It’s the early 20th century, and Christopher Lee’s Count is frozen in ice… until Monsignor Mueller (Rupert Davies) holds an exorcism of Castle Dracula and inadvertently provides the vampire with a lifeline back, which he seizes to plot revenge and set his sights on the Monsignor’s niece Maria (Veronica Carlson). The only Dracula movie that Francis directed for Hammer was so profitable that the studio became increasingly dependent on the franchise over the next several years.