Hammer Horror Meets True Crime in 1971’s ‘Countess Dracula’ [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]

Jenn and I are spending the month of May discussing Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the most notorious (and purportedly prolific) female serial killer in history. As Jenn explained in last week’s primer, however, the story has taken on the aura of myth and legend, to the point that it’s unclear what is fact and what is […] The post Hammer Horror Meets True Crime in 1971’s ‘Countess Dracula’ [Murder Made Fiction Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

May 18, 2025 - 20:50

Hammer Horror Meets True Crime in 1971’s ‘Countess Dracula’ [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]

Jenn and I are spending the month of May discussing Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the most notorious (and purportedly prolific) female serial killer in history. As Jenn explained in last week’s primer, however, the story has taken on the aura of myth and legend, to the point that it’s unclear what is fact and what is fiction.

For our second week of coverage, Bloody FM’s Murder Made Fiction checks out the 1971 Hammer Horror film, Countess Dracula, directed by Peter Sasdy. While the film, which stars Ingrid Pitt as The Countess, definitely contains elements of truth – including the setting and her noble position – it also features a fair amount of creative license, including an arbitrary name change, a young male lover (Sandor Elès), and an annoying daughter Ilona (Lesley-Anne Down) who exists solely to facilitate the film’s climax.

Set in the world of 17th-century Hungary, Countess Dracula tells the story of elderly widow Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy (Pitt). After inadvertently slicing a handmaid, The Countess discovers that she can maintain her youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi (Nigel Green).

As the bodies pile up and the rumours swirl, The Countess finds herself caught in a perilous position: will she sacrifice her life for love or will she die alone as an old crone?

Next week we’ll jump ahead to contemporary times with Eli Roth’s 2006 “torture porn” film Hostel: Part II, which features an infamous Lady Bathory bathtub scene with Heather Matarazzo.

And if you want even more Murder Made Fiction, be sure to check out the pod’s Patreon feed, where Jenn and Joe have ~100 episodes compiling 63 hours of bonus content. This month’s Patreon includes episode by episode coverage of American Horror Story: Hotel, which features Lady Gaga as the Countess, plus bonus mini episodes on 2006 film Stay Alive and the bizarre 2008 film, Bathory: Countess of Blood which stars Pushing Daisies’ Anna Friel.

The post Hammer Horror Meets True Crime in 1971’s ‘Countess Dracula’ [Murder Made Fiction Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.