My take: This is a classic. If it seems riddled with cliches, that is because it was a groundbreaker that everyone copied.
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars
The 1958 version of Dracula, which was released as Horror of Dracula in the United States, is Hammer Horror at its best. This is when the studio was fresh off the heels of Curse of Frankenstein, which was a huge success.
Capitalizing on the success of Frankenstein, this movie has a lot of the same elements. It’s got Peter Cushing playing the erudite Dr. Van Helsing (similar to Baron Frankenstein). Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, another classic monster. It’s even got the hot maid from Curse of Frankenstein as a busty bride of Dracula.
Poster for the 1958 version of Dracula, which was called House of Dracula in the U.S.
But don’t think that this impedes the film. It does not. Instead, the film takes a fresh look at the classic tale and has enough twists throughout to keep you interested. Additionally, Christopher Lee’s Dracula is strikingly different than Bela Lugosi’s monster. Lee is violent and visceral, where Lugosi was aloof and calculated.
I recommend this movie to anyone who likes classic horror, vampire films of the non-sparkly variety, and Hammer Horror films.
I got the movie from Netflix on DVD. Here is the trailer so you can get a sense of it (though the 50’s style voice-over kind of overshadows the trailer a bit):
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