As it’s our favourite time of the year, and with a look to our upcoming review coverage of this superb restoration and fresh release of the 1958’s Dracula, we also had to share some select bites from last night’s UK premiere in Leicester Square with Hammer Films!

Original cast members, Hammer alumni, and fans (in Christopher Lee-inspired costumes) swooped into the Vue West End as John Gore Studios hosted an evening that reunited original Dracula cast members Janina Faye (“Tania”) and Paul Cole (“Lad”) alongside and Hammer Glamour icons Madeline Smith, Valerie Leon, Caroline Munro, Virginia Bates, Pauline Peart and Judy Matheson – as well as the likes of Mark Gatiss, HAYLA and Matthew Sweet.

A highlight of the evening was the first public screening of previously unseen Dracula footage, removed from the film by censors ahead of its original UK release in 1958 and unseen by audiences for more than six decades. John Gore, Executive Chairman of Hammer Films and John Gore Studios said:

“Tonight feels like a genuine homecoming for Dracula. To bring this extraordinary film back in 4K, and to celebrate it alongside members of the original cast, the wider Hammer family and generations of fans is incredibly special. What makes the evening even more remarkable is that audiences have now seen footage that was removed before the film’s original UK release and has remained unseen for more than six decades.

This restoration – carried out by Hammer and Silver Salt in partnership with Warner Bros. is about preserving and celebrating Hammer’s extraordinary legacy. Allowing audiences to experience these films in their full glory and, in this case, to see Dracula more completely than ever before.”

Order your favoured copy directly from Hammer Films: https://hammerfilms.com/the-dracula-collection

Dracula (1958) – restored in 4K – will be released in UK cinemas nationwide from 16 October!