Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

It's the first in Hammer's Dracula series not to use the previous film's ending (Scars of Dracula (1970)) as a starting point. Instead, it places the Count and the Van Helsing characters together in a new, invented scenario, and as bizarre as it sounds the majority of what follows really is set in 1972.
The juxtaposition of the established formula and the swinging, urban London with its hip 70s lingo is a hurdle, but the addition of Cushing and Lee help ease the viewer over it. The contemporary music, however, is more of a problem.
The script aims for clever and ironic but often ends up silly and comedic.
It was good to see an efficient police service for a change, reflective of the role they played during the era, keeping the degradation of moral values away from the classes that found it unsavoury.

2½ derelict happenings out of 5