One of the most important films of the Fifties, and certainly the vampire film to be reckoned with; not as creaky as the 1931 version, not as overproduced as Coppola's 1992 version. All other vampire movies that followed are merely tonal variations on the melody this film created. This, along with Curse of Frankenstein, put Hammer on the map, firmly in charge of the various creatures that populated the horror genre for the next decade and a half, until the zombie hordes of the late Sixties turned the tide. Not bad for a film that takes so many liberties with the source material.

The teaming of Cushing and Lee is of course the motive power, but not to be overlooked is Carol Marsh, the prim Victorian lady eagerly waiting each night for her undead rapist. Her performance is the lustful heart of the film.

Note: Mills & Morgan can briefly be seen in the opening scene of the coach approaching Dracula's castle, but whatever actual scenes they were in (presumably including the killing of the coach driver) were cut.