Ingrid Pitt brings the legend of Countess Elizabeth Bathory to light in the Hammer film, "Countess Dracula."

The tone is set quickly in as the film opens with the funeral of Count Nodosheen. On the way back to the castle, the countess' coach is accosted by a man looking for work. After failing to push him off, the driver is urged to go faster. When the man finally falls off, he is run over by a wheel and killed. The villagers quickly surround the body, not to offer assistance but to pick over his belongings.

Countess Bathory is rumored to have killed over 600 young girls. Though sadistic pleasure is the probable motivation, the more popular theory involves her bathing in the young girls' blood to preserve her youth and beauty. In Countess Nodosheen's case, the bathing in the blood of virgin girls makes her younger. Decades younger, in fact. Driven by greed and the lust for a young man, the countess has her daughter kidnapped and assumes her own daughter's identity. But the effects of the blood is temporary, so the body count rises.

Tensions mount, as her former lover, Captain Dobi, becomes jealous of her new young buck. Her handmaid, Julie, begins to wonder what befell the countess' real daughter. And the castle librarian becomes suspicious of all the late night activities, then stumbles upon a book describing blood sacrifice. As the bodies pile up, an angry mob can't be far behind.

This is a fairly enjoyable flick. It has an interesting story, lots of guys wearing tall fuzzy hats, and gypsy girls. It's hard to not like a film with dancing gypsy girls. Most of the violence occurs off-screen, so there is practically no gore. But that's not what this film is about anyway. Though there is a scene with Ingrid Pitt getting out of a bathtub full of blood, which couldn't have possibly come from one person. It was all over the place.

There is a solid cast of Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Maurice Denham, and an early appearance of Lesley-Anne Down. It's no secret that I'm a fan of the recently departed Ingrid Pitt, so I may be a bit biased here. But I think she did a good job portraying the two sides of the countess. She effortlessly transformed from dour old maid to giddy young maiden. And she provides some required nudity. With the exception of her blood bathing scene, I think they put a maximum length of 3 seconds for each nude scene. I find it interesting that even though the film is set in Hungary, Pitt's voice is dubbed by a British actress. One would think that her European accent would have worked well. I guess the director thought otherwise.

The sets are remarkable considering the budgets allowed Hammer films. The castle interior is elegant yet broodingly dark. I did find it a little comical how everyone, and I mean everyone, seems to know were all the castle's secret passages are. As an added nod to the "Countess Dracula" title, a painting depicting Count Nodosheen is based on the likeness of Vlad Tepes. Tepes, of course, being the inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula."

Horror fans looking for blood and gore will probably want to avoid this one. The casual viewer should enjoy it. And for the fans of Hammer and/or Ingrid Pitt, it's a can't miss.