When Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur) frees the captive Baron Mienster (David Peel), she unwillingly unleashes all hell…or, just one really bad vampire. One way or the other, village people begin dropping like flies, and the charming Baron Mienster is responsible. Fortunately for our naïve female lead Marianne, the wise Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) arrives just in the nick of time. After assessing the situation, Van Helsing quickly determines there are vampires to blame for the mysterious deaths; it’s not long after, before the good Doc also realizes the mysterious Baron Mienster is the culprit.
After the Baron has recruited a few attractive young ladies to join him in his life of vampirism, Van Helsing cuts all plans short by tracking the Baron down and feeding him a fatal dose of Holy Water. 
Cushing is wonderful as the visiting hero Van Helsing, and Yvonne Monlaur is perfectly oblivious in the unsuspecting female lead. Peels performance is half charming, half cheese ball; convincing as a prisoner, and awfully hammy as a vampire (but I admit, I do like it!). Martita Hunt provides a creepy performance as Baroness Mienster, the young Baron’s mother. Though unintentional, Hunt actually provides a certain fear factor herself. This woman either intentionally deprived herself of sunlight in preparation for the film, or she was some kind of recluse, as she could nearly pass for an albino… and that’s while her character was still ‘one of the living’! Despite a few good performances, Freda Jackson all but steals the show as the maniacal housekeeper/vampire guardian, who admittedly is a tad frightening looking herself.
Though the scares are minimal, the set’s are lavish, the acting is solid, and the score is genuinely eerie. There are tense moments, frightening moments and a few classic tongue-in-cheek moments to round out the platter. Cushing and Jackson are superb, and both equally convincing in their performances. Released in 1960, THE BRIDES OF DRACULA is tame, but definitely one of the more enjoyable Hammer releases.You can catch BRIDES OF DRACULA in the HAMMER HORROR SERIES Box-set, which also features THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962), PARANOIAC, KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, NIGHTMARE, NIGHT CREATURES and THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN. With the box-set running an average of about 20 bucks, it’s definitely a worth while purchase.
Comments (6)
oh my god-
|2009-07-16 16:37:46 Chris
The best movie in the series still why was christopher lee was not in that one.
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|2009-07-04 16:28:02 bill b.
This is one of the best Hammer vampire films, and easily has the most inventive (and dramatic) way of disposing of its lead villain. Peter Cushing is always a joy, and the holy-water-and-branding-iron scene was pretty intense for way back then.
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|2009-07-02 11:02:40 Tim R-T-C
I was actually rather disappointed by this. Although the sets are magnificent and Cushing is as strong as ever, the storyline is a hopeless muddle and full of holes.
I gave it a detailed grilling in a review last year which you can read here: http://www.mondo-esoterica.net/Brides%20of%20Dracula.html
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