BRIDES OF DRACULA
It's great to see Cushing in a worthy role
I was putting off seeing this until I saw Horror Of Dracula, which I still can?t find anywhere. Here I am with only a handful of horror movies left at my local store, so I guess I may as well rent this one anyway.
A fire-maned lassie (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Daphne from "Frasier") is stranded when her chariot breaks down (how many vampire stories start with that?) and is invited to take shelter at the castle of this mysterious Baroness. Who, I might add, looks quite a bit like Peter Cushing, although nothing is made of that in the film. Anyway, the girl meets the Baroness's son, the Baron (do Baronies really work that way?), who's kept shackled to the wall and pleads for release. Naively, she grants him just that, and before you can say "Dr. Van Helsing to the rescue", the lil' bastard turns out to be a vampire and he's made his way to the nearest all-girl's school, where he attempts to convert them all to his thrall, be it by fang or by hypnotism.
Cushing plays Van Helsing here, and after seeing him in so many crap roles, it's nice to see him in a role that deserves him. David Peel plays the bloodsucker in question, and he's not bad, except when he's in full-on vampire mode, and you expect him to go "Vlah! Vlah! Vlah!"
The movie looks great, moves at a good clip and has a number of exciting moments (especially the climax, which is resolved in a rather clever, if hilariously unlikely, fashion). It's hampered, however, by its own datedness (Jesus, could those plastic fangs have been any bigger? These people can hardly talk) and now slightly campy vampire schtick.
Recommended, and it makes me want to find Horror of Dracula even more now. Don't let the back of the box fool you - this is not a colorized version of a B&W movie. There are (I believe) five other movies in this Hammer Dracula series.