The Satanic Rites of Dracula--the final film in which Christopher Lee played Dracula--is a bleak, even poignant affair. The vampire and his adversary Lorimer Van Helsing reach the end of the line amidst the desolate, rain-streaked concrete city scapes of the early 1970s. Dracula has, it seems, allowed his contempt for humanity to reach its logical conclusion: no longer content with drinking blood, he has gathered together a group of scientists and created a plague which will eradicate all life on earth. This quasi-medical plot admits a certain element of Avengers-style techno-kitsch--all the more uncanny, then, that Joanna Lumley here takes over Stephanie Beacham's role as Van Helsing's grand-daughter Jessica--yet it's all off-white enamel and Formica rather than lights and dials. There is an extraordinary scene in which Dracula, masquerading as a property tycoon, is confronted by Van Helsing in his office. He is no longer the brooding, elemental figure of yore, but instead lurks in the shadows behind his desk, having become little more than a shifty businessman, while Van Helsing seems to realise that the two of them are nothing more than tired old men fighting a battle which has become meaningless. Fascinatingly odd. The video comes with some nice behind-the-scenes fact cards. --Roger Thomas
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Rating : 3/10