Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Lawbolisted Powerful

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

GL84 Trying to party around their village, a group of thrill-seekers find that the latest addition to their social circle has plans for them to resurrect Count Dracula, and when their efforts indeed raise him he sets out for revenge against their daughters forcing them to stop his plans.For the most part this one here was quite the impressive and truly enjoyable entry in the franchise. Much like the usual inclusions into the genre, this one really manages to work the Victorian era look and feel of these films into a strong and cogent whole that's quite immersive and enjoyable here. Focusing on the group here for much as it does makes the film half really swim in those typical Gothic tropes of them wandering through the different forms of entertainment which makes for a strong enough tone before going for the more stylistic choices being in the church where's resurrected. Part of the usually elaborate and ornate decorations that are perfectly in keeping with this one's overall sense of grandeur while taking in the raging thunderstorm at the time generally featured in this style. The unnoticed resurrection that follows is quite fun and chilling which makes for yet another great resurrection piece in the church that sets up the rather intriguing second half that plays like the fun traditional Hammer- style effort. The revenge angle is quite quite fun as there's a lot to like here with his seduction scenes of the daughters in the castle as well as the mounting search for them as they've gone missing along the way giving this part some rather enjoyable elements coming along into the remaining parts of the film which has a lot to like here. There's some solid action with the best friend getting seduced and turned in the castle, their return to investigate the disappearances only to find the vampires there before getting attacked themselves and the rather short but still fun brawl across the castle grounds in the finale that also manages to include the rather fun and enjoyable melt-down of the vampire at the very end. Coupled with the nice amount of sleazy goings-on in the beginning, this here comes off rather nicely even though there's a minor but still troubling flaw that comes up here in that there's a rather flimsy and confusing manner of Dracula's death. It doesn't really make any sense what actually happened to cause him to perish, as it's supposedly based on the idea of him being struck by lightning and falling into the tomb, but even that is pure speculation and it doesn't really make any sense if that was the cause here to finally end him as it's been a tactic that isn't employed again and doesn't really offer up any reason why it should. Beyond this, though, there's not a whole lot about this one that holds it back.Rated R: Violence and Brief Nudity.

Rainey Dawn A very good follow up to "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)"... "Taste the Blood" picks up exactly where "Risen" left off.The merchant Weller has found the dried blood of Dracula and his friend Lord Courtley wants to bring back his master. They meet 3 gentlemen in a brothel that is bored with their lives and talks them into buying a few of Dracula's belongings. The men go to an abandoned church and turn it into the devil's sanctuary, preform a ritual that the 3 bored men refuses to finish... a refusal that leaves Dracula's servant Lord Courtley dead. When Dracula is resurrected he vows revenge on the 3 men that took the life of Courtley.There is plenty of blood and gore in this film... it's not nearly as bloody and gory as today's films because the movie also has a very interesting story to tell and not a gore-fest! 9/10

callanvass After the events from "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" , 4 elderly snobs are bored with their bourgeois lives and get acquainted with Dracula's servant. When the gentlemen refuse to drink the blood, Count Dracula is resurrected, but his servant dies in the process. With the Count vowing vengeance for the death of his servant, he looks to prey on young women for blood, getting revenge on the men that killed his servant as well, which keeps the gentlemen on edge, especially William Hargood, who resorts to heavy drinking.I have yet to see Scars of Dracula or Dracula A.D, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and proclaim this to be the second worst film in Dracula's hammer series, the worst being The Satanic Rites of Dracula. Not only is the movie dullish, but so are the characters. Virtually, everybody in this movie is unlikable. I'm all for shades of Grey, but I at least have to find them endearing. This movie doesn't provide that at all. Like all the other installments, it's lavish, stylish, filled with wonderful photography, but it fails to engage the viewer a lot of times. Also, on an unrelated note, why is it the women show so much pleasure when they are being bitten? Just something I wonder. Christopher Lee is as menacing as ever. You may recognize Geoffrey Hargood (William) from some James Bond films. He plays one of the most shadiest characters i've ever seen. This man is completely reprehensible with some of the things he does. You'll be glad to see him go, trust me. He soled his paranoia extremely well and played a drunk very convincingly. Linda Hayden is a horror favorite. She is OK as Alice, not great. Even if she was under Dracula's spell, she still does some unforgivable things. Not only does she kill her father (Even though he deserved it) but she chooses Dracula over her boyfriend near the end of the film, before changing her mind when Dracula betrays her. If that was me, i'd say "Screw you" for her insubordinate behavior. Anthony Higgins is very vanilla as our hero. The love story between Higgins & Hayden was bland as well. The ending is a complete waste of time, with how poorly it is done. It rivals Prince of Darkness & Satanic Rites of Dracula for weakest endingsFinal Thoughts: After the above average, Dracula Has Risen From The Grave, it was disappointing to witness this poorly conceived sequel. It has pacing issues and unlikable characters. It is not terrible, but you could do much better. 5.3/10

