Again dispensing with Peter Cushing's Van Helsing: this movie pits Dracula against a would-be-medical student. Dracula Has Risen From The Grave raises some interesting points around Atheisim vs Religion - a departure for the series that helps keeps things fresh. Unfortunately the story itself is not particularly engrossing. It opens in typical Hammer Horror fashion, with a murdered village girl stuck up a bell in a church, and dripping blood - unconvincingly - down the bell rope. One wonders how she got there?At least this time the Count is a little bit more central to proceedings in this third Christopher Lee Dracula effort. Director Freddie Francis, while not exactly at home in the Gothic milieu, at least makes the movie look good by using various filters and lighting tricks. The script is a bit up and down, with its central section, set in yet another pub owned by Michael Ripper, not exactly a compelling place for Dracula to hang out.The basic plot concerns The Count's desire for revenge against the Monsignieur who, following the opening outrage in the church, sticks a ruddy great cross over the door to Castle Dracula, thereby barring him from it. But revenge is surely one of the hoariest clichés in horror flicks and it's fairly apparent that Hammer found it difficult to provide good motivations for their vampiric villain.Barry Andrews, later to appear in Blood on Satan's Claw, isn't really all that charismatic, but there are compensations to be had from Rupert Davies' crusty old priest, and Barbara Ewing's feisty (and sexy) barmaid Zena. The less said about Ewan Hooper the better...Lee looks as magnificent as ever in the title role, though as usual is not given enough to do.There are some finely realised sequences in this movie - the staking of Dracula for example, Lee writhing while blood erupts from his chest, and then pulling the stake out when the atheist student is unable to pray, is horribly effective - even if it goes against vampire lore.More sexually open than previous Dracula flicks, this is a mixed bag overall but still decent.

This movie essentially begins where its predecessor, "Dracula-Prince of Darkness" left off with "Dracula" (Christopher Lee) being entombed in a lake of ice and left for dead. However, the townsfolk of a nearby village remain unconvinced that Dracula is actually dead and as a result a visiting "Monsignor" (Rupert Davies) is determined to end their fears by going to Dracula's castle and exorcising the evil once and for all. Needing help getting there he asks a very reluctant local "Priest" (Ewan Hooper) to accompany him. Unfortunately for everybody concerned the Priest lags behind and upon hitting his head in a fall accidentally propels Dracula back to life. Enraged that he cannot enter into his own castle he vows revenge upon the Monsignor by attacking the people he loves the most—his sister-in-law "Anna" (Marion Mathie) and his niece "Maria" (Veronica Carlson). Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film adds a couple of new elements which aren't in keeping with the usual vampire traditions. But even so the film itself was still quite enjoyable and I definitely recommend it for all fans of the genre.

As far as the Hammer Dracula films go, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is one of the better ones. For me, Horror of Dracula is still the best of the series and one of Hammer's classics.Hammer films are always well-made, and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is not an exception at all. If anything, the production values are one of the film's biggest strengths, with the beautiful photography, wonderfully moody red colour filtering and lighting and sumptuously evocative Gothic sets(with some jaw-dropping rooftop scenes, an adventurous move for Hammer) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave looks great. It's not just that it looks good, but the production values create a great amount of atmosphere, the use of reds really give off a moody eeriness that was just perfect and a morbid tension and sense of dread is created throughout. Freddie Francis, despite being more successful as a cinematographer, does a more than competent job directing(much better and far more adventurous than in his previous Hammer directing effort The Evil of Frankenstein), he directs with excellent style and while the story is not always as engrossing as it should be he gets the atmosphere of the film down-pat.James Bernard's music score booms thrillingly, without being too obvious or too much, and gives off a really creepy vibe. It does rouse the spirits as well and is beautifully orchestrated, so it is definitely more than just a loud-sounding score. The story is not the most consistently executed, but the atmosphere created is brilliant with an incredibly suspenseful and powerful final third. The film also starts off stirringly, and has a number of shocking moments, like the hanging girl, Dracula's visually striking and quite chilling if a little too easy resurrection, Dracula's reaction to the cross and Dracula's demise. The characters are not the most well-developed but they do maintain interest and enough is done to allow one to empathise with them. There are some great performances here too with not an obvious weak link. Barry Andrews is appealing as the hero and Barbara Ewing and Veronica Carlson are sexy and compassionate in their roles, Ewing especially brings a lot of fire and heart to a role that could easily have barely registered if not executed right. Rupert Davies is very memorable, bringing great authority and demeanour without being hammy and Ewan Hooper manages to bring depth to a purposefully weak-willed character. Christopher Lee dominates however, even with reasonably diminished screen-time and with not a lot of dialogue (more than in Dracula: Prince of Darkness, where he doesn't even speak) he is superbly chilling as Dracula, even the look of Dracula here is enough to induce goose bumps.Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is let down by the script, which is very formulaic and vague with an over-reliance on turgid melodrama in the mid-section, there are some really interesting ideas here but the film doesn't do enough with some of them. The story does get a bit dull and repetitive in some of the middle act of the film. In fact a lot of the first half was in need of more momentum, there are a few sloppy continuity errors(i.e. Dracula's reflection in the water) and the attempted staking was a powerful and striking part but also got a little ludicrous at the same time.All in all, a good entry in the Hammer Dracula series and one of the better sequels, but also could have been a little better. It has likened as 'a minor triumph of style over content'(not sure whether this is intended as praise or not), and while I do agree that the technical aspects fare much better than the writing, the latter while not the best is hardly disastrous either. 7/10 Bethany Cox

