Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966)

Four English tourists find themselves stranded in the mysterious village of Karlsbad, a sinister and remote place with a deadly, dark legend. Their journey leads them to a seemingly abandoned castle where a nightmarish destiny awaits them. Very loosely based on the novel by Bram Stoker and directed by Terence Fisher (THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN). The third entry in Hammer's Dracula series and the second to star Christopher Lee as Dracula. There's a sense of deja vu about this project. Reputedly, Bram Stoker's character is recognized as the fictional character with the most movie appearances (over 500 film adaptations) so it feels like we've all been through this before. Actually, this is one of the better Hammer horror movies. Christopher Lee doesn't make an appearance until thirty minutes into the film and then he has no dialogue, he only hisses. My main problem with the movie is how the characters are so obliging. When they arrive at Dracula's castle, it's clear that something unnatural is going on, there are red flags everywhere. So do they get their asses out of there pronto? No! They sit down and have dinner. Only Barbara Shelley's uptight wife senses they're in danger and wants to get out of there but she's overruled by the others. With Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer and Charles Tingwell.