After the success of The Vampire Lovers, Hammer quickly lined up star Ingrid Pitt for the role of Countess Elisabeth Bathory, the real-life figure whose reported bloodlust predated and influenced the Dracula legend. This telling amps up the lurid details as the Countess bathes in the blood of young women to preserve her youth, putting her own daughter Lesley-Anne Down in jeopardy and displeasing her longtime lover Nigel Green.