Halloween Diary - Hammer Drac Day

I watched a lot of Hammer Dracula today, and I thought I had a copy of The Satanic Rites of Dracula, but I must have misplaced it.

1]Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) 3/5
2]Taste the Blood of Dracula  (1970) 3/5
3]Dracula AD 1972 (1972) 3/5
4]Scars of Dracula (1970) 3/5

I also plan to watch Brides of Dracula  (1960) later tonight after a break.

I thought I'd try something different today because I'm burned out on writing reviews about the same movies over and over.

How Dracula is brought back:
1] A priest breaks the ice encasing Dracula's corpse, with blood from his wound "reawakening" the vampire from his rest.
2] A devil worshipper with allegiance to Dracula drinks his blood and somehow dust covers him and once it petrifies and breaks, the face of the Count emerges instead of Ralph Bates'.
3] While some of Dracula's blood is splashed on the fetching Caroline Munro, you can see the ground just outside the ruins of a church "rise" as another devotee (Christopher Neame) eventually pulls a stake from the ash once buried in that spot.
4] Blood from a bat's mouth (!) drips into the ash of Dracula reawakening him.

Continuity seems not to be a strong suit for Hammer as it wasn't for Universal. The red ash of Dracula in the castle of 4] follows 2] and yet should have been in the ruins of the church. The battle between Lawrence Van Helsing in 3] doesn't fit the timeline of Horror of Dracula (1958). Much like the Frankenstein films, oftentimes the continuity and characterizations don't quite gel.

How Dracula once again perishes:
1] Andrews pushes Lee off his entrance way when pursuing Carlson, falling upon a large golden cross once left in the doorway by Rupert Davies' monsignor. Ewan Hooper's priest recites Latin as the moon emerges as clouds part furthering the damage.
2] Lee is trapped in the ruins of a church, suddenly envisioning the inside of the place as it once was during use, collapsing to the floor as a result.
3] Holy water in the face and collapsing on sharpened branches in a pit, Lee is pushed into them further by Van Helsing with a shovel.
4] Lightning from the sky strikes a rod Dracula is holding (!) sets him on fire.

Top Five Villains Besides Dracula
[1] Geoffrey Keen: the abusive, corrosive father of Linda Hayden in 2]. He's always mean to his family and secretly joins two other aristocrats on the "other side of town" to participate in bacchanal while presenting himself to his family and friends (and church goers) as a respectable and strict authoritarian to rules and morality.
[2] The bat in 4]. It is responsible for the massacre of nearly an entire village (attacking in a church on innocent women and children), snitching to Dracula and telling him of potential victims that might interest him.
[3] Ewan Hooper:a priest who is so weak he can't resist Dracula's will, dumping a body out of a casket, helping to lure victims to Dracula so he can bite them or use them. He is too afraid to accompany Davies on the journey to Dracula's castle and even attacks Davies with a blow to the head which leads to his death.
[4] Christopher Neame's Johnny Alucard of 3]. He joyfully trades his friends to Dracula in favor of vampirism.
[5] Patrick Troughton as Dracula's stooge in 4]. He chops up a body for Dracula after the count stabs a lady victim to death and cuts the rope of Dennis Waterman as he is climbing down the castle to get into the room where the count sleeps.

Top Five Deaths
[1] Hayden and Isla Blair hold down Blair's father, played by Peter Sallis, staking him in gruesome fashion while he's pinned to a church pew, from 2].
[2]  The grisly results of the bat massacre in 4]. Faces are particularly mangled and torn apart.
[3] Dracula collapses from the entrance of his castle several feet upon a large golden cross, with impaling all the way through him.
[4] Dracula, who usually just bites and drinks too much from a victim resulting in their death, adopts a different mode of violence when he actually stabs a woman (Anouska Hempel) brutally with a blade.
[5] Dracula is impaled on a wagon wheel during the prologue of 3].

Top Five Ladies Dracula either victimizes or pursues.
[1] Linda Hayden in 2].
[2] Caroline Munro in 3].
[3] Veronica Carlson in 1].
[4] Jenny Hanley in 4].
[4] Stephanie Beacham in 3].

 Top Five Heroes who are a nuisance to Dracula
[1] Cushing in 3]. Easily. Not long after losing his wife, Cushing deserves special mention for returning to work and not just going through the motions. And I'm personally happy he wasn't successful in committing suicide by trying to stop his heart after the loss of his beloved Helen.
[2] Rupert Davies in 1]. Doesn't necessarily do battle with Dracula but he leaves the golden cross that ultimately serves as the weapon that "dispatches" the vampire count. He braves a mountain climb while the priest of the village doesn't even succeed in following behind him very long.
[3] Anthony Higgins in 2]. He's trying to find girlfriend Hayden, locating her at the ruins of the church, equipping himself with the gnarly, blindingly bright crucifix.
[4] Barry Andrews as the atheist entrusted by Davies to combat Dracula and rescue Carlson. He struggles because of his unbelief, hoping Hooper would help him, considering he is a priest. He is successful in dumping Lee on the large, golden cross.
[5] Dennis Waterman by default. He hurls the rod that lightning strikes, resulting in Dracula being set on fire. Waterman isn't a particularly charismatic sort, perhaps more suited as a villager friend of the eventual hero.

Special mention to Michael Ripper. He was a treat as the cafe/bar owner in 1], a snarky detective in 2], and a gruff, ill-mannered bar owner in 4]. Each character was completely different and I have seen him as drunkards and all manner of villager. Prolific is Ripper. He is a treasure that perhaps never got the credit due him, except by Hammer fans who appreciate his appearances and work.

Lee deserves mention for enduring the role of Dracula when it was probably wise to retire the character. There are only so many ways to look tall and menacing, bring the savage beast out, and bite the throats of beauties.