Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

If Peter Cushing had starred in more “prestige” movies, he would easily be regarded as one of the finest film actors to ever grace the silver screen. Unfortunately, he spent most of his career starring in horror movies; a genre that is greatly frowned down by most film critics and historians.  look no further than Dracula A.D. 1972 for proof of Cushing’s greatness, because his presence alone elevates it from being absolute garbage to being a passable thriller.  Indeed, whenever Cushing is not onscreen the movie is absolutely dreadful, even laughable at times – check out the scene in which Caroline Munro’s wide eyed hippie, Laura, begs to be sacrificed to Dracula.  In fact, its modern setting (1972) makes the movie far more dated than the previous Dracula movies, which were all set in the Victorian Era.  What is truly amazing is that, despite the silly script, Cushing gives it his all; there is no condescension in his performance nor does he ever resort to histrionics. He gives an air of credibility to the movie and is fairly affecting at times, especially in the scenes that involve Van Helsing’s granddaughter, Jessica (Stephanie Beacham).  Cushing tended to play different variations on the same role – the authority figure. Whereas his Baron Frankenstein was a cold man that became increasing more cynical as the series progressed, his Lorrimer Van Helsing is a beacon of hope in a jaded age; he is an extremely warm and inviting figure.  When Lorrimer finds out that Jessica took part in the black mass that awakened Dracula, rather than screaming at her, he tells her, in a calm voice, that he wants to help, and then hugs her. 

Jessica has gotten herself involved with a group of hedonistic hippies; their ringleader is Johnny Alucard, who comes from a long line of Dracula disciples.  Johnny persuades his friends to attend a black mass ceremony at an abandoned church, and they all agree, though Jessica is reluctant, because it is something different.  Of course, this is a ruse by Johnny to resurrect Dracula from the dead, and his friends are merely sacrificial lambs in his pursuit to achieve immortality.  After Johnny dumps a cauldron of blood all over Laura’s body (she volunteers to take part in the mass), Jessica and friends flee in horror, abandoning the hysterical Laura. Dracula is successfully brought back to life and wastes no time in disposing of Laura; he drains all the blood from her body.  Dracula spends the rest of the movie offing Jessica’s friends, until he is stopped by Lorrimer.

I like Stephanie Beacham as Jessica Van Helsing, despite her sporting one of the most unfortunate mullets in film history.  Jessica is a young girl just looking to get some kicks, oblivious to the danger that is lurking around the corner.  It’s extremely unfortunate that Jessica is never given a full character arc, because it might have smoothed over the movie’s more glaring flaws.  In the previous Dracula films, most notably Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Taste of the Blood of Dracula, the main protagonist is a young, carefree lad (named Paul in both films) who reluctantly finds himself going head to head with Dracula at the movie’s climax; at stake is the souls of their girlfriends (Maria in Risen, Alice in Taste). At first, it seems that Jessica is going to be given a similar type of arc – she is a carefree soul and is very dismissive towards her grandfather.  When he tells her that the study of the occult has been his life’s work, she snaps back, “It’s not one of my hang ups.”  Like the protagonist in the earlier movies, she soon finds her life going to hell; she is being questioned by the police, while her friends are killed off one by one.  She seems destined to become Lorrimer’s successor, but, sadly, she is relegated to a typical damsel in distress role, and spends the last ten minutes staring in a hypnotic trance.   It’s a really a wasted opportunity by Hammer, but they were more interested in filming Beacham’s cleavage than developing an interesting heroine. In the following year's The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Jessica (now played by Joanna Lumley) is Lorrimer's assistant, but, even then, she is still given very little to do. 

 Dracula A.D. 1972 was Hammer’s attempt at rebooting the Dracula series; it takes place in a different timeline than the previous movies. There is a prologue set in 1872 where Lorrimer’s ancestor, Lawrence, is battling Dracula on top of a runaway carriage. Lawrence impales Dracula with a broken wheel from the carriage. Dracula turns to ashes, while Lawrence dies from the wounds he received in the battle.  Just then one of Dracula’s disciples walks into frame and gathers up the ashes.  There is a fairly creative transition from 1872 to 1972; there is a close up of Lawrence Van Helsing’s headstone and then the camera pans up to a jet airplane flying in the sky. 

