In the early 1970s, Hammer Films was in trouble. The studio was having financial woes and the same old monster films they'd been producing for a decade and a half didn't seem to be the formula for solvency. So, in a nod to the times, Hammer 'sexed-up' their films--including quite a bit of blood and female nudity. However, this did not necessarily mean the films were that good--and most were rather poor despite the now ample 'boobage'.
Despite the title, "Countess Dracula" has almost nothing to do with the famed monster. Instead, it's a retelling of the story of Elizabeth Bathery--a woman whose real-life exploits are rather hard to believe today. She supposedly killed hundreds of young women and bathed in their blood in order to somehow stay younger. In this film, the weird bathing practices worked--at least temporarily. It made the hag-like Countess beautiful but the results were only short-term--she needed a continuing supply of young virgins. So, again and again, you see bloody female corpses and lots of gratuitous nudity. Nothing really that special---just lots of R-rated content. In fact, the whole thing just gets a bit tedious after a while. Lots of pretty naked ladies and violence--a rather disturbing means to increase film attendance if you think about it.
By the way, in a nod to Dracula, the real-life Vlad the Impaler's picture is on the wall and an offhanded comment is made that it's the Countess' father--but no mention of Vlad or his past is mentioned.
Despite the title, "Countess Dracula" has almost nothing to do with the famed monster. Instead, it's a retelling of the story of Elizabeth Bathery--a woman whose real-life exploits are rather hard to believe today. She supposedly killed hundreds of young women and bathed in their blood in order to somehow stay younger. In this film, the weird bathing practices worked--at least temporarily. It made the hag-like Countess beautiful but the results were only short-term--she needed a continuing supply of young virgins. So, again and again, you see bloody female corpses and lots of gratuitous nudity. Nothing really that special---just lots of R-rated content. In fact, the whole thing just gets a bit tedious after a while. Lots of pretty naked ladies and violence--a rather disturbing means to increase film attendance if you think about it.
By the way, in a nod to Dracula, the real-life Vlad the Impaler's picture is on the wall and an offhanded comment is made that it's the Countess' father--but no mention of Vlad or his past is mentioned.