A fully restored 4K version of the 1958 film Horror of Dracula, starring Christopher Lee as Bram Stoker's vampire, will be released in cinemas in time for Halloween, according to John Gore, owner of the Hammer Horror Films label. The film will also be available on home entertainment, with dates to be confirmed.
Gore revealed that footage cut by censors and distributors at the time of the original release was discovered in a Warner Bros. warehouse. The cuts were made because scenes of Dracula biting victims, with fangs dripping blood, were deemed too gory. Only those who saw the film in Japan saw the uncut version.
The restored footage includes over three minutes of material, notably a more explicit death scene for Dracula and a highly sexualised sequence where Lee's character descends on a woman. 'It's so sexual and they had to trim that because it just looked like it was nothing to do with vampires,' Gore explained.
Gore credited Hammer's makeup artist Philip Leakey and Christopher Lee with inventing the iconic vampire fangs, which were not present in earlier portrayals by Bela Lugosi or in Nosferatu. 'That thing that we just associate with vampires everywhere all came up with Lee and the makeup guy,' he said.
Silver Salt Restoration oversaw the 4K upgrade, with Gore noting that going higher than 4K could be 'too exacting.' The film also stars Peter Cushing as vampire hunter Doctor Van Helsing.
Gore, who took control of Hammer less than three years ago, said he is exploring the entire Hammer catalogue for further restorations and new projects, including vampires, werewolves, and mummies.
