Tender Dracula

1974 ‘Tendre Dracula’ Directed by Pierre Grunstein

Two writers and their girlfriends visit the castle of an actor who specializes in playing vampire roles. As the night progresses, they begin to wonder if the man is an actor playing a vampire, or a vampire playing an actor.

Peter Cushing Alida Valli Bernard Ménez Miou-Miou Nathalie Courval Stéphane Shandor Julien Guiomar Percival Russel Brigitte Borghese Valentina Cortese

Alternative Titles

Tender Dracula, or Confessions of a Blood Drinker, La grande trouille, The Big Scare, Vampire

horror fantasy

98 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by nicky ★ 3

huh. what the fuck was that. seriously. im so baffled by literally anything that happened i feel like im gonna be squinting for the next hour. peter why.
Review by pinkmalady ★★★

must a movie be 'coherent' and 'cohesive'? is it not enough to have Peter Cushing, unhinged, spanking an ass for two solid minutes and making dick jokes?
Review by flags ½

Lighting $2
Film $50
Ghost costumes $8
Peter Cushing $3,600
Songwriting $10
someone who is good at the filmmaking please help me budget this. my movie is dying!
half a star because when I could see what was happening in this film I still didn't know what was going on, with a premise this wacky the fact that this is so boring is a crime
Review by Steven Millan ★★★

This French film is not only better known as TENDER DRACULA,but it is also known as Peter Cushing's only portrayal of a vampire with this role being that of horror actor MacGregor,who leaves the film world to retire as the film studio boss sends two writers(Bernard Menez[DAY FOR NIGHT,MAINE OCEAN EXPRESS],Stephane Shandor) to travel to his remote castle and take their girlfriends(Miou Miou[GOING PLACES,RIVIERA],Nathalie Courval[CATHERINE AND CO.,THE DANGEROUS MISSION]) with them. Once there,MacGregor reveals himself to be a vampire who drinks very little blood(from wine glasses) and is more devoted to being a romantic with his beloved wife(Alida Valli[SUSPIRIA,FATAL FRAMES]) than killing nor wanting to do anymore films(mainly horror) as various bizarre happenings take place inside of the castle as…
Review by Paul Petroskey ★½

An obscure 70's French Dracula movie starring Peter Cushing? Point the way, right? Wrong. In the film, Cushing is an actor who plays a vampire (a role I don't think he ever played before in a real film). When the studio finds out he wants to stop making horror films, they send two writers out to his castle for the weekend to see what's up. They bring along their girlfriends, one played by French star Miou-Miou, who is seen naked while singing a long song about monsters. People talk and talk and talk. Cushing shows his old scrapbook which is filled with real pictures of him in his movies. There's some blood here and there and I was most surprised to see Alida Valli playing Cushing's wife. I think it's supposed to be a comedy, but I forgot to laugh. It's a long bore.

Recent reviews

Review by nicky ★ 3

huh. what the fuck was that. seriously. im so baffled by literally anything that happened i feel like im gonna be squinting for the next hour. peter why.
Review by pinkmalady ★★★

must a movie be 'coherent' and 'cohesive'? is it not enough to have Peter Cushing, unhinged, spanking an ass for two solid minutes and making dick jokes?
Review by Paul Petroskey ★½

An obscure 70's French Dracula movie starring Peter Cushing? Point the way, right? Wrong. In the film, Cushing is an actor who plays a vampire (a role I don't think he ever played before in a real film). When the studio finds out he wants to stop making horror films, they send two writers out to his castle for the weekend to see what's up. They bring along their girlfriends, one played by French star Miou-Miou, who is seen naked while singing a long song about monsters. People talk and talk and talk. Cushing shows his old scrapbook which is filled with real pictures of him in his movies. There's some blood here and there and I was most surprised to see Alida Valli playing Cushing's wife. I think it's supposed to be a comedy, but I forgot to laugh. It's a long bore.
Review by DrJeff ★

Bloody awful , disjointed horror farce , only worth noting as Peter Cushing playing a vampire for once. Some nudity and two awful songs and a waltz that goes on for 10 minutes. Fangs but no fangs.
Review by Fredrik ½

I could only see people's shirts throughout this whole thing
Review by flags ½

Lighting $2
Film $50
Ghost costumes $8
Peter Cushing $3,600
Songwriting $10
someone who is good at the filmmaking please help me budget this. my movie is dying!
half a star because when I could see what was happening in this film I still didn't know what was going on, with a premise this wacky the fact that this is so boring is a crime
Review by weng-weng ★★½

Shocktober #14 2019.
Review by Michael_Elliott ★½

Weird French mix of horror and comedy has two screenwriters and their girlfriends going to the home of a retiring horror actor (Peter Cushing) who played Dracula countless times in his career. It doesn't take long for the guests to wonder if he was playing Dracula or if he's the real thing.
Well, I'm really not sure what to say about this film other than it's quite rare and that's a good thing. While the film isn't nearly as horrible as it's reputation, the entire thing is quite bizarre to say the least and in the end it comes off like an Abbott and Costello film with a lot of nudity and sex jokes. I do wonder if the filmmakers…
Review by astro78 ★★★

We need a remastered DVD/Blu-Ray of this! ASAP!
Review by Nathan ★★

Not what I expected imao. Certainly was a wild ride watching this on YouTube at 1am in very very poor quality. A lot more sexual than I thought and so outlandish I honestly couldn't help but laugh at it.

Not by any means would I say this is a good movie or would I recommend it. But I had an interesting time watching this.
Review by Steven Millan ★★★

This French film is not only better known as TENDER DRACULA,but it is also known as Peter Cushing's only portrayal of a vampire with this role being that of horror actor MacGregor,who leaves the film world to retire as the film studio boss sends two writers(Bernard Menez[DAY FOR NIGHT,MAINE OCEAN EXPRESS],Stephane Shandor) to travel to his remote castle and take their girlfriends(Miou Miou[GOING PLACES,RIVIERA],Nathalie Courval[CATHERINE AND CO.,THE DANGEROUS MISSION]) with them. Once there,MacGregor reveals himself to be a vampire who drinks very little blood(from wine glasses) and is more devoted to being a romantic with his beloved wife(Alida Valli[SUSPIRIA,FATAL FRAMES]) than killing nor wanting to do anymore films(mainly horror) as various bizarre happenings take place inside of the castle as…