One of my favorite Hammer horror films

I was especially fond of HAMMER FILMS horror films because the studio almost always placed its horror stories in historical European settings. Doing so gave the Hammer horror films a visually and emotive atmosphere to enjoy watching it. Hammer horror flicks seemed to be best watched in the warm comfort of one's home on winter nights.

COUNTESS DRACULA, based on the historical Countess Elizabeth Bathory, is an especially entertaining Hammer horror film. Hammer films did not always have to rely on a supernatural monster. In the case of "Countess Dracula", a mis-titled movie if I ever saw one, humans make the best monsters. "Countess Dracula" is more of a historical gothic suspense thriller. Countess Nadasdy is the 'monster' of this Hammer film. She's an unbalanced serial murderess who's happened per chance on a horrific youth restoration method. But following in the moral of the famous "The Monkey's Paw" horror story...be careful what you wish for...you might be horrified if you attain it.

The lesson is clear in COUNTESS DRACULA. Elizabeth Nadasdy regains youth and ravishing beauty, but at a horrific price. More terrifying, the youthful restoration is but temporary. When she re-ages, she looks older than before. She must commit ever more evil to retain her youth and beauty.

My opinion is that Elizabeth Nadasdy was made to look far too old in this Hammer film. I previously posted that historically, women married very young, even in 17th century Europe. Countess Nadasdy would have married at age 16 to 18 and probably had her first child immediately. By all accounts, Elizabeth Nadasdy would have been only in her mid-thirties in the historical setting of this movie. She would still be attractive enough to attract a young, 25-year old Hussar lieutenant, Imre Toth (Sandor Eles). That would make Elizabeth a 17th century 'cougar'. Instead, Hammer Films made Elizabeth look like a grandmother.

Oddly, Captain Dobi (Nigel Green), is prescient in warning countess Elizabeth not to continue with her age reducing evil. Captain Dobi graciously implores Elizabeth that he loves her as she already is and accurately forewarns her that each time she re-ages, she looks older and uglier. Captain Dobi is an odd character, showing insensitivity like some real bastard, telling a female servant to search for her missing servant daughter, Teri, in the whorehouse; yet capable of ethical thinking and evidently of authentic, genuine love for the countess, enough to try to warn her away from murdering virgin maidens. Captain Dobi was the most complicated, multi-dimensional character in the movie.

Ingrid Pitt does an excellent job, in my opinion, as the diabolical countess Elizabeth Nadasdy. I have this odd perception that in the movie, the rejuvenated countess is nicer and more pleasant than the grouch she is when old. Of course that is only the outside veneer. Ingrid Pitt is a natural brunette and looked beautiful as a brunette. But yet I felt she looked better as a blonde, given her fair complexion and blue eyes.

I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the hapless Hussar lieutenant, Imre Toth, played by Sandor Eles with a mustache. His character role is limited and a thankless one, placed in the movie to be a victim of emotional fraud and manipulation that will finally cost him his happiness and life. At least in the movie lieutenant Imre Toth is portaryed as a very, very nice young man with no personality flaws. His eventual victimizer, the countess Elizabeth, draws him in with blandishments of romance, love, and sex, which you cannot fault him for. The rejuvenated countess Elizabeth does come across as flirtatious, sexy, sexual, giddy, happy, emotionally supportive, almost too good to be true, which of course it was.

Unlike typical Hammer Films in which someone-usually one of the good characters-survives, in COUNTESS DRACULA, no one does. The bad get their just punishments but none of the good characters makes it out alive. Everyone loses.