The story begins as two couples, lead by Charles Kent (Francis Matthew), continue their travels across the Carpathian mountains determined to visit Carlsbad despite the stern warnings of the local townsfolk. Along the way, they are abandoned on the side of the road by their coachman who seems terrified by the approach of night. Just than a drive-less coach picks them up and whisks them away to a nearby castle, where they are greeted at the door by Klove (Latham), the man servant of the house, who graciously offers up lodging for these wayward souls.

That night, Helen (Barbara Shelley), the wife of Charles' older brother Alan (Charles Tingwell) begins to get strange feeling of pending doom, but little attention is paid to her. Later Alan is viciously killed while investigating the dark reaches of the castle. Then Klove proceeds to strings his corpse upside down, cutting his throat to allow his life's blood to drip onto some ashes. From the shadows of this family crypt, a sinister shape begins to take shape, reborn from the depths of hell is Dracula (Christopher Lee), Prince of Darkness.

Helen quickly succumbs to the Count's charms, so he sets his sights on her little sister, Diana (Susan Farmer). Fearing for their lives, she and  her husband Charles seek refuge in a local monastery where they meet up Father Sandor (Andrew Keir), the Abbott of Kleinberg. He quickly begins to share with them the secrets of  vampirism and the danger that may lie ahead of them. The final battle between good and evil leads them back to Dracula's castle, where they must either send him back to the grave or lose their lives.

Dracula: Prince of Darkness was shot back-to-back with Rasputin the Mad Monk in the Spring of 1965 and was budgeted for just over 100,000 £ (accomplished by re-cycling sets from Rasputin, The Reptile, and The Plague of the Zombies). It was successful released in early 1966 as a double-bill with The Plague of Zombies.  The story was derived from a late fifties treatment call "The Revenge of Dracula" which had originally been planned as a possible follow-up vehicle for Horror of Dracula. A returning Terence Fisher was able to exercise a fine line between on screen violence and atmosphere and it is through this successful balance that he,  along with his cast, was able to deliver one of the finest Dracula films. After a 7 years absence Christopher Lee returned to  role that would become his mainstay for much of the next decade.  Unfortunately for us, there is no Dr. Van Helsing, thus no Peter Cushing, but Andrew Keir does more than an ample job as the fearless vampire hunter.  Dracula, Prince of Darkness is definitely a highlight during the reign of Hammer and a film that any self-respecting horror fan should include in his/her collection.