Horror of Dracula (1958) (UK)

aka Dracula 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ya gotta love a flick that just gets to the fucking point. Hammer’s Dracula doesn’t screw around too much when it comes to the horrific aspects, it still has an air of stuffiness about it but it hardly detracts from any enjoyment. It’s also anchored by two solid leads in Lee’s vindictive and animalistic Count Dracula and Cushing’s iconic Van Helsing. This time around Jonathan Harker is Van Helsing’s friend and colleague who has managed to make his way to Count Dracula’s castle with the intention of ridding the evil from the world. He fails but manages to knock off the count’s vampire bride. Van Helsing comes searching for his friend and is directed to the castle by the former Mr. Harker’s diary after the townsfolk prove to be rather tight-lipped. He discovers his vampirized friend but Dracula has fled and is working his revenge on Harker by feeding on his wife, Lucy. Helsing eventually discovers what is going on and the age old fight between good and evil begins anew. Peter Cushing is easy to root for and brings a little “man of action” to his portrayal of the monster-slaying doctor. Christopher Lee scores another intimidating portrayal of evil. You can take or leave the rest of the cast but they would have been overshadowed by the two leads anyways.