Dracula und seine Bräute (1960)

Dracula und seine Bräute: Directed by Terence Fisher. With Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur, Freda Jackson. Vampire hunter Van Helsing returns to Transylvania to destroy handsome bloodsucker Baron Meinster, who has designs on beautiful young schoolteacher Marianne.

“The Brides of Dracula is not as good as 1958u0026#39;s Dracula(or Horror of Dracula), but it is almost as good and a very good follow-up, a near classic in fact. Yvonne Monlaur is rather wooden in the female lead role, the bat effects are truly laughable and the film drags a tad at the halfway mark but thatu0026#39;s it for the flaws personally.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHammer horrors are always at least visually good, and The Brides of Dracula certainly looks good. In fact it looks fantastic, to me itu0026#39;s one of the best-looking Hammer films. The photography is smooth, rich in colour and enhances the atmosphere rather than detracting and the sets are some of the most sumptuous and atmospheric of any Hammer horror. The music in its most haunting parts positively induces tingles down the spine and while there are a couple of clumsy loose ends the script is one of Hammeru0026#39;s most nuanced. The story is filled with marvellous atmosphere and Gothic ghoulishness and is always compelling and easy to follow, the standout scene is the ending which is like a fairy-tale nightmare come to life. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTerrence Fisheru0026#39;s direction is unflinching and the performances on the whole are very good, especially from a classy and typically impeccable Peter Cushing as one of the best screen Van Helsings and Martita Hunt as a sometimes sympathetic but genuinely scary Baroness, especially in the scene when sheu0026#39;s standing behind Monlaur. Freda Jackson is chilling also and chews the scenery with glee(and not in a negative way despite how it sounds) and Miles Malleson brings some amusing comedy that doesnu0026#39;t feel out of place at all. David Peel is nowhere near in the same league as Christopher Lee- then again itu0026#39;s really difficult to follow Lee in any role really- but while a little fey in places he is a worthy and charismatic substitute.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, a near classic if with its weak spots. 8/10 Bethany Cox”