Waste of time

Excellent, a Must See

Absolutely Fantastic

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This Hammer Horror film opens with a funeral that really sets the tone. It was slow and, even though we have seen the scene a million times, it manages to show it in a different way. It was marvelous.I have seen many vampire films, and I certainly know what to expect, but this is a Hammer film and we can expect some differences that make it worthwhile.The ending was a real surprise and something I had not seen done before.A lush 19th-century-setting, masterful direction, and vivid special effects intensify this spooky Hammer Films chiller.

Don Sharp directed this entertaining vampire tale(not connected with the Dracula series) that sees honeymooning Gerald and Marianne Harcourt(played by Edward De Souza & Jennifer Daniel) develop car trouble on their driving trip in Europe, but are aided by a Count Ravna(played by Noel Willman) who invites them to his castle for a costume party after they check into a local inn. The party takes a dark turn after Gerald is drugged, and told that he has no wife! Confused and outraged, he seeks the help of Professor Zimmer(played by Clifford Evans) who is also staying at the inn, and informs him that Ravna leads a vampire cult that turned his own daughter, and now wants Marianne... Another atmospheric horror from Hammer with a fine score and direction. A pity it couldn't have brought back Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, but performances are still good, and leads to an exciting finale.

This is a fine horror film that is strictly by-the-numbers Hammer fare. The only thing new to the vampire genre this offers is the end scene when the vampires are eradicated in an unusual way--a way that would make Ed Wood proud.The film centers on newlyweds Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel who get lost and suffer car trouble in a remote location. The only people that seem to live in the area are the kindly old innkeeper (Peter Madden) and his wife and the eccentric, lavish, and quite uppity Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman) and his children Carl (Barry Warren) and Sabena (Jacquie Wallis). The Ravna's invite the newlyweds to their mansion but they have designs on the lovely Jennifer Daniel. They have no use for her husband however. After they attend a ball at the Ravna's mansion, Jennifer Daniel is abducted and de Souza must save her with the help of drunken professor Zimmer (Cliff Evans) who has a score to settle with the Ravnas.STORY: $$$ (The story is that old hat about a young couple out of place in a rustic, country setting. The wealthy Ravnas take an interest in the wife while the husband must save her. We also get the know-it-all character in Zimmer who does the Van Helsing routine. The only thing original about the script is the end--I won't ruin it for you).ACTING: $$$ (The acting is fine. Both Noel Willman and Barry Warren are quite good in their crotchety vampire roles. They each exude arrogance and don't bother to mask the fact that they fancy Jennifer Daniel in front of her husband. Jacquie Wallis looks good as Sabena but has little to do, and the same can be said about Isobel Black as the innkeeper's daughter the Ravnas abducted. Edward de Souza is merely adequate as the hero while Cliff Evans is effectively aloof and curmudgeonly as Zimmer. Jennifer Daniel, who possesses an uncanny sophistication, is quite good as the object of the vampire's desire).NUDITY: $ (Jennifer Daniel has a topless scene but since this was made in 1963--before Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith gave Hammer some high quality skin--her back is to the camera).

Modest Hammer potboiler with all the studio's virtues intact: good acting, economical direction, neat photography, an unpretentious script and tight pacing. Edward de Souza and Jacqueline Daniel are the English honeymoon couple menaced by a chateauful of vampires led by Noel Wilman. Clifford Evans does a forceful job as the grizzled Van Helsing figure; it's just a pity they didn't develop his character a bit more. Befanged Transylvanian minxes Jacqueline Wallis and Isobel Black add to the sex quotient. Director Don Sharp gets right down to business from a splendid opening sequence set in that oh so familiar graveyard at Bray Studios. The trusty forest location at Black Park - another familiar day's outing for the Hammer crew - is well used, too. If only the bats at the climax looked a bit more real. Not a full-blooded Hammer classic, but quite perfect in its own minor key.