Now this an elite move this World Dracula Day, and it’s been superb to see Hammer Films slowly come back to life in recent years, much like some of their iconic creations!

Today we’ve got exceptional news that the iconic British horror studio are bringing the 1958 legendary classic Dracula back to the big screen this October, and it’ll feature long lost footage believed to have been lost for some 60 years – and also a nice touch that it’s the late Peter Cushing’s (Dr. Van Helsing) 113^th birthday as well – proving some legacies can last forever.

Painstakingly restored in 4K, this will be a monumental event for audiences to experience one of the most influential horror films ever made, in its most complete form. Scenes once deemed too graphic and gory for 50s film-goers will now be experienced for the first time in full 4K glory.

This landmark restoration reinstates footage that was believed missing for more than six decades and has never been released before in the UK or US and has never appeared on home entertainment in any territory. In recent years, horror has really found its footing in the film industry once again, fully inspiring, scaring and thrilling audiences across the globe.

The success of the awesome Sinners, from Ryan Coogler, has led the way for a vampiric resurgence, not forgetting Robert Eggers’ new take on Nosferatu, and the fascination never wanes when you think of the place the likes of Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula holds in modern film culture, let alone Let the Right One In, The Lost Boys, From Dusk till Dawn, Blade, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Cronos, Vampyr [1932] and Interview with the Vampire – to name just a selection off the top of my head. And then there’s all the TV adaptations, the lore and mystery, and I must recommend the epic tome Vampire Cinema: The First One Hundred Years by Christopher Frayling (reviewed here by Nick).

It’s clear that Dracula and vampires still obsess us as a society, and maybe this all goes back to Christopher Lee’s glorious portrayal – even if he didn’t see himself as a ‘master’ of the character – his recital left a blueprint over which many have followed, an alluring, enigmatic performance – and so I’m very keen to see what Hammer Films have brought to life, in association with the UK’s leading experts in restoration work, the team at Silver Salt Restoration.

This October can’t come quick enough, and I welcome the chills of the autumn, as the release rises in perfect time for those darker months, and this Uncensored cut will expand the story in the cinemas and on a new home entertainment release.

Dracula [1958] Special Edition, from Hammer Films, is out this October