Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is the third of the late 1960s Dracula series starring Christopher Lee. Watch your screen closely in the beginning. As they often did with the older movies, to show passage of time, the window in front of the church bell shows rain, snow, rain and drought. Do not blink or you will miss a year.

This movies goes straight into action with a cleaning boy finding a woman's body hanging in the church bell. A year later, the monsignor of the Catholic Church, Ernest Mueller (Rupert Davies), has come to visit the small town where Dracula (Lee) worked his evil, desecrated the church and was killed.

The people will not come back into the church because it is in the shadow of Dracula's castle in the evening, and they believe the castle is casting its evil over the church. The monsignor sets about cleaning up the mess. He takes the priest (Evan Hooper) into the mountain to Dracula's castle, but the priest gets scared and stays on the trail while the monsignor proceeds to the castle to seal it forever against evil.

Unfortunately, while the monsignor is performing an exorcism and sealing the castle doors, the priest is accidentally freeing Dracula, who develops quite an attitude when he discovers that he cannot enter his castle. The monsignor returns home, certain that he has cured the problem. And he really has, for Dracula leaves the village and follows the monsignor home in hopes of a chance for revenge. That chance presents itself in the form of the monsignor's beautiful niece, Maria (Veronica Carlson).

Dracula has had many faces, but it Christopher Lee that the baby boomers most often associate with the character. He set the standard for all future Draculas with his piercing stare and menacing tone. He had such a gift for exuding danger.

All of the roles are well-played, though by current standards they are overly dramatic, which reflects one of the many ways that acting has changed over the years.

The music sets the mood and emphasizes the action. It builds the tension to a crescendo, bringing the viewer's emotions to their peak.

The camera work is typical of older movies. They direct your attention to a detail by closing in on it. The film uses vignettes in several spots. They also speed up the film to achieve faster action.

Dracula Has Risen is a great old horror classic. Every horror collection should contain this film!