Dracula A.D. 1972

Dracula A.D. 1972 is a British feature film of the horror genre. It is part of the Hammer Horror series of films produced by Hammer Film Productions and is the seventh installment in the Dracula film series. The movie was directed by Alan Gibson with a screenplay written by Don Houghton. The film premiered in the United Kingdom on September 28th, 1972. It was released in the United States through Warner Bros. on November 17th, 1972. The film stars Christopher Lee, once again reprising the role of the infamous vampire count, Dracula, as well as the ubiquitous Peter Cushing as his arch-nemesis, Professor Van Helsing. Stephanie Beacham plays the role of the modern-era Van Helsing's granddaughter, Jessica Van Helsing, with Christopher Neame as cultist villain, Johnny Alucard. Other stars include Michael Coles as Inspector Murray, Marsha Hunt as Gaynor, Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows and Janet Key as Anna.

Synopsis
In 1872, Count Dracula and his nemesis Lawrence Van Helsing battle on the top of a runaway coach. The carriage crashes and Dracula is partly impaled by one of the wheels. In the struggle, Van Helsing manages to fully push the wheel into the vampire's chest, staking him. This done, Van Helsing collapses and dies from his own wounds. At that moment, a follower of Dracula arrives, collects Dracula's remains and, a few days later, buries them near Van Helsing's grave at St Bartolph's Church.

One hundred years later, a new generation of Britons appear who move the tale along: in this case, a group of young hippies that includes Jessica Van Helsing, granddaughter of Lorrimer Van Helsing, an occult scholar and descendant of Dracula's old nemesis, and Johnny Alucard, who closely resembles the disciple of Dracula seen in 1872. Alucard persuades Jessica and the others to attend a black magic ceremony in the now abandoned, de-consecrated St. Bartolph's, where he performs a bloody ritual involving one of their group, Laura Bellows. Jessica and the others flee in horror, after which Dracula is resurrected and kills Laura.

Laura’s body is discovered, drained of blood, and a police investigation begins, headed by an Inspector Murray. Murray suspects an occult element and interviews Lorrimer Van Helsing, who is shocked to learn the details of Laura’s death. He realizes that Johnny Alucard (whose name is Dracula written backwards) is a disciple of Dracula, and that the Count must have returned.

In the meantime, Alucard brings another of Jessica’s friends, Gaynor Keating, to St. Bartolph’s, where she is killed by Dracula and Alucard willingly has himself turned into a vampire. The vampire Alucard kills a passer-by and lures Jessica’s boyfriend, Bob, to a café they frequent, where he turns him into a vampire as well. While Lorrimer is out, Bob goes to the Van Helsing house and persuades Jessica to come to the café, where he and Alucard capture her and take her to Dracula.

Lorrimer tracks Alucard to his flat and battles him, in which course Alucard accidentally kills himself with the running water in the bathroom shower. Lorrimer finds Bob's dead body, slain by sunlight before he could reach his resting place, and discovers Jessica in a trance at St Bartolph’s, where Dracula plans to take his revenge on the Van Helsing family by turning her into a vampire. Van Helsing sets a trap for Dracula and waits for him to return at nightfall. After a struggle, Dracula is killed by a fall into a pit of stakes that Van Helsing had previously prepared, and his spell over Jessica is broken. She embraces her grandfather and the title "Rest In Final Peace" is shown.

Notes & Trivia

 * Production on Dracula A.D. 1972 began on September 27th, 1971. Exterior footage was filmed at Tykes Water lake in Aldenham Country Park in Hertfordshire, England. The Cavern Coffee Shop scenes were filmed at La Bersagliera - 372 Kings Road in Chelsea, with other scenes being shot in different areas of London.


 * Released in the US under the slightly altered title Dracula 1972 A.D. It was released on the same day as the United Artists film, Daughters of Satan.


 * Dracula A.D. 1972 was released to DVD by Warner Bros. on October 4th, 2005.


 * This is the first Dracula film produced by Hammer Film Productions that takes place in the modern era (hence the title).

Fun Facts

 * The tagline for this film is, "The Count is back -- with an eye for London's young blood!"