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The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula
Mark Gatiss directs Hammer Horror’s Unquenchable Thirst Of Dracula, an unmade Hammer Horror script set in 1930s India. Lewis MacLeod (Dead Ringers) channels Christopher Lee as Dracula, whilst Michael Sheen narrates. The cast includes Nikesh Patel (Indian Summers, Midnight’s Children), Meera Syal, Kulvinder Ghir, Anna Madeley, Ayesha Dharker and Raj Ghatek and is adapted for radio by Mark Gatiss and Laurence Bowen.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/late...
https://archive.org/details/TheUnquen...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/late...
https://archive.org/details/TheUnquen...
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 13, 2022
Back in 1970 Hammer Films were going to make this Dracula film from a script by Anthony Hinds, but for various reasons it was abandoned & Hammer released the highly disappointing Dracula AD 1972 instead. The script sat for years in the Hammer vaults, until it was rediscovered.
This BBC Radio adaptation tells the story of a young woman who travels to India in the 1930s & comes face to face with the legendary Count Dracula.
Hammer & horror fan Mark Gatiss directs an able cast, but it's Michael Sheen's narration that I enjoyed the most. He enters into the spirit of this Hammer adventure with relish. Just like in some of the original Dracula films the count himslef is sidelined for much of this story, but Lewis MacLeod does a good impression of horror icon Christopher Lee.
Having been a Hammer fan since I was a teenager I found this a most welcome piece of nostalgia and, being a Dracula story, it was obviously bloody entertaining.
This BBC Radio adaptation tells the story of a young woman who travels to India in the 1930s & comes face to face with the legendary Count Dracula.
Hammer & horror fan Mark Gatiss directs an able cast, but it's Michael Sheen's narration that I enjoyed the most. He enters into the spirit of this Hammer adventure with relish. Just like in some of the original Dracula films the count himslef is sidelined for much of this story, but Lewis MacLeod does a good impression of horror icon Christopher Lee.
Having been a Hammer fan since I was a teenager I found this a most welcome piece of nostalgia and, being a Dracula story, it was obviously bloody entertaining.
May 29, 2019
Radio play based on an unmade horror script, produced by Mark Gatiss and narrated by Michael Sheen. Dracula visits 1930's India. Doesn't do anything new, other than change Dracula's regular setting, but I enjoyed it.
September 30, 2019
An unfilmed Hammer Dracula script revived as a radio play, this is at least better than Scars of Dracula (which it would have immediately followed). The Indian setting and some specifics of the story make it seem rather like Dracula and the Temple of Doom.
October 11, 2020
Michael Sheen's narration was absolutely brilliant.
But the story I think did not do justice to the legend of Dracula. Dracula is one of my favourite books and perhaps that is the reason why I liked this alternate version where Dracula visits India and does what he is best at. Seducing and drinking the blood of beautiful women.
The beginning was promising.
It developed into something rather disappointing in the middle.
The ending although predictable, was good enough.
Dracula dies and the logic concerning his death was pathetic. It was not very well thought of I think.
But the story I think did not do justice to the legend of Dracula. Dracula is one of my favourite books and perhaps that is the reason why I liked this alternate version where Dracula visits India and does what he is best at. Seducing and drinking the blood of beautiful women.
The beginning was promising.
It developed into something rather disappointing in the middle.
The ending although predictable, was good enough.
Dracula dies and the logic concerning his death was pathetic. It was not very well thought of I think.
March 26, 2020
Técnicamente no es un libro sino un radiodrama a partir de un guión que no llegó a filmarse para una película de la Hammer. Resulta difícil no visualizar a Christopher Lee en este pastiche que ha sido interpretado con cariño por grandes voces británicas entre las que destaca Michael Sheen como narrador.
May 13, 2022
A BBC audio drama based on an unmade Hammer Horror script set in 1930s India. It feels just like an actual horror movie from early 1970s, which is exactly what I was expecting.