DarthVoorhees When one walks into a Hammer 'Dracula' film there has to be a realization that the titular monster will be all but reduced to nothing more than a glorified cameo in some areas. I can absolutely see and understand Lee's frustration with the character. Most of the entries in the series feel as though they were written without the Dracula character given concrete reasons to do or say anything. 'Taste the Blood of Dracula' is no exception to this rule. Lee's Dracula is nothing more than a plot piece with stirring dialogue like "The first...". Part of me thinks Hammer should be embarrassed for wasting a talent like Christopher Lee's time. And yet 'Taste the Blood of Dracula' is one of the finest entries in the series. I dare say it's actually better than the 1958 original 'Horror of Dracula'. Why is that? Because even though Dracula is but a caricature, this film is filled with intriguing characters and an inspired plot which although not exploited to it's full potential plays with fresh ideas in a stale Dracula series that often didn't know what it wanted to do. Hammer had many strengths but developing characters was not one of them. If they didn't have talents like Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing in their roles I think the studio would failed to be remembered or endeared as much as it is. Hammer is famous for creating wooden heroes to combat their monsters. 'Taste the Blood of Dracula' does something inspired. It populates it's film not just with the Count and a wooden hero but also a cast of sinners. I get behind this inspired idea immediately. The thought of these old perverts dabbling in Satanism for erotic thrills is one of the most original horror plots of this time period. It plays exactly into Hammer's strengths of not so subtly teasing the juxtaposition of sex and horror. If anything I wish the film fell into the last cycle of Hammer films and had the hardcore exploitation aspects of 'Dracula AD 1972' and 'Satanic Rites'. What draws me to Hammer films are these kind of characters with dark secrets. I think that's why Peter Cushing's Frankenstein is still so endearing. These three old perverts are the perfect critique and parody of the kind of uptight British culture that these Hammer films were so perfect at rebelling against. I love the fact that Lee's Dracula is not the one to kill these creeps but instead Dracula turns their children against them. This is fresh and inspired material that perfectly encapsulates what Hammer was.The cast is damn good too and they turn in fine performances. Lee actually doesn't give the best performance in the film and he usually always does. I absolutely love Ralph Bates and think he is by far the most underrated Hammer performer. I sort of wish I could have seen the film as originally intended with Bates taking over the cloak as Lord Courtley. He has a mad fire and anger to his performance. He pretty blatantly chews the scenery in his black mass scene but it's so damn entertaining and sincere that I really loved it. Geoffrey Keen is also particularly good as William Hargood, the leader of this elderly perverts. He's sly and quiet in his delivery. He really embodies what one thinks a snake looks like. I would have wished he and Dracula had more of a confrontation. Unsurprisingly, our hero Paul and his beau Alice are the least interesting characters and get boring performances as well. Anthony Higgins is likable enough but the material is so boring and he just plays the straight laced hero as cut out as possible with no edge. This Dracula film is one of the better Hammer entries because it actually has the guts to take some risks. I think despite Lee's reservations about the Dracula series being stale and predictable that he can be proud here. This film is a darker and more morbid experience inhabited with the devilish characters Hammer did so well. It is a sufficiently entertaining treat.