The sequel to "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave," written again by Anthony Hinds, under his John Elder nom de plume, indicates how much vampire terrain had been covered by other genre entries by 1969, and yet "Taste the Blood of Dracula" can also been seen as a swinging Sixties sex party. Bathed in candy colours that aren't quite native to the corseted Victorian era (though maybe the boudoirs enjoyed the pastel oranges, yellows and greens), there's also director Peter Sasdy's selection of distortion lenses that tip the film into a surreal baroque terrain.

In "Taste," Dracula returns as the ultimate society rebel, more lecherous than the three utterly bored upper class snobs who revived his being from a vial of powdered blood. Revenge is the dominant theme in Hammer's vampire franchise, and as Dracula dispatches his victims to their graves, the cloaked one maintains a regular association with at least two babes, while the working class police treat each upper-class murder with utter disinterest.

As with other Hammer releases, Warner Bros have reproduced the film's original poster art for the cover - a great throwback to the old drive-in films that lured teens with arresting artwork - and the disc includes the film's original trailer, which characteristically assembles all the money shots. Unlike the previous Dracula outing, "Taste" maintains a Restricted rating by the MPAA, though the violence is really quite tame by today's standards.

This Warner Bros title has a suggested retail price of $19.98 U.S. and $24.98 Cdn. It's also available as part of the Hammer Collection that includes “The Curse Of Frankenstein,” “Dracula Has Risen From The Grave,” “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed,” “Horror Of Dracula,” “The Mummy" (1959) and “Taste The Blood Of Dracula.”

© 2004 Mark R. Hasan