June 27, 2019
i am on a michael sheen quest so here i am. this was weird though
April 22, 2023
I'm a BIG fan of the Hammer Horror films so I was pretty excited to listen to this unproduced script for a Christopher Lee Dracula that would've been made in the early 1970s and filmed on location in India.
The actual audio production is really quite excellent. Michael Sheen is the narrator and he is VERY good. His narration is quite effective and action-packed. The actors are all very good as well, especially Lewis Macleod who gives an excellent Lee imitation.
The story itself, written by Anthony Hinds, is so-so. Setting a Dracula story in India makes a very nice change from either Eastern Europe or the English countryside. Despite this promising change of scenery, nothing really interesting takes place. It seems inspired slightly by "Gunga Din" and "Horror Hotel". Also, the later "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" has echoes of this story of evil Indian aristocrats and slavish followers of an evil Indian deity. There is also no Van Helsing equivalent so there is no "Count Dracula is a vampire and here's how we destroy him" exposition in the middle of the film, which I feel was needed. And like the later Hammer films, Dracula himself seems to be shoe-horned into the story with little to do (you could actually take Dracula out completely and it'd be the Kahli-Ma portion of "Temple of Doom"). The ending itself seems inspired by "Count Yorga" with it's nihilism. If this had been filmed as is, I can't see it being anything special other than the only Hammer Dracula filmed in India. A waste of potential.
If you're a big fan of Hammer Horror, listen to it at least once to get an idea of what could've been.
The actual audio production is really quite excellent. Michael Sheen is the narrator and he is VERY good. His narration is quite effective and action-packed. The actors are all very good as well, especially Lewis Macleod who gives an excellent Lee imitation.
The story itself, written by Anthony Hinds, is so-so. Setting a Dracula story in India makes a very nice change from either Eastern Europe or the English countryside. Despite this promising change of scenery, nothing really interesting takes place. It seems inspired slightly by "Gunga Din" and "Horror Hotel". Also, the later "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" has echoes of this story of evil Indian aristocrats and slavish followers of an evil Indian deity. There is also no Van Helsing equivalent so there is no "Count Dracula is a vampire and here's how we destroy him" exposition in the middle of the film, which I feel was needed. And like the later Hammer films, Dracula himself seems to be shoe-horned into the story with little to do (you could actually take Dracula out completely and it'd be the Kahli-Ma portion of "Temple of Doom"). The ending itself seems inspired by "Count Yorga" with it's nihilism. If this had been filmed as is, I can't see it being anything special other than the only Hammer Dracula filmed in India. A waste of potential.
If you're a big fan of Hammer Horror, listen to it at least once to get an idea of what could've been.
November 24, 2022
Set in India in the early 20th century. This has the feel of a Hammer movie.
Dracula himself comes across very much like a mindless beast - barely talks, has others prepare his victims. I doubt Christopher Lee would've been keen to have played this version of the Count.
That aside, this is an interesting take on the Dracula story and this audio play production has the Hammer values. The other leads are very effective and resourceful. 6/10
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
Dracula himself comes across very much like a mindless beast - barely talks, has others prepare his victims. I doubt Christopher Lee would've been keen to have played this version of the Count.
That aside, this is an interesting take on the Dracula story and this audio play production has the Hammer values. The other leads are very effective and resourceful. 6/10
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
May 17, 2023
A good and suspenseful story. This would have been interesting if it had been produced, especially the Indian setting.
The voice acting was excellent and the actor portraying Dracula did a pretty good impression of Christopher Lee.
The ending was not what I was expecting, but was a nice change from the usual Hammer endings for Dracula films.
Worth a listen.
The voice acting was excellent and the actor portraying Dracula did a pretty good impression of Christopher Lee.
The ending was not what I was expecting, but was a nice change from the usual Hammer endings for Dracula films.
Worth a listen.
April 6, 2023
Lurid fun!
July 25, 2023
Disappointing. I don't imagine this would have been a classic had it been produced as a film.
January 5, 2024
Absolutely brilliant 👏
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews