Dracula Prince of Darkness was the first horror film (excluding the likes of King Kong) that I ever saw – a pivotal life experience that means that I would always have a soft spot for this film. But I’ve long-since given up watching films through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia – so if I say that this film remains one of Hammer’s greatest, you should believe me!

The first ‘proper’ sequel to 1958’s Dracula (after the Dracula-free Brides of Dracula), this 1965 movie is in many ways the archetypal Hammer Dracula. It has a simple yet iconic story (one so effective that a decade later, it was effectively rewritten for Hammer’s spoken word Dracula LP), with four English travellers – Charles Kent (Francis Matthews), his wife Diana (Suzan Farmer), brother Alan (Charles Tingwell) and sister-in-law Helen (Barbara Shelley) travelling across the Carpathian woods and ignoring the advice of Father Sandor (Andrew Keir) to avoid Carlsbad. Abandoned by a coachman in the middle of nowhere as night falls, they are picked up by a driverless coach and taken to a mysterious castle that no one will acknowledge the existence of. There, they are greeted by servant Klove, who informs them that his master, Count Dracula, is dead, but has left instructions for entertaining any visitors. All this seems too good to be true – especially to suspicious and fearful Helen – and indeed it is, as Alan is quickly killed off (in a still gruesome scene), his life-blood used to resurrect Dracula (Christopher Lee). Helen is quickly seduced and vampirised by the Count, and Charles and Diana only just make their escape. Rescued by Sandor, they quickly realise that they have to destroy Dracula – and Helen – before they themselves are made victims.

Watching the film again for the first time in several years, a number of things struck me about Dracula Prince of Darkness. It’s impressive just how handsomely mounted Hammer films of the time were, and few more so that this – the sets are epic in scale, far in excess of what you would expect from a relatively low budget film. There are plenty of moments here that would become standard Dracula tropes – the sinisterly perverted slicing open of Dracula’s chest to allow a victim to drink his blood being the most significant – and the portrayal of the Count is impressively feral. In a world of romanticised, emo vampires, Lee’s dialogue-free, hissing, red-eyed monster is a timely reminder that vampires can be genuinely dangerous, scary and inhuman.

As you would expect, the performances are all spot-on and straight-faced, Terence Fisher’s direction is efficient without being flashy, and the story builds nicely. Lee doesn’t even appear in the first 48 minutes, but his presence is everywhere, and the story has a steady progression until the action-packed second half. It’s to the film’s credit that assorted plot anomalies can be easily ignored, and the finale – a potentially weak way to kill off Dracula that I won’t mention – is dramatic and exciting.

There are faults – a couple of brief moments slip uncomfortably into high camp – but they are minor, and certainly not a problem for the film, which is a classic slice of Hammer gothic.

Studiocanal’s much anticipated restoration doesn’t disappoint. Restored from the negative, the film looks incredible, with vivid colours almost bleeding off the screen, and this is the fully restored, uncut version – complete with original British opening titles (the US variant is included as an extra). As well as a new, entertaining 30 minute documentary, the disc thankfully includes the extras from Anchor Bay’s edition, previously missing from UK DVDs – a commentary track from Lee, Farmer, Matthews and Shelley, Matthews’ 8mm home movies of behind-the-scenes footage, trailers and a World of Hammer episode. A suitably impressive selection of supplements for an essential film.

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Dracula Prince of Darkness gallery