I obtained a copy of Classic Monsters of the Movies' salute to Hammer's next-to-the-last, Dracula movie: 1973's The Satanic Rites of Dracula (aka Dracula and his Vampire Bride in the U.S.).
Like Dracula A.D. 1972, Satanic Rites is a "modern" entry, though it doesn't play upon its gimmick in quite the manner of the former. It's deathly serious in its off-kilter nature, with Christopher Lee's Count performing a somber, Bela Lugosi impersonation from the sinister shadows at one point, all the while plotting to purge life on Earth via a bubonic-plague variant. On this basis, Satanic Rites is, without question, Hammer's darkest and most pessimistic submission.
The plot's palpable, "grown up" grimness is well analyzed by authors/researches Nige Burton and Jamie Jones, who reconstruct the movie's genesis, as well as the many artists who brought it to melodramatic life: the aforementioned Lee (in his last appearance as the Count) and Peter Cushing (reprising his next-generation, Van Helsing role of Dracula A.D.), with Joanna Lumley, Freddie Jones, William Franklyn, Michael Coles, Richard Vernon, Barbara Yu Ling, director Alan Gibson and screenwriter Don Houghton, both of whom worked on Dracula A.D.
Burton and Jones also lament Satanic Rites' lackluster advent, which gained more disdain than accolades. Today, however, its frightful, spy-steered espionage has gathered a heathy following, and this Classic Monsters offering is but one clear case in point.
The issue also contains fun facts, clever quotes and revealing trivia, as well as sharp stills and artistic promotions that can't help but entrance.
Word has it that the Satanic Rites edition is becoming scarce, so if you don't yet possess it, I advise you to move fast.
Order at
https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/rare-signed-the-satanic-rites-of-dracula-1973-ultimate-guide-signed-art-print/
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