Sequels often don’t live up to the original. Dracula: Prince of Darkness does to a point. It manages to have beautiful women in distress, Barbara Shelley, (Helen) and Suzan Farmer, (Diana). It even has an overused but effective element. That is people warned not to go somewhere, but ignore the warning. They were warned by a priest, Father Sandor, (Andrew Keir). This speaks of another element, character stupidity. A priest says don’t go to the castle, and they don’t heed his advice. The husbands, Charles and Alan, (Francis Matthews and Charles Tingwell), only wish for a good time. There is also the matter of this being the former residence of Count Dracula. His creepy servant, Klove, played by Philip Latham, is another element of the story. The character of Klove, could have been played by Boris Karloff, a few decades before. It is played up to a standard Karloff would have liked.
The servant is integral to the count’s revival. He was exposed to sunlight in the last film, and became a pile of ashes. Klove was kind enough to keep the ashes. He has waited ten years for someone lacking in common sense to arrive. That person is Alan. He sees Klove doing a suspicious thing in the middle of the night. He tries to find out what it is. Unfortunately he is killed by the strange man. Klove then cuts Alan’s throat over Dracula’s ashes. The count comes back and shortly after, makes Helen, Alan’s wife one of the undead. Barbara Shelley does an appropriate amount of screaming, before being turned.
Francis and his wife, Suzan, manage to escape. Unfortunately, they are in a carriage accident. Francis manages to carry his wife to the safety of the monastery. This is where they again encounter Father Sandor. He explains to Francis that vampires are not harmless folktales. They are a very real evil. Francis is further convinced when his undead sister-in-law, Helen is captured in the monastery, and staked.
Dracula has been able to get in because Ludwig, (Thorley Walters) , a former servant, has invited him into the monastery. The character of Ludwig, is simply Renfield from Dracula, only a bit less creepy. Dracula abducts Helen, and is driven by coach by Klove, who was camping outside the monastery. Father Sandor and Francis take up the chase leading to the castle, and a confrontation with Dracula.
Another key element in a Hammer horror film is the vivid color. It is shown with the exteriors and also with the gruesome revival scene. This was edited by the British censors. There is usually a strong lead. Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing character was missing. Andrew Keir replaces him. He does essentially the same thing. He educates the other male lead about vampirism. Keir keeps the film flowing. The only problem Father Sandor has is the lack of security in the monastery, considering he hunts vampires.
The movie has Terence Fisher directing and the cinematography is done by Michael Reed. They combined to give the film its good look. The script is good, and was written Jimmy Sangster. It is always a challenge to revive Dracula, and here was an original idea. Christopher Lee said he didn’t speak, because the dialogue was terrible. Sangster said Lee didn’t have spoken lines, because none were written for Dracula. It doesn’t matter, because Lee is menacing as the title character. That is what matters in a film about The Prince of Darkness.