Hammer Horror
 

Anyone here a fan of Hammer Studios? What are you favorite Hammer films?

Personally, I am more of an Amicus fan myself (Amicus is my second favorite horror studio next to Universal) but I do enjoy some Hammer films.

Curse of Frankenstein is my all-time favorite. I also enjoy Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Revenge of Frankenstein, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, The Abominable Snowman, The Devil Rides Out, The Mummy, Rasputin the Mad Monk, Plague of the Zombies, and the Hammer House of Horror episode "The 13th Reunion"

I think Horror of Dracula is grossly overrated, a film undeserving of it's reputation. I like Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Taste the Blood of Dracula MUCH more. The Horror of Frankenstein is probably my least favorite. I liked all of the other Hammer Frankenstein films, but this one stinks.

My favorite Hammer actor is Peter Cushing, by far. Actress? Probably Ingrid Pitt.

I caught "Curse of Frankenstein" on TCM last month, as well as "The Mummy" and taped some other Hammer films that I will eventually get around to, but I have to say I enjoyed "Curse" a real lot (so far my fave).

My favorites (that I have on DVD) would be:

*The Mummy (probably my all-time favorite Hammer)
*Horror of Dracula
*Curse of Frankenstein
*Hound of the Baskervilles (maybe technically not "horror", but it's got all the great Hammer horror elements there)
*The Abominable Snowman
*Dracula Prince of Darkness
*Plague of the Zombies
*Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (just saw this for the first time, and I thought it was a nice throwback to the "classic" Hammers

Ones that I'm waiting for on DVD:

*Brides of Dracula
*The Gorgon

Great Hammer horror that wasn't made by Hammer :):

Horror Express

YES! An underrated gem, one of my favorites!

Sorry, I think Horror of Dracula is a perfect movie, quintisential Hammer.

I do agree that Prince of Darkness is a fine movie itself.

As for others, Rasputin is one of my all time favorites. I also really dig Frankenstein Created Woman, The Devil Rides Out, The Vampire Lovers... but the list really goes on, as I pretty much love them all.

I'd kill to have Twins of Evil on dvd already though, dagnabbit. Another perfect, quintisential Hammer, IMO.

MC HAMMER HORROR........... oh wait this has nothing to do with MC Hammer..... opps

I really dug The Gorgon when I saw it on TCM not to long ago. The last show though crude...worked.

Just saw The Devil's Bride on TCM, was that Hammer?

The Devil's Bride a.k.a. The Devil Rides Out... classic Hammer; along with Rasputin, one of Lee's best performances. :up:

Hammer fan - but one I don't like at all is 'Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter'. I see it get praised as a hidden gem , yet I cannot stand it. I found it at Wal-Mart's $5.00 bin , bought it and still feel that I got ripped off.

Region 2 DVD fans also have this:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...2.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Synopsis
In 'Rasputin' the evil monk works his satanic power over the women in the Tsar's palace where even the Tsarina cannot escape. In 'Frankenstein Created Woman' Baron Frankenstein places the soul of a murdered man into the dead body of his lover. 'The Vengeance Of She' tells the story of a mysterious woman who is possessed by the spirit of a dead queen and given shelter by a crazy millionaire. In 'The Plague Of The Zombies' a sadistic squire dabbles in voodoo rituals, resurrecting rotting corpses as slaves in an old eerie Cornish village. 'Quatermass And The Pit' tells the story of workmen who unearth prehistoric skulls whilst carrying out excavations on the London Underground. 'To The Devil A Daughter' is Dennis Wheatley's occult chiller which tells of two men locked in deadly battle over possession of a young innocent for the 'Children Of The Lord' cult.
DVD Description
Contains the following six titles:


Rasputin the Mad Monk

Frankenstein Created Woman

The Vengeance of She

The Plague of Zombies

Quatermass and the Pit

To the Devil a Daughter

Rasputin the Mad Monk
Christopher Lee gives a stellar performance as the mad monk, Rasputin in Hammer’s first pseudo-historical epic. After his ejection from the monastery for drunken behaviour, Rasputin decides to try his luck in St. Petersburg. His apparent healing powers soon allow him to gain influence at the court of the Tsar, but with his rise to power come many enemies who wish to see him dead.

Frankenstein Created Woman
When he captures the soul of a recently executed man, Baron Frankenstein is finally able to give the spark of life to the body of a young woman he is keeping at his castle. With memories of his wrongful execution still intact, the woman embarks on a killing spree to gain revenge on those who falsely accused him. Peter Cushing also stars.

The Vengeance of She
Carol, a beautiful young girl, is taken over by the spirit of Ayesha, queen of the lost city of Kuma. An eccentric millionaire gives Carol refuge, unaware that she brings the dark shadow of death to everything she touches. Sequel to the Ursula Andress vehicle She.

The Plague of Zombies
A strange epidemic hits the workers of a small village in Cornwall, much to the consternation of the local doctor, who enlists the help of an eminent professor. Their worst fears are confirmed when the dead are seen to live again as zombies! But who is th master that these nightmares of the undead serve? Hammer’s only foray into the zombie genre is a horror classic.

