When Jonathan Harker rouses the ire of Count Dracula for accepting a job at the vampire’s castle under false pretences, his friend Dr. Van Helsing pursues the predatory villain.
Grimmfest says: A last-minute addition to this year’s VICTORIAN VILE strand, and an all-time classic, Hammer’s 1958 DRACULA (aka HORROR OF DRACULA) is a seminal moment in the history of horror cinema, redefining the genre for a whole new generation, bringing gothic terror into vivid, shocking colour. Jimmy Sangster’s smart, literate script radically restructures Stoker’s original tale, streamlining and paring the narrative down to its core plot elements and themes, and Terence Fisher’s elegant, atmospheric direction is a masterclass in mood-building, pacing, and escalating tension, culminating in a final confrontation which even now has lost little of its power to shock. Lean, fast-paced and fiercely modern, the film offers a revolutionary reimagining, stripping away the stagy theatricality of earlier adaptations to create something sensual, visceral and genuinely dangerous – while firmly establishing the star power of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
The film has been restored by Hammer Films and Silver Salt Restoration in collaboration with The Warner Archive Collection. Hammer is releasing a definitive uncensored 4K restoration of this horror classic in late October, this is the most complete version ever seen by UK and US audiences.
with a nationwide cinema release from the 16th October, followed by a new UHD and Blu-ray box set due for release on 26 October. Lucky Grimmlins will get an exclusive opportunity to experience the restored film ahead of its official release.
The restoration also brings back long-lost footage believed missing for more than six decades, Reels from the original 1958 Japanese theatrical release previously seen only during the original Japanese theatrical release and never before released in full in the UK or US, that reinstates footage cut from the UK and US versions by censors, for being deemed “too gruesome”.