Four English tourists are vacationing in Eastern Europe, heading into the Carpathian Mountains. Brothers Charles and Alan Kent are joined by their wives Diana and Helen for the trip. They stop in a pub outside Karlsbad to get warm and share a drink when they cross paths with the imposing Father Sandor. They share their travel plans with the monk, who in turn discourages them from going anywhere near the castle on the mountain. Fate has other plans for the couples and soon they are greeted in the forbidden lair by Klove, a mysterious servant without a master. Our heroes have little choice but to stay the night. Dinner is served and rooms provided and everyone is having a fine time, except for Helen, who is frightened by the whole experience and wants to leave. Later that night her fears are realized when Count Dracula returns to the castle and begins a new reign of terror.

Hammer films got into the Dracula business with Horror of Dracula (1958), directed by Terence Fisher. Christopher Lee starred as the legendary vampire with Peter Cushing as his nemesis Dr. Van Helsing. Eight years later came the sequel Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), with Fisher and Lee returning to their respective roles on opposite sides of the camera. The new film begins with a prologue that recaps the finale of the original, with Dracula being dispelled by sunlight. From there we are introduced to new characters starting with Father Sandor, a no-nonsense monk with little patience for religious zealots. His entrance is strong and sets up that he will be Dracula’s foil this time around, although I am not sure why Van Helsing didn’t return. From there we meet our young protagonists touring Europe and spend quite a bit of time with them before they run into any danger.

Christopher Lee has such a powerful presence that he leaves a lasting impression on this film despite limited screen time and no spoken dialogue. Indeed it is just past the forty-five minute mark before Dracula makes an appearance in his own movie. Once he arrives, however, he commands every second he is in front of the camera. There is some dispute as to why Dracula never speaks, with Lee claiming that he hated the dialogue and Jimmy Sangster, the screenwriter, saying there never were any lines for the character to begin with. Regardless of the limitation, Lee is a striking figure who was born to don a cape. His body count is low in this adventure, but he manages to cause a lot of trouble for our heroes.

Sangster’s script is filled with nice banter among the four leads, particularly between Charles and Helen, who enjoy getting a rise out of each other. There are two dedicated servants to Dracula, including Klove, who manages the castle and is instrumental in bringing the Count back from the dead. The other follower is Ludwig, a man filling the role of the Renfield character who eats flies and does his master’s bidding. Both of these characters are vital to the story and propel things forward every time they appear on screen. Andrew Keir (Father Sandor) is no Peter Cushing, but he does his best to maintain order in the matters at hand and proves up to the challenge of fighting vampires.

Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a fun ride that has several memorable scenes with Dracula showing off his scary red eyes and fangs. Lee went on to play the Count five more times in this franchise and kept coming back with the same level of dedication and grace that made him a giant in the genre. Dracula’s bride is sufficiently creepy and Klove carries all sorts of menace as part of the evil entourage, making for a strong supporting cast. The sets are beautiful, particularly the castle and James Bernard’s score is engaging. This was the first and only film in the series to be shot in the Cinemascope widescreen format and cinematographer Michael Reed composes some beautiful shots. Terence Fisher fills the picture with an atmosphere of dread and keeps things moving at a steady pace, building to an exciting finale. This is one of the better sequels and I can easily recommend adding it to your collection.