Countess Dracula 1971

At the time of its release, Countess Dracula ticked every check box for what you might expect to find in a Hammer film of the period - a beautiful Gothic setting, death scenes that are actually shown on camera, several topless women and a cheesy 'boy meets girl' storyline that, really, takes second stage to the main storyline, which in this case is of a blood-obsessed countess.

The storyline is based very loosely around the historical character of Elizabeth Bathory and, as such, contains no vampires, no fangs, and certainly no Dracula. For those who wish to know more about Bathory, it would probably be easier to do a quick Wikipedia search on her, but, in short, she believed that she could make herself younger by bathing in the blood of virgins and, as a result, killed a lot of young girls in order to achieve this.

As long as you watch Countess Dracula in the context that it was intended, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film, featuring a career-defining performance from the great Ingrid Pitt (both for her acting, as well as her lack of clothing...), as well as a solid storyline and some great location work.

On the downside, not that I look for a lot of gore and bloodshed in my films (far from it!), I was surprised at the lack of deaths of in the film - as the historical character was supposed to have murdered hundreds of young girls, you can count all of Countess Dracula's victims on a single hand.

Personally, I think that in the end "Countess Dracula" is a film that one either loves or hates, as it's not as well-crafted as Pitt's previous venture "Vampire Lovers" or as focused as Hammer's previous classics (the choice of drama as genre will definitely turn off some fans). The fact that no character in the film is exactly a "hero" will definitely be another turn off, but not everything in the film is bad. Director Sasdy does his best to make a proper Hammer film despite having a considerably lower budget, and the work of the cast alone makes the movie a joy to watch. Sure, the script has several problems, but I found the movie to be an interesting mix of horror and melodrama.

"Countess Dracula" may not be a film for everyone, not even die hard Hammer fans seem to like it completely, but watching it without any real expectations may allow the film to shine with its own light and to discover another side of Ingrid Pitt, who here proves that she is more than a gorgeous body. Of Hammer's 70s film, this is one of the best (along with "Captain Kronos" and "Vampire Cirus"), so those interested in the legendary Studios' history will find a must-see film in this little movie.

7/10

6/10 IMDB