Three middle-aged distinguished gentlemen search for some excitement in their boring bourgeois lives and are approached by Lord Courtley who offers them an experience like no other. They don't yet fully realise he is one of Count Dracula's servants. They perform a ritual that goes awry resulting in the three men killing Courtley. However, the Count is successfully resurrected and now seeks revenge on each man for his servant's death. Following on from Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968), we open to the scene of Dracula's demise, however, this time featuring a new angle. Travelling businessman, Weller is thrown from his carriage and alerted by horrifying screams, leading him to the frightful sight. Witnessing the body turn to dust, Weller collects the robe, jewellery and a vial of blood for good measure (as any sane person would). We are then introduced to three gentlemen: William Hargood, Samuel Paxton and Jonathon Secker who are deemed 'respectable' figures in the community, devoted to charity work. But, in actuality, they head to brothels leading a secret life in an attempt to escape their dull lives. Upon our initial meeting of the group, I was quite shocked to see the true nature of their so-called work. Admittedly, it was an interesting aspect to explore the double life led by supposed upholding citizens. These men are certainly unlikable, which the actors did a phenomenal job at portraying as they revel in their ingenuity. Of the three men, I found Hargood the most disagreeable. His actions were horrendous, like his punishing of his daughter, Alice, when drunk for no good reason. Still dissatisfied in their lives, they meet Lord Courtley, a man known for partaking in acts such as a Black Mass. Intrigued by what he offers, they follow him to Weller's store to purchase Dracula's items and powdered blood. Meeting at an abandoned church, they begin the ritual, which entails (you guessed it) drinking the blood of Dracula. It is a pretty disgusting scene though likely nothing extreme by Hammer's standards but by all accounts, it was still a sick concept to witness. Although, when they each back out, Courtley drinks alone, falling to the floor in pain, begging for help. The frightened men instead beat him to death putting him out of his misery and flee the scene moments before Courtley's body morphs into none other than Dracula. Now risen a fourth time, he seeks revenge once more this time on those who killed his servant. It is interesting to note, that the original script featured no Dracula at all. There were difficulties in getting Christopher Lee to return and Courtley's character would've been a generic vampire upon his death, for the antagonist. Lee later agreed to star in the production and yet analysing the film closely it appears Dracula has less to do in the story and acts as more of an observer to the events, likely since he wasn't in the script, having to be worked in. Dracula's plan for revenge here is certainly a twisted one. Controlling and possessing the children of the gentlemen and using them towards each's demise is a very dark concept that explores the pure evil cunning of our Count. One by one, he gets a hold of the offspring of each perpetrator and sets in motion the means to their deaths. Whilst never acting upon the individuals himself, he commands the children to deal the blows, ultimately committing the dead and counting them off at a time in his bone-chilling voice, "The First", "The Second" and "The Third". Despite his triumph, Dracula is unaware Paxton's son Paul (not to be confused with the last film) is informed of the whole ordeal by Secker by letter and now sets in motion his defeat. Though we don't spend much time with Paul, his scenes towards the end are great with the de-sanctification of the derelict church and battle with the overwhelmed Dracula by the sights and cross. Overall, Taste the Blood is personally one of my lesser favourites mainly due to not being as memorable. I still enjoyed many aspects, especially Dracula's vendetta and the final confrontation plus, Lee is outstanding, alongside the fellow cast members. It's still a worthy watch in the series. For more, see the unconnected sequel Scars of Dracula (1970).
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