Review of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

For me, this sequel to such Hammer greats as Horror of Dracula, Brides of Dracula, and Dracula Prince of Darkness is a weak link in the Hammer Dracula series. The opening is well-done in typical Hammer shock style, but from then on it is a pretty muddled story of the Count reeking revenge on a priest for exorcising his castle. The biggest problem I think with the film is the script. The film has all the elements for a successful Hammer film..great cinematography, gothic castle and settings, good acting with Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, and Michael Ripper, beautiful Hammer Beauties(Veronica Carlson..Va Va VaBoom), lush costuming and so on. The story is the weak link as it is a bit hard to make complete sense of and has little depth and motivation for its characters, as well I think as some rather tame and uninspired direction from Freddie Francis(though on a whole I am a great admirer of his work). Maybe it is me....as all the other reviewers seem to adore it. When I watched it I was just very disappointed. It is not a terrible film, but just a letdown.