DRACULA A.D. 1972 (1972) – Episode 152 – Decades of Horror 1970s

“Weird, man. Way out. I mean, spooks, hobgoblins, black magic. All that jazz.” Groovy, man. Join your faithful Grue Crew - Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr - as they go tripping back to the faux, mod world of 1972 London in Hammer’s Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972).

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 152 – Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

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Johnny Alucard raises Count Dracula from the dead in London in 1972. The Count goes after the descendants of Van Helsing.

IMDb

 

• Director: Alan Gibson
• Writers: Don Houghton (screen-play); Bram Stoker (characters: Dracula, Van Helsing)
• Selected cast:
  • Peter Cushing as Lorrimer Van Helsing / Lawrence Van Helsing
  • Christopher Lee as Count Dracula
  • Stephanie Beacham as Jessica Van Helsing
  • Christopher Neame as Johnny Alucard / follower of Dracula (1872)
  • Marsha A. Hunt as Gaynor Keating (as Marsha Hunt)
  • Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows
  • Janet Key as Anna Bryant
  • Michael Kitchen as Greg
  • Stoneground as Themselves
  • Michael Coles as Inspector Murray
  • William Ellis as Joe Mitcham
  • Philip Miller as Bob
  • David Andrews as Detective Sergeant
  • Constance Luttrell as Mrs. Donnelly
  • Michael Daly as Charles
  • Artro Morris as Police Surgeon
  • Jo Richardson as Crying Matron
  • Brian John Smith as Hippy Boy
  • Penny Brahms as Hippy Girl

Jeff has been watching a lot of Hammer films and reading “Little Shoppe of Horrors” (The Journal of Classic British Horror Films), but Dracula A.D. 1972 (with the exception of Stephanie Beacham, Caroline Munro, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee), though fun to watch, does not trip his trigger. He couldn’t get past what for him was an off-putting portrayal of the hip youth culture of early 1970s London. On the other hand, Bill likes Dracula A.D. 1972 despite its problems and even thinks it’s a great film in some ways. Dracula A.D. 1972 telegraphed too much of the plot for Chad’s liking and he too is bored to death with the young ‘uns. He does, however, find it far more interesting once Van Helsing and Dracula enter the scene and likes the cool way used to bring back the Count. Doc always loves Peter Cushing and Hammer and Dracula A.D. 1972 is no exception, especially the pre-title card scene. Despite the negative aspects pointed out by his crewmates, he loves every corny, zany minute of it.

As with all Hammer films, this is a must-see. As of this writing, Dracula A.D. 1972 is available to stream on HBO Max and various PPV services, and as physical media on a Blu-ray disc from Warner Archives.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy (1972), chosen by Jeff.

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