Continuing from where Horror of Dracula left off, Dracula Prince of Darkness opens with Vampire hunters aided by monks; transporting a young woman to perform a ceremony of rending her spirit free from vampirism.One mysterious holy man interrupts the process.The mood and setting of the movie is what you would expect from a good classic horror film. A little added humor, is an interesting addition, and aids in the introduction of one of the stories main characters.Road sign markers, suggesting of international locations stand as good attention getters. The score, when used; seems to work well with the story.The signature Hammer Horror sound relating to Dracula, draws easily on the regular attention of the viewer.A driverless coach, bridges this story with the original tale; the team of horses guiding the coach to Dracula's castle.Dracula is resurrected by a ritual of spilling fresh blood upon his ashes, and the vampire rises again.Great gathering of talent, and a good story; make for one of the greatest Dracula stories ever told.

Direct sequel of "Horror of Dracula" from 1958. abounds in clichés in story that switches from predictable to already seen and back. Also it has serious lack of suspension and horror atmosphere. Though, if I didn't see all Dracula movies to date, this one would probably leave better impression, because it brings some completely new moments. At one hand, coachman leaving passengers in the middle of nowhere because he's afraid to go near the castle during the night is scene everyone know by heart, at the other hand, passengers that steal a coach to continue their journey, and then realize they can not control horses that run straight to the castle is pretty much original approach. Scenes in tavern, table made for them when they arrive in castle, their luggage waiting in made rooms, scenes with Dracula and his helpers, clichés ragged long time ago. And then great scene of chase and completely original and unexpected way to defeat Prince of Darkness. Movie is full of unconvincing scenes with counterweight in fantastic Barbara Shelley, whose beauty and acting are, in my opinion, highlights of this feature. I really like Christopher Lee, but to me he's ridiculous in this role. Few times during the movie I was thinking about giving up on it, and yet I'm very glad I did not miss awesome ending.I have really mixed impressions. Anyway, it's surely better than its prequel from 1958.6/10

Christopher Lee was really a good actor at playing as Dracula but he wasn't more talked about or more successful as Bela Lugosi was. I mean, Christopher Lee has the sense of being the Count but at the same time, he wasn't that good at the same time. Lets just say, he was just an alright actor but I don't think any actor will replace Lugosi's fame of being the ultimate Dracula.The setting for the film was good, it actually did give me chills and I mean, chills that you normally wouldn't feel unless it is a freaky movie. Yeah this is a bit of freaky movie like Dracula did kill a couple and was trying to kill the other couple. The horse carriage with no one on it and the couple staying in a weird looking shed was sorta creepy.Good film but not a favorite Dracula film of mine.......

Horror of Dracula will always be my favourite of the Hammer Dracula series, but Dracula: Prince of Darkness is still very good and one of the best in the series.There are a couple of imperfections, with Dracula: Prince of Darkness' main flaw being the rather too-long a time it takes to set up, with some of the first thirty minutes being a little draggy. The dialogue is also rather ham-fisted and over-silly, which was a bit of a shock to me seeing as the script was penned by Jimmy Sangster, whose scripts for Hammer are usually quite intelligent and nuanced. The acting is very solid on the whole, but Francis Matthews is somewhat stiff and pallid as the hero, and his chemistry with Suzan Farmer, who with her charming sympathetic presence actually acquits herself pretty well, is a little on the dull side.Dracula: Prince of Darkness looks great though. It's very beautifully shot and has a wonderfully sumptuous Gothic atmosphere throughout. The handsome sets and period detail are very evocative, and the colours are strikingly atmospheric. James Bernard's music score is very effective, it isn't too complicated but what it is is very elegant in orchestration and effortlessly creates chills without ever being too obvious. Dracula: Prince of Darkness may get off to a slow start, but the story is mostly entertaining and engrossing. Sure it is not unlike anything we have seen already, but that didn't matter, because a vast majority of the film is brilliantly suspenseful and has a genuine sense of dread and creepy atmosphere, the chills and scares pitched beautifully. There are also three unforgettable scenes, the still shocking(and quite gruesome) Dracula resurrection, Helen's pretty nerve-shredding demise and the exciting climax on the ice.Regarding the acting, it's solid on the whole apart from Matthews. The sadly late legendary Christopher Lee, even without saying a word, still induces goose-bumps as Dracula, while a wonderfully gruff Andrew Keir is a worthy opponent for him(if not erasing memories of Peter Cushing, not that one should really be expecting that) and Barbara Shelley proves herself to be more than just a beautiful-looking scream queen, there's some nice sympathetic depth to her performance. Phillip Latham is very creepy as Klove and Thorley Walters' Ludwig sends shivers down the spine. Terence Fisher directs adeptly.All in all, while not quite Hammer at their finest, even with its flaws, Dracula: Prince of Darkness is still one of the standouts of the Hammer Dracula series. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox