Rating of
3/4
More things change, more they stay the same
kcvidkid - wrote on 11/18/08
Unbelieveable. After waiting to find the point where the Hammer Dracula series fell apart completely, it never arrived. Yes, this one is an unusual mix of genres, but I actually found it quite interesting.
More of a sequel to "Dracula A.D. 1972" than the original "Horror of Dracula", "Satanic Rites" remains in modern day London but now places the Count at the head of an organization of businessmen devoted to bringing about Armageddon. The movie itself is more action than horror, but it worked for me.
It doesn't have the best style or execution, but it makes sense within itself. Peter Cushing is back as Van Helsing and so is granddaughter Jessica, although she's morphed from Stephanie Beacham into Joanna Lumley.
And finally the ending, in which we see Christopher Lee as Hammer's Drac for the last time? I had read that he died by running into the bushes. Nonsense; that only slows him down. Van Helsing still stakes him. (I forgot the part of vampire lore that the Hawthorne tree is deadly; ha, ha.) This sequence is as exciting as any before it and the special effects are not bad. They even act as a reminder of the Count's first destruction nearly 20 years before.
Skin Rating = 0 (out of 5). No Hammer Hotties here. Just old businessmen and detectives. (That's another departure for "Satanic Rites".) Not even a love interest to protect Jessica.
