Dracula: Prince of Darkness

The film opens with a prologue that replays Dracula's final confrontation and Van Helsing's use of sunlight to destroy him. The destruction of Dracula is implied, leaving only the memory of his evil behind. This sets the tone for the 1895 story that follows.

In 1895, Father Sandor interrupts a local priest's fear-driven ritual and refuses to treat a woman's death as the work of vampires. He insists that the community must not mistake rumor for reality and reminds them that Dracula was defeated ten years earlier.

Sandor warns the four English tourists—the Kents—against visiting Karlsbad. He highlights the danger and urges them to turn back, hoping to spare them from a fate like those who fear vampires.

Despite the warning, the Kents proceed toward Karlsbad. Their coach driver abandons them about 2 km from their destination as night falls, leaving them stranded on a dark road.

A driverless carriage brings the Kents to a castle that appears prepared to receive guests. A servant named Klove explains that Count Dracula has ordered the castle to be ready to welcome strangers.

Alan investigates a strange noise and follows Klove to the crypt. There, Klove kills him and mixes his blood with Dracula's ashes, reviving the Count to resume his dark rule.

Klove lures Helen into the crypt, and she becomes Dracula's first victim. The Count's presence becomes clear as he asserts control over the castle's nocturnal visitors.

The next morning, Charles and Diana awaken to the disappearance of Alan, Helen, and Klove. Charles takes Diana to a woodsman’s hut to search, then returns to the castle to continue the hunt.

Klove tricks Diana into returning to the castle, and Charles finds Alan's body in a crypt as Dracula rises. Diana encounters Helen, now undead, and Dracula enters, threatening them. Diana realizes her crucifix repels Dracula, and Charles improvises a larger cross to drive him away; the pair escape, though their carriage crashes and Diana is knocked unconscious.

Charles carries Diana through the woods until Father Sandor arrives and takes them to his abbey for safety. The journey ends in an unlikely sanctuary where they hope to slow Dracula's return.

Klove reaches the abbey bearing two coffins containing Dracula and Helen, but the monks deny him entry on Sandor’s orders. The standoff foreshadows the Count’s looming attempt to reclaim control.

Ludwig, a patient at the abbey, is secretly loyal to Dracula and lures Diana into Dracula's presence inside the abbey. The Count then hypnotizes her into removing her crucifix, setting the stage for a perilous confrontation.

Dracula coerces Diana to drink his blood from his chest, but Charles returns in time to interrupt the embrace, forcing Dracula to flee with the unconscious Diana. The abbey is plunged into renewed peril as the Count regroups.

Charles and Sandor arm themselves and ride out to intercept Dracula’s wagon on a shortcut. Charles shoots Klove, who has apparently removed Sandor’s crucifixes from the coffins, sending the horses racing toward the castle.

The chase ends when Dracula’s coffin is dragged onto the ice that covers the moat. After a desperate struggle, Sandor cracks the ice and Dracula drowns in the freezing water, bringing the nightmare to a close.