Dracula Prince Of Darkness

Just when I thought I'd heard of and seen the many incarnations of the blood-sucking vampire Dracula, out comes yet another version from the Scream Factory vaults. "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" was one of nine in a series of Hammer Films productions that started in 1958 and lasted until the late 1970s. As usual, this Blu-ray from Scream gets treated with royalty and has a brand new restoration.

The 2K scan restores "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" to near picture-perfect quality. One can also witness the lavish sets that were used in previous Hammer Films.

"Prince of Darkness" is a direct follow-up to "Horror of Dracula," and in flashbacks, we see Dracula in his final moments after Van Helsing supposedly kills him for good. But, like any other horror movie villain, Dracula becomes resurrected once more. That very scenario takes quite a long time to get going in a film featuring a foursome who get stranded at an abandoned castle.

Dracula (Christopher Lee) has been waiting for the past ten years to suck some blood. Lee chews up the scenery in his second "Dracula" appearance (he went on to star in five more blood-sucking films).

For a 1966 film, "Prince of Darkness" has quite an abundance of gore. It's definitely a much bloodier film than "Horror of Dracula," and it ushered in a more violent Dracula series.

New bonus features include multiple audio commentaries and a choice between the UK version and the U.S. version. "Back to Black: The Making of Dracula – Prince of Darkness" and "Dracula and the Undead" are among the vintage extras that were on DVD and previous Blu-ray releases.

"Dracula: Prince of Darkness"
Blu-ray
$29.99
www.shoutfactory.com