A Dracula movie that's more about the evil hypnotic power of music, "Dracula AD 1972" is the Hammer horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing that for awhile forgets they're in the movie.
It turns out even time can't stop Cushing and Lee from brutalizing each other, as, 100 years after Lawrence Van Helsing killed the bloodthirsty count, Dracula returns to again haunt the Van Helsing family.
Here's the story: after a battle that killed both Dracula and Lawrence Van Helsint, one of Drac's disciples finds the remains, saves some of the ashes, and 100 years later his great grandson Johnny (Christopher Neame) comes into possession of the ashes. He also happens to be friends with groovy 70s chick Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beachem), so he decides to raise Dracula again.
After a crazy ritual that raises Dracula, the vampire begins to kill again. Soon the elderly Professor Van Helsing (Cushing) starts to suspect evil is afoot.
While this all seems rather ordinary for a vampire film, this story is loosely scattered across the film. Scant moments are devoted to actual Dracula/Van Helsing action. The rest of the film is a mash of random dance scenes, drawn-out exposition, and pointless detective work by the police, who figure exactly zero into the film's final battle. They seem to exist solely to pad out the film's runtime.
The film's biggest camp moment comes during Dracula's resurrection ritual. Johnny turns on music, which immediately sends the other teens into an almost hypnotic state where they dance uncontrollably to the music and suddenly turn into bloodthirsty creatures. Johnny implores Jessica to come to the altar to be baptized in blood and gain "unspeakable power," to which Jessica seems horrified.
No worry, though, as one of her friends leaps in front of her and proclaims, "NO! Choose me!" Johnny happily obliges, placing the ashes into a cup, then reciting the incantations before cutting himself (and emitting a scream that would startle Howard Dean), mixing his blood and the ashes before dumping it all over the poor volunteer, who by now is horrified that she actually has blood on her.
It also features the most inexplicable dance sequence you'll see in a vamipre movie, and yes I'm including "Blacula," and features an actress sporting an Afro reminiscent of O.J. Simpson's flashback coiff in the third "Naked Gun" film.
The final battle is an awkward battle between old men trying to pull off an action sequence. It's still the best part of the movie, though, even if Lee and Cushing are stumbling around trying not to break a hip.
In all, if you're a Hammer completist, you probably will want to see this particular incarnation. If not, don't bother.