After the success of "Dracula: Prince of Darkness," Drac was back. Hammer's long-running series had begun in earnest. Whether the quality of the last two entries was kept up throughout the sequels is a manner of opinion. Yet maybe it's clear that the strongest quality control wasn't in place here. "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" begins with two continuity errors. An additional victim of Dracula's is discovered in a bell tower, an effective scene that couldn't possibly happen during the last film. The story is set 12 months after the 1895-set previous film. Yet dates within the film read 1905. Just goes to show that Hammer's Dracula series was full of as many continuity eras as Universal's Dracula series.Once again, Dracula is dead and, once again, a holy man appears to tell the villagers to let go of their superstitions. In order to prove to the locals how dead Dracula is, Monsignor Mueller, along with his unnamed Priest sidekick, head over to Dracula's castle with the intention of blessing it. While Mueller is exorcising the Count's abode, the other priest stumbles down a cliff and bumps his head, allowing blood to drip through the ice into the sleeping vampire's mouth. Finding himself unable to enter his newly blessed castle, Dracula seeks revenge on the Monsignor. Because this is a Hammer film, he does so by seducing the man's attractive, nightgown wearing niece.Terence Fisher was originally supposed to direct "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" but had to drop out suddenly at the last minute. This left long-time cinematographer Freddie Francis to step behind the camera. Francis had made numerously films before, including a few of Hammer's, look very handsome. His contribution makes "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" one of the best looking of the series. Francis employs some psychedelic colors throughout the film. Before arising, Dracula's presence is suggested by yellow lighting at the edge of the frame. When biting one of his victim's, the screen around them glows bright red. As the sun sets on the film's final night, an amazing purple color dominates. The Bava-influenced color is distinctive but Francis still packs in some old Gothic atmosphere. A sequence in the middle of the film takes place on rooftops of the city, a novel approach. The fog-soaked black-and-white buildings might be some of the most memorable moments from the film.As opposed to last time, Christopher Lee actually has dialogue. Though it's still kept to a minimum, he hisses and growls his way through several lines. Though Lee was reportedly disinterested in being in the film, just by standing there, he's still a threatening form. Rupert Davies steps into the role of the knowledgeable vampire hunter. He's more interesting then last time's Father Sandor. He has the same fallible quality that Cushing's Van Helsing had. Dracula roundly kills his butt during their one encounter. Ewan Hooper's unnamed priest fills the Renfield role. What's interesting is that he still feels guilt while under Dracula's control. Veronica Carlson is the film's resident eye-candy, looks incredible, and has decent chemistry with Barry Andrews as her boyfriend. Perhaps more interesting, though, is Barbara Ewing as Zena, the local bad girl that Dracula first turns into a vampire. Amusingly, she's jealous of Dracula pursuing another victim, wondering why she isn't enough."Prince of Darkness" kept its action small-sake and mostly inside Dracula's castle. "Risen from the Grave" returns the thrilling action element that "Horror of Dracula" had to the series. My favorite minor bit is when Drac leaps through a glass window, while there are plenty of carriage chases. The film is noticeably creative with its gore as well. At one point, Dracula is impaled with a fence post. Because a prayer wasn't said over his body – a new rule – he rises back up, pulling the stake from his heart. The Count has an especially spectacular demise this time, falling backwards onto a golden cross, impaled through the heart, and writhing in agony before he finally dies. "Grave" doesn't skimp on the scares either. Dracula cornering his female prey continues to be frightening and intense. Lee pushing Veronica Carlson unto the bed is blatantly a sexual violation. The film nails this home by having the virginal Carlson push her baby doll out of bed. As lovely as Carlson is, I think Ewing is sexier as the scantily clad bar maid.Lee spends much of the film chilling in his coffin in the bar basement, waiting for his victims to come to him. When the Count is off-screen, the film instead focuses on Monsignor Mueller and the relationship with his niece and her boyfriend. Young Paul is an atheist. When he reveals this to the Monsignor, he's scandalized and bans Maria from seeing the boy. However, after Dracula starts feeding on the girl, and fights the older man off, he reveals Maria needs someone who loves her near by. Amusingly, she even sneaks out of her bed at night to be with him. The romantic subplots in these movies were frequently disposable but I actually rather like this one.The combination of a neatly constructed screenplay, an interesting cast, a speedy pacing, colorful direction, and some decent scares, makes "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" one of the best of the Dracula sequels. It's also got one of the best titles and probably my favorite movie poster of all time. "Obviously," as the tagline goes.