The Satanic Rites of Dracula (3 Stars)

This is the 8th and last Hammer film about Dracula. Like the film before it, "Dracula A.D. 1972", it takes place in modern day London. Unfortunately this prestigious film series doesn't end with a bang but with a whimper. There are too many conflicting film styles thrust upon the viewer. The vampire story barely comes to the surface, most of the film being taken up with Satanic rituals and James Bond style action.

The plot is basically that Count Dracula has set himself up as a top businessman in London. He has gathered political, business and scientific leaders around himself to perform Satanic rituals. His aim is to release a new strain of the Bubonic Plague at midnight on November 23rd to wipe out all life on Earth, including himself, because he is tired of living forever. While a secret branch of the police try to aid Van Helsing in hunting down Dracula, the Count is protected by professional killers on motorbikes.

The plot has more holes than Swiss cheese. The rituals have almost nothing to do with the rest of the story, apart from unnecessarily attracting the attention of the police. Why are Dracula's brides kept chained up in the cellar? Why do the motorbike killers shoot some of the police but spare the others? The action sequences are exciting, but when Christopher Lee finally faces Peter Cushing in the last half hour the film grinds to a halt. The nonsensical story makes it the weakest of the Hammer Dracula films.