Director: Terence Fischer
Year: 1960
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Called to a small town in the country, Van Helsing finds that the cause for a series of strange murders in town is done by a vengeful vampire who has set his sights on his new girlfriend, and he must race to stop the vampire's plans before more townspeople fall victim to the madman.
Review:
This here was quite a thrilling and exciting entry. A lot of the film’s finer qualities here, just the same as most Hammer films of this time, is the continuation of what worked before, as this offers more grandiose Gothic atmosphere that gives this a stylish overall feel. This is mostly evident with their immense castle containing all the usual trappings here for the time, as the multiple layers of the house feature all sorts of various rooms and secret passages that make this a standout avenue to be involved in, while the ornate decorations and lavish structure give this a real feeling of sophistication. That gets carried on later on in the school, where he secretly begins preying on the students behind her back, which plays into their relationship as he remains as his human persona keeps them off his suspicions, which is where this one works nicely.
On top of that, there's a spectacular amount of suspense and mood that makes it really in touch with the usual fare. The opening scenes of the horse-drawn carriage plodding through the woods through a heavy fog is a perfect example, as is a nighttime chase through the same woods, with the same result of a standout suspense scene due to the impressive atmosphere. The time spent at the castle is full of these kinds of scenes of her wandering around, trying to make sense of his strange rules and demands, since it's simply huge and allows for numerous amounts of suspense that come from these when she inadvertently stumbles into rooms she's not supposed to and uncovers the subterfuge. Other chilling scenes, featuring a rather nice fire spot that gets involved in the end and an encounter in the boardinghouse that packs some punch for the fact that it uses the vampire-mirror gag to absolute perfection, are immensely disturbing for it.
That all these are featured alongside enjoyable action scenes throughout here, from their duels inside the castle to keep the son locked up to the stellar vampire birthing sequence in the graveyard which looks rather surreal as the woman comes forth beneath the ground and it all comes together spectacularly in the end with the battle in the barn and outside in the courtyard which has not only the stellar action of their battles together but also adds an incredibly original tactic to combat the mark of the vampire when he gets attacked. As these here feature the Gothic trappings with the fantastic sets, as well as showing the girls all decked out in the elaborate costumes typical of the time that really showers this in the old-school. Alongside another stellar Cushing performance, it all comes together really well and makes the film what it is.
This one here doesn't have any real flaws that hurt it all that much. Its biggest issue is that the lead vampire is a little weak when it's just him, but that's due to him not really having a motive at all. Carrying out no really complex charade to allow him access to more bodies and with no real effort made to tell why he got that way, the whole affair gives this the overall weak feeling in the main vampire, which is what’s needed in this type of film. As well, the relationship is excruciating to watch for once, not doing much to set up the romantic qualities found between them, with the static, lifeless scenes taking up so much time that doesn’t go anywhere close to generating the life needed to sell this. The fact that the angle with the mother is handled poorly, with it coming across as nothing all that spectacular, and is done with a ho-hum feel that doesn't have any real outcome beyond the expected. Still, these are all that hold it back.
Overview: ****.5/5
With only a few small flaws but a lot of really great points about it, this one here is one of the better entries in the Hammer cycle. Absolutely recommended for their followers, fans of the Gothic cinema, or just plain vampire film fans in general, while those who take the flaws into account should heed caution.
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