Cheap Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (Video) (Freddie Francis) Price

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Customer Reviews of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

As for the film, I've always felt it was a bit underrated. DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, the previous entry in the series, has been revered for reasons I've never fully understood. It's incredibly slow-moving, is almost entirely set in one location, and Christopher Lee doesn't even speak! At all! At least DRACULA HAS RISEN has a bit more going on, so to speak. OK, there's too much religious "symbolism", which doesn't hold (holy) water upon even minor scrutiny. Sure, Drac just took a HUGE wooden stake to the heart...but ya gotta PRAY over it for it to work? Huh? The early scene in the church is creepy however; so much so, that not much else that follows it seems scary.

On the plus side, there's the fetching Veronica Carlson, some fabulous sets (love those rooftop scenes!), and the ever-imposing Mr. Lee doing his blood-red-eye thing. Director Freddie Francis has been elsewhere maligned as being no Terence Fisher (Hammer's most prolific and arguably gifted craftsman). But Francis holds his own here, despite his over-reliance on filters and the occasional out-of-focus zoom.

So, what we have here is this: A first-rate transfer of a solid entry in Hammer's Dracula series. Oh, and for the uninitiated, here's the complete series in order:
HORROR OF DRACULA, BRIDES OF DRACULA, DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, SCARS OF DRACULA, DRACULA A.D. 1972, THE SATANTIC RITES OF DRACULA, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES.

And yes, I know BRIDES and LEGEND don't feature Christopher Lee. They still have Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and are part of the series.

Solid outing with the count
By the time of "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave", Christopher Lee had resigned himself to the fact that the films weren't going to reach the high of the first film in the series. While "Grave" doesn't measure up to "Horror of Dracula" (or even the single solo Van Helsing outing "Brides of Dracula" which hopefully will finally see the light of day on DVD), "Grave" benefits from spooky cinematography and solid direction by Freddie Francis.

Although the Count have much to say here he's at least more than a menacing shape as he was in "Dracula Prince of Darkness". The main weakness of "Grave" is that Van Helsing is MIA. I'm not very clear why Cushing wasn't brought back into this series as his character was the perfect (and only worthwhile foil save the priest played by Andrew Kerr in "Dracula Prince of Darkness"). Cushing, like Lee, brought incredible energy and vitality to any role he tackled whether it was well written or not. Clearly Hammer needed an infusion of new blood here. Luckily, "Grave" still has considerable bite and isn't as anemic as later entries in the series. While far from a classic, "Grave" has considerable power particularly when Lee's presence dominates the scene.

The transfer looks pretty good overall given the age of the negative. It appears that most of the budget for this DVD went into the transfer how else to explain the complete lack of extras? Personally, I would have been willing to pay a bit extra for a commentary from Lee or other production crew members. We do, however, get the original theatrical trailer (the US version) for the film. Additionally, at least Warner got the packaging right with photos from the actual film (unlike "Horror of Dacula").

Vintage Hammer hokum
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is an entertaining addition to Hammer's Dracula series. Terence Fisher, who directed the first three in the series, had to pull out at the last minute due to an accident, and it was left to lighting cameraman Freddie Francis to take the reins. The film reveals a shift in the underlying worldview: Fisher's triumphant vision of good conquering evil, God defeating Satan is supplanted by Francis's bleaker universe, where God is apparently no guarantee against the Devil, and whose central religious figure (Monsignor, played by Rupert Davies, no match for Andrew Keir or Peter Cushing) is blustering, naive and impotent in the face of evil.

There are some great scenes, as one would expect from a distinguished cinematographer like Francis, although some of the most visually compelling moments (eg. Maria's bedroom scene with the Count, by far the most explicitly sexualized portrayal of vampirism seen up to that time) sit uneasily alongside the bizarrely artless, shakey, badly focused handheld shots.

Still, it's vintage Hammer hokum, and certainly miles ahead of later additions to the Dracula series. I bought this for nostalgic reasons -- hadn't seen it since I was a kid -- and I wasn't disappointed.

Picture quality on the recent DVD release is clear and sumptuous, apart from a brief snatch towards the end when the picture momentarily reverts to an older, grainier print. Hammer buffs should add this to their collection.