Quatermass and the Pit
While digging a new Underground line in London, a construction crew discovers human remains, followed by what they take to be a World War II German bomb. Upon closer examination, the ‘bomb’ contains a dead locust-like creature and appears to be not of this earth! Stars Andrew Keir and Barbara Shelly.

To the Devil a Daughter
Christopher Lee plays a defrocked, devil-worshipping Catholic priest who convinces a man to sign over the soul of his daughter, Catherine, so that she will become the devil’s representative on Earth on her eighteenth birthday. As that day draws near, the two men become locked in a deadly battle over the possession of the young innocent’s soul. Based on Dennis Wheatley’s powerful best seller.

I have vague recollections of watching some of these as a kid. I'm interested in checking them out again as I'm on a horror kick right now. That R2 set looks nice but it is very pricey. How are the movies in the 6 disk R1 set?

Hammer Horror Collection (The Curse of Frankenstein / Dracula Has Risen from the Grave / Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed / Horror of Dracula / The Mummy / Taste the Blood of Dracula)

I never really found Hammer films to be scary, but they're well made and with a fantastic sense of atmosphere.

Has anyone seen Curse of the Werewolf? I've got a question about that one.
Now it's been a long time since I've seen it, but I seem to remember that there never was a werewolf that gave Oliver Reed the "wolf" curse. Instead, the bloodline came from his mother who had been raped by some normal man who happened to be a little hairy. Correct?

I did like the make-up job for Reed's wolf-man however.

"Curse of Frankenstein" is also one of my faves. I also really like "Blood from the Mummy's Tomb" and "Captain Cronos Vampire Hunter"...actually I like them all. Nobody does Gothic horror better than Hammer, and nobody does Hammer films like the dynamic duo of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!

I wonder when they're going to make that big comeback that they've been mentioning on their website for years?

Yeah, I think that's how it happened. She was raped and impregnated by a prisoner, and then, as a baby, the "werewolf" was taken in by a couple. And he started transforming as a teenager, I think. I seem to recall a vague metaphor involving puberty/sexual awakening tied to the lycanthropy.

My favorite Hammer series were the Dracula/Vampire series. I can remember staying up late watching them as a kid. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were staples in my childhood.

So... Anyone want to comment on the R1 set?

I watched a couple Hammer films on LD yesterday. The Mummy's Shroud and Reptile.

Of the two, I prefered the mummy movie. I was very impressed how good this was given the low budget. I thought the acting was very good, and the set designs while simple created a lot of atmosphere.

Sure they aren't scary but they are definitely creepy. The fortune teller with the missing teeth and the screechy voice and raving madman were both disturbing. I also really like the images of the mummy opening it's eyes for the first time in a 1000 years and all the dust and crust breaking off of them. Good old fashioned B-Movie horror.

I'm going to watch Rasputin the Mad Monk and The Witches tonight. I'm seriously looking hard at the R1 box set now.

If you liked the Mummy's Shroud, then don't even hesitate to get the R1 box.
I find all the movies in that box (The Curse of Frankenstein / Dracula Has Risen from the Grave / Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed / Horror of Dracula / The Mummy / Taste the Blood of Dracula) are much better all around (production, acting, script) than the Mummy's Shroud.
Besides the quality of the movies, the transfers on these DVDs are outstanding as well -- I've never seen these films look this good!

Welcome to the addicting world of Hammer!

Thanks for the recommendation. The transfers on the LD are also amazingly good, the DVD's must look great.

BTW, Universal HD is showing The Evil of Frankenstein several times in May and Curse of the Werewolf and Brides of Dracula in June.

Both Twins of Evil and Vampire Circus are available in R2, anamorphic widescreen. She is also available in 4x3 letterbox. Let's not forget ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. with Raquel Welch and Harryhausen effects. Amicus Studios(which I think of as Hammer Jr.) put out some pretty good stuff too: THE SKULL, ASYLUM, TORTURE GARDEN, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VAULT OF HORROR, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, THE CREEPING FLESH, DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS.

That's great news, seeing that all three of those titles are unavailable here in Region 1.

Buy the R1 set now, it's so worth the money. I can't get enough of Peter Cushing, and this set has some of the great Terrence Fisher directed films.

I grew up watching Hammer movies in Region 2 land.

Although not really scary, they all had a certain atmosphere and the Cushing/Lee combo were a definite sure-fire hit!

IMHO the best of the bunch were:

Dracula (or as it is known in Region 1 Land - Horror of Dracula)
Curse of Frankenstein
The Mummy
Curse of the Werewolf
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
The Gorgon
Taste the Blood of Dracula

BTW to say Horror of Dracula is overrated is strange, as it was one of the most popular of the early Hammers. Set design, colour photography, Music, Script, Editing and certainly, the acting has rarely been equalled by the studio IMO!