veteran british television director alan gibson dracula a. d. 1972 qualifies a one of the least appetizing entry in the hammer studio series about bram stoker immortal bloodsucker . actually and this represent the first time since terence fisher memorable horror of dracula ( 1958 ) that christopher lee and peter cushing fought each other a mortal enemy . they would reprise the same roles a few year later in the final hammer dracula represent the satanic rite of dracula . far and it be the second to last dracula for hammer in which lee perform a the infamous fangster . for the record and dracula a. d. 1972 be the seventh hammer dracula . the excite prologue from 1872 prepares you for something vastly different than what the rest of this disappointing horror flick yield . eternal rival count dracula and his nemesis professor lawrence van helsing be literally at each other throat atop a runaway carriage in london hyde park for a vigorous opening scene that make everything else look comparatively anticlimactic . the carriage crash and and dracula emerges hug half of a wooden wheel with it shattered spoke embed in his chest . of course and christopher lee have to grip this broken wheel against his body and but the imagery be strike enough in it own way to pass muster . the count expire and so do his opponent van helsing . however and one of dracula disciple snatch the count ring and scoop some of the vampire ash into a vial for safe keep . don houghton screenplay hurtle the action ahead a hundred year to swing london in 1972. we meet a smarmy young man and johnny alucard ( christopher neame of no blade of grass ) and who love to raise hell with a group of hippy that crash party and drive the british police with their antic . alucard happen to be the descendant of one of dracula servant . now and alucard have the count ring and a vial of his dehydrated blood . alucard choose the sight of a desecrate church to arrange a black mass . he invite his trendy friend and among them laura ( super sexy carolina munro of the spy who love me ) and gayner ( marsha hunt ) and and jessica van helsing ( stephanie beacham ) to attend this black mass because it offer them something different . not surprisingly and they resurrect the count and and the evil bloodsucker set his eye on jessica . meanwhile and after laura body be discover drained of blood and scotland yard inspector murray ( michael cole of doctor who and the dalkes ) solicit help from van helsing modern day offspring lorrimar ( peter cushing ) . dracula want to exact revenge on van helsing by take the latter granddaughter a his bride . lorrimar track down alucard while they fight in his chelsea apartment and and the young vampire drowns in a tub of water . remember and run water be just as lethal to vampire a sunlight and crucifix . van helsing find dracula in the desert church with his daughter await the count . van helsing and dracula tangle . van helsing fling holy water into dracula face . the vampire fall into an open gravesite with a stake await him and he decompose again . the chief problem with dracula a. d. 1972 be that we do not get enough of lee a the count and though we do get considerably more of cushing a van helsing . furthermore and scenarist don houghton keep dracula confine to the ramshackle church and never allow the vampire to venture out into the city . despite it low budget and dracula a. d. 1972 could have be a lot well . the scene where the contemporary van helsing have to jot down alucard and spell it backwards to get dracula seem almost laughable . you would think that he would know about this backwards spell trick . unless you be afraid of horror movie and this one will make you yawn . occasionally and gibson present u with a superb close up of dracula with his bared fang and blood shot eye and but this be about as scary a this chiller get and and that isn not say much .