English
A Secret Service agent (Maurice O'Connell) barely escapes from an English country house, in which satanic rituals are celebrated. Before he dies of his wounds, he reveals to his superiors that four prominent members of society - a government minister, a peer, a general and a famous scientist - are involved in the cult, led by Chin Yang (Barbara Yu Ling). In order to avoid any reprisals by the minister, the secret service call in Scotland Yard's Inspector Murray (Michael Coles) to work on the case independently. Murray (who had appeared in the preceding Dracula film) suggests consulting noted occult expert Professor Lorrimar Van Helsing (Cushing).
The cult kidnaps the Secret Service secretary Jane (Valerie Van Ost), who is later bitten by Dracula (Lee).
Murray, Secret Service agent Torrence (William Franklyn), and Van Helsing's granddaughter Jessica (Joanna Lumley) arrive at the country house, where they discover several vampire women chained up in the cellar, including Jane who is now a vampire herself. Murray kills Jane with a stake and the three escape the grounds.
Meanwhile, Van Helsing pays a visit to his scientist friend Julian Keeley (Freddie Jones), whom he had recognized among the four conspirators, and finds him mentally unstable and involved on bacteriological research aiming at creating a virulent strain of the bubonic plague. Van Helsing is shot unconscious by a guard. As he comes to, Keeley's dead body hangs from the ceiling while the petri dishes containing the bacteria are gone.
Keeley had referred to the 23rd of the month, which Van Helsing reveals to be the "Sabbath of the Undead". Keeley's research notes lead Van Helsing to the reclusive property developer D. D. Denham, who had funded Keeley's research. Van Helsing also suspects a reincarnated Dracula behind the plot, suggests that Dracula wants to exact revenge on humanity and speculates about a secret death wish on the Count's part. Van Helsing visits Denham in his headquarters (built on top of the church yard where Dracula died in the previous film) and finds out his true identity: Count Dracula. He tries to shoot Dracula with a silver bullet but is beaten by the Count's conspirators. Dracula decides that killing Van Helsing would be too simple and has him transferred to the country house.
Dracula announces to Van Helsing and the ministers that Jessica, who is laid out on the satanic altar, will be his consort, uncorrupted by the plague that his "four horsemen" – including Van Helsing – would carry out into the world. The conspirators, who had considered the plague a mere deterrent, not to be used, begin to question their master but Dracula's hypnotic command stops them and causes the minister John Porter (Richard Mathews) to break the vial, releasing the bacteria and immediately infecting the minister, causing him horrible suffering.
Murray runs into a guard in the computer room, but overpowers him after a fight scene. The guard's metal baton smashes a computer panel and the ensuing explosion starts a fire and breaks open the ritual room. The two uninfected conspirators escape, Murray rescues Jessica, while the infected minister - and the plague bacteria - burns in the fire. Dracula attacks Van Helsing, who escapes through a window into the woods. He lures Dracula into a hawthorn bush - a symbol of good as it provided Christ with his Crown of thorns - where he is entangled until Van Helsing drives a stake through his heart.
Italiano
La storia narra sulle indagini condotte dal professor Lorrimer Van Helsing e da Scotland Yard sui partecipanti ad una setta satanica, la loro base è nell'istituto "Psychical Examination and Research Group" (PERGE). Uno degli indagati muore e le ricerche portano al Conte Dracula, che vuole diffondere un pericoloso virus.
Français
Dracula est devenu le leader de messes noires auxquelles adhèrent de riches capitalistes. Aidés de milices, il s'apprêtent à renverser le pouvoir en Angleterre en rependant la peste noire. Lorrimer Van Helsing, le descendant d'Abraham Van Helsing, va, une fois de plus, devoir mettre fin aux projets de Dracula.
Español
Los ritos satánicos de Drácula (título original en inglés, The satanic rites of Dracula) es una película de terror británica de 1973, dirigida por Alan Gibson, escrita por Don Houghton y protagonizada por Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Cole, William Franklyn y Freddie Jones. Después de Drácula 73 esta es la séptima y última película de la saga de Drácula. La película se ubica en los años 1970 y tiene cierto aire de filme de espionaje, notandose la influencia de la saga James Bond.Estrictamente, es la última aportación al ciclo, mostrando ya el agotamiento de la fórmula por parte de Hammer Productions.[cita requerida] Sin embargo, Drácula volvería a aparecer en Kung Fu contra los siete vampiros de oro (1974) ya sin la participación de Christopher Lee. Aunque a principios de los años 1970 Lee ya empezaba a aburrirse del personaje, siguió en la brecha hasta 1976, año en que se despidió del Conde en la producción francesa Dracula père et fils, de Édouard Molinaro.