Halloween Horrorfest: Taste the Blood of Dracula

Following directly from the climax of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, we move right into the next film, Taste the Blood of Dracula. Hammer kicked things up a couple notches with this outing, crafting a clever return for the Count as he continues his reign of terror, this time moving the action from Eastern Europe to Victorian London.

Three British Gentlemen, William Hargood (played by Geoffrey Keen), Samuel Paxton (played by Peter Sallis), and Jonathan Secker (played by John Carson), have formed a social circle under the guise of being for charity work but actually the three frequently visit a brothel together. On one such visit, they are disrupted by the appearance of a young man, Courtley (played by Ralph Bates), who is tended to immediately despite the brothel keeper's objections. Intrigued, the men ask about him and discover the man was disinherited after practicing a Black Mass. Intrigued and seeking a more intense thrill, Hargood meets Courtley outside the brothel. The young man promises the three gentlemen a thrill to remember and after purchasing some Dracula artifacts, including a vial of Dracula's dried blood, takes the three to an old, abandoned church. He places some of the powdered Dracula blood in four goblets and then adds some of his own blood, which causes the blood to liquify and fill the goblets. He encourages the men to drink, but they are too disgusted to do so. Courtley drinks it instead and begins to scream and fall to the ground. Horrified, the three gentlemen kick and beat Courtley, not stopping until he is dead and then flee the scene. Courtley's dead body is then transformed into Dracula (played by Christopher Lee), who rises once again, pledging to avenge the murder of his faithful servant Courtley.

The film was directed by Paul Sasidy and written by Anthony Hinds, who also wrote the previous film. As with most sequels, this one ups the ante for the latest installment and in fact has the distinction of being the only Hammer Dracula film to carry an R rating. But yet, the film maintains the same distinct gothic horror flavor that this series has been known for, but just with a slightly harder edge to it. However, despite the set-up, this outing is very similar to the previous film with the Count swearing vengeance against those who have wronged him and setting his sights on both the individuals and their families. It even falls to a young lad named Paul (played by Anthony Higgins) to defeat the Count and save his girlfriend. But yet, this outing is more consistently thrilling than the preceding film and the plot, though similar is a bit more intriguing. Likewise the characters are better drawn this time and a bit more interesting and subsequently the performances were better too. I was just more drawn in with this one than the previous film, although there is plenty to recommend with that one as well.    

Overall, Taste the Blood of Dracula may be my favorite of the Dracula sequels I've seen thus far. Granted, the plot is remarkably similar to the previous film but at the same time offers enough new elements as well as better and more interesting characters to create a more intriguing, spooky and entertaining film.