When shall we be free of his evil?
Nearly three years passed between the release of Dracula: Prince of Darkness and its sequel, 1968's Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, although only one elapsed in screen time. Directed by Freddie Francis, who split his time between Hammer and Amicus in the '60s and '70s, and written by Anthony Hinds, the film doesn't take quite so long resurrecting Christopher Lee's Count this time out, although it does move his icy grave away from Castle Dracula somewhat. (Continuity is nodded at but not strictly adhered to in these films.) The supporting cast includes Rupert Davies as a haughty monsignor who inspires Dracula's wrath by performing an exorcism ritual on his castle while he's away, Veronica Carlson as the cleric's beautiful young niece who's in love with atheist Barry Andrews (no relation to XTC's electric organ player), Barbara Ewing as a busty barmaid who lusts after Andrews and becomes Dracula's first victim, and Ewan Hooper as a priest who's lost his faith and is therefore primed to be dominated by the born-again bloodsucker.
Much of the film is focused on Dracula's plot to get revenge on the monsignor by turning his niece into a creature of the night. Much religious symbolism abounds (no need for the characters to improvise crosses since they carry them around as a matter of course) and there's a neat twist where Andrews stakes the Count but it doesn't work because he's a nonbeliever. Eventually Dracula does meet his fate on the business end of a large crucifix, but he would return two years later in two films, Taste the Blood of Dracula and Scars of Dracula. Neither of those were shown on TCM, though, so I'll have to find an alternate source for them. In the meantime, there are other Hammer horrors to discover...