Girls are a Pain in the Neck! Fun Hammer Classic!
Added 7/9/2009
Transylvania -- still the home of magic and deviltry.
So intones a deep, baritone as we're introduced to our players -- a young lady, Danielle, who is being bounced about in a fast carriage through the forest, stopping off at an inn, yet followed by a black stranger.
We meet Baroness Meinster, who it turns out flatters young women and bring them to her son, the Baron, who has a taste for blood.
Danielle was on her way to a school for young girls as a student teacher, but instead decided to unshackle the Baron who was locked up by his mom. Unfortunately for Danielle, she's just let loose a vampire!
We meet Van Helsing as he escorts her to her school, the girl still has no clue. This becomes doubly apparent when she meets the Baron again and agrees to marry the guy! Wow, that was some first date!
The Baron discovers the school for girls -- what a ripe place to pluck the beauties for his recruitment station for the Undead. Yummy!
Lots of fun in this one: the dark and stormy night, the intelligent appraisal of Van Helsing, his chasing after vampires without his cross (I was afraid of what would happen if the vampire got a clue that Van Helsing dropped his cross), beating off female vampire bats and trying to save the life (and get her clue) of the infamously naive Danielle.
Peter Cushing is suave and intelligent, jumping around and fighting as well as cold and calculating.
Who really steals the show though is the crazed servant woman Greta, who serves the Baron. Her cackling and howling reminds me in many ways of the original Renfield as he escaped the ship holding Bela Lugosi's Dracula.
A fine Hammer film -- enjoy!
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A Very Well Done Genre Movie
Added 7/4/2009
I am not a fan of modern horror movies with the emphasis on gore and carnage. But I love this classic film from 1960. BRIDES OF DRACULA is Hammer Films' second vampire movie and is their best. It is even a little better than HORROR OF DRACULA. It is stylish and extremely well acted. Peter Cushing has never been better, and David Peel is perhaps the most memorable screen vampire ever encountered. Martita Hunt is terrific as the vampire's mother. The movie is atmospheric, scary, and sophisticated. It holds up well today.
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One of Hammer's finest achievements
Added 3/5/2008
Brides of Dracula was the first of Hammer's many sequels to their breakthrough hit, and it's not just the best of the series but one of their very best pictures. There's no Christopher Lee this time round - in fact, there's no Dracula at all - but there's a lot of imagination at play here in a beautifully plotted story that sees Peter Cushing's Van Helsing coming up against David Peel's Baron Meinster, a follower of Dracula's vampire cult, after Yvonne Monlaur's schoolteacher ill-advisedly releases him from the shackles his not-as-mad-as-she-looks mother keeps him in.
There's a lot going on beneath the stylish surface here - a psychiatrist could probably have a field day with the curious relationship between Peel and Martita Hunt ("We pray for death, both of us. At least, I hope he prays"), not to mention Van Helsing's visible discomfort in the company of women - but it never overwhelms the plot, and there's no shortage of memorable scenes, from the professor treating a rather nasty bite he just got to the servant silently offering pointers to a newly created vampire on its first outing as one of the undead. Reuniting most of the behind-the-cameras talent from their first Dracula film and throwing in a rather splendid climax in a burning windmill, this is definitely one of Hammer's finest hours.
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Great Work!!!!
Added 2/9/2008
I orderd a vhs tape by mistake, so i had to cancel my order, and i was VERY VERY VERY PLEASED quickly i was contacted about my refund thanks guys and keep up the goooood wrk.
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ENTERTAINING SEQUEL TO 'HORROR OF DRACULA' THIS IS AVAILABLE ON DVD!
Added 1/9/2008
I remembered this movie as a kid and it brought back memories. It's a solid vampire flick with some style. The sets are great and the movie is good fun. I'm a sucker for Lugosi but, this is a decent installment in the Hammer vampire films. This is available on DVD on a set titled Hammer Horror series. This film and 7 others from the Hammer archives are included and released at a very reasonable price. I rate this film 3 1/2 stars.
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