simply put, this is how a 500 year-old evil being would operate in the 1970s using elements of the modern world to accomplish his ends, including the British Empire. Speaking of which, in Stoker’s novel Dracula recognized the British Empire as a means to spread his cult of vampirism around the world and eventually take it over. He wasn’t content to just threaten a few local nobodies as observed in the five previous sequels. In “Satanic Rites” he’s back to his vision of global domination, tricking 4 members of the Establishment into being agents of his "own created Apocalypse," but now we see the incredibly sinister culmination of his power-mad scheme. To appreciate what this flick has to offer you have to get past the motorcycle-riding henchmen and their dubious vests. Once you do, it has quite a bit to offer: The notable group of protagonists, including those played by Michael Coles and Joanna Lumley; the way they put their heads together to figure out what the Count is doing and how to stop him; and Drac’s “harem” he keeps in the basement (played by Maggie Fitzgerald, Finnuala O'Shannon, Pauline Peart and a newly converted vamp played by Valerie Van Ost). The film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes and was shot in Hertfordshire & nearby London, England. GRADE: B-
CinemaSerf2023-05-27
★ 5/10
The great grandson of the original "Van Helsing" (Peter Cushing) is drafted in by Scotland Yard to investigate a series of deaths that smack of vampirism. The investigation centres around a manor house where the great and the good of London society meet, ostensibly for ordinary gatherings, but we know it is much more sinister (well, in theory, anyway). What's more - this house is built upon an old cemetery, and guess who was buried in it just a few years earlier? This is a sort of 1970s "Freemasons meet Dracula" affair, with a lacklustre dialogue and some pretty lame performances all round. It builds predictably to a conflagration that seems a long time coming, and neither Cushing nor the fleeting appearances from Christopher Lee really ignite the film. The score has that early synthesised sound to it, and the photography - though probably quite effective in 1973, now looks dated and juddery. These Hammer films were well past their sell-by dates by now, the gift had long since stopped giving and perhaps because it is in colour, it is not remotely scary. Passable, but only because I like the genre.