The first half of the movie is as bad as it can get, - it focuses primarily on Jessica and her hippie friends. When we first meet them, they are crashing a birthday party being held by a wealthy family; the dance around, make out, while a rock band, Stoneground, plays in the background. There is an argument between the ringleader, Johnny Alucard, and Joe, the odious comic relief, as to how much time they have before the cops show up. 

This is a big problem, because none of these characters are particularly likable nor, with the exception of their ghastly wardrobe, interesting to watch.  The cast tries their hardest to breathe life into the characters, but the script lets them down. Are we supposed to like the characters? Is the audience supposed to find Joe funny? Jessica, despite being a modern woman, is very much a follower and easily gives into peer pressure. Her boyfriend, Bob, constantly makes idle threats to Johnny, but never backs them up. Laura willingly goes along with whatever Johnny suggest. Joe is an obnoxious pain in the ass, and the other two girls, Gaynor and Anna, are just there for the ride. Jessica at least feels guilty about abandoning Laura at the church, the rest of the group just shrugs it off.  Johnny Alucard, with his penchant for using 70s slang and wearing flamboyant outfits, comes across as more comical than menacing; his death scene is more befitting for a Home Alone movie than a Dracula sequel

Dracula A.D.1972 is filled with laughably bad moments; the black mass, where Johnny urges the group to “Dig the music, kids,” as percussion music plays in the background; Johnny Alucard’s death by shower; the way Jessica and her friends put the word, “man” at the end of every other sentence;  Dracula getting annoyed at Johnny for bringing him the wrong woman, etc.  These are script problems, the movie itself is competently made – it never falls to level of Ed Wood, or other legendary bad movie directors. 

While Dracula A.D. 1972 takes place in a different universe than the previous movies that didn’t stop the filmmakers from essentially lifting the plot to Taste the Blood of Dracula, albeit with a few revisions. Taste of the Blood of Dracula is a flawed, but interesting entry in the Dracula series, because it is, in essence, about the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children. The fathers, in this case, are three respected members of a small community, who in their spare time are looking for some new kicks; they usually go to brothels to indulge themselves.  At the brothel, they meet a young man named Lord Courtley, who is really a disciple of Dracula. Just like, Johnny Alucard, he convinces these men to partake in a black mass which results in the resurrection of Dracula.  Taste of the Blood of Dracula is a better movie than A.D. 1972, but it does lack a strong protagonist. Ralph Bates is fun in the early going as the flamboyant Courtley, but he is killed midway through.  Dracula A.D. 1972 is fairly dreadful up until the half way point, then comes to life once Peter Cushing takes over. I also like Michael Coles as Inspector Murray; it's extremely refreshing to see a horror film in which the police force not only believe Van Helsing, but are the ones who seek him out. 

Christopher Lee is given very little do; this was the case in practically all of Hammer’s Dracula movies.  He has less than ten minutes of total screen time, but he is genuinely menacing in his few scenes.  Though, it isn't until the very end that Lee and Cushing share a scene, and even then, they are rarely in the frame together.  They were much more effectively paired in the same year’s Horror Express, where they play rival scientists. 

Cast: Peter Cushing (Lorrimer Van Helsing/Lawrence Van Helsing), Stephanie Beacham (Jessica Van Helsing), Christopher Lee (Count Dracula), Christopher Neame (Johnny Alucard), Michael Coles (Inspector Murray), Caroline Munro (Laura), Philip Miller (Bob), Marsha Hunt (Gaynor), Janet Key (Anna Bryant), William Ellis (Joe Mitchum), Michael Kitchen (Greg), David Andrews (Detective Sergeant).

Director: Alan Gibson.
Screenplay: Don Houghton.
Running Time: 96 min.