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Thread: Hammer Horror

  1. #1
    MOON GIRL FIGHTS CRIME Myrnalene's avatar
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    Default Hammer Horror

    From talking to Fellophantians it seems there are at least a few fans of these luscious, sexy, campy horror films. For those who don't know - Hammer Film Productions was a British film studio that from the late 1950s to the 1970s turned out Gothic horror films. Although shot on very low budgets, the films are generally beautiful due to clever art production and exquisite and colorful photography. As in all things, there was a slide in quality as time wore on and by the mid-70s the party was pretty much over. But the earlier films are certainly worth a look if you aren't familiar with them. These are my favorites:

    Horror of Dracula, known just as Dracula in the U.K. This was the first film that featured Christopher Lee as the Count, and he gives a dynamic performance. He's also fine as wine. The script is fast-paced and fun, and Peter Cushing is wonderful as van Helsing.




    Brides of Dracula. This first sequel to Horror of Dracula - doesn't have Dracula in it. But is does have Cushing as van Helsing and is beautifully shot with some compelling images and a cracking story (the female lead is rather vacuous but at least she is pretty).




    Hound of the Baskervilles. Yeah so, technically this isn't horror but rather a retelling of the Sherlock Holmes story. But there's still a veneer of gothic suspense over the whole film and Peter Cushing (yes, again) is one of the great portrayers of Holmes on screen. And Lee is in this one too, and is as usual, hot.


    Last edited by Myrnalene; 18 Feb 2010 at 01:48 PM.

  2. #2
    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
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    I love these films but sadly they all blend together for me. At least Hound of the Baskervilles I have seen very recently and it was very enjoyable.

    Here is a full list of the Hammer Films: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103101/

    They also help make the famous One Million Years B.C. which I did not realize.

    I recall The Witches was a well done film. Starred Joan Fontaine it turns out.

    The Gorgon I vaguely remember. It was well done camp and had Lee and Cushing.

    The little I recall of She it was terrible.

  3. #3
    Elephant terrifel's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by What Exit? View post
    Here is a full list of the Hammer Films: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103101/
    Oh dear... they revived the Hammer Films imprint in 2008, and its first movie was a straight-to-video film entitled Beyond the Rave. Oh dear, oh dear...

    Um... so anyway. Hammer horror, yes. Saturday nights. Hammer Film Productions, at its height, was a wonderful illustration of what can be accomplished by working with the tools at hand. In Hammer's case, the vital ingredients appeared to be a relatively close-knit studio community, several hundred years' worth of literary and architectural history, and access to a circle of enormously gifted British stage and screen professionals. Also, color film stock.

    They may well have been doing the same sort of "backyard shooting" attempted by penny-conscious filmmakers everywhere, but when you're filming Gothic horror, it certainly helps if the backyard already contains a vine-shrouded 16th-century cathedral. What better place to film Victorian period pieces than Victoria's old stomping grounds? You have all this old stuff still just lying around, how could you not pick up a camera and play Dracula?

    Overall, the Hammer films have the gleeful air of kids playing about in Grandma's attic. Everyone appears to be having a grand time dressing up and making movies. I wouldn't doubt that there was also a large amount of financial backbiting and dirty laundry behind the scenes, and I know that books upon books have been written about the studio; but as I am not familiar with any of that history, I cling to my Technicolor illusions.

    For my money, some of Hammer's most interesting works resulted when they stepped away from strict Gothic horror to mix it up a bit, as in the Quatermass films. Pirates of Blood River also comes to mind: I think this may be the only pirate movie ever filmed which does not feature a pirate ship of any kind (budget considerations again). That's just the sort of hell-with-it attitude I admire in filmmaking. Most studios would probably come to the conclusion that a pirate film is out of the question if you can't afford any shipboard scenes. But Hammer was just like: "We've got Christopher Lee! Is anybody going to argue that Christopher Lee can't be a pirate just because he doesn't have a ship? Maybe he's a river pirate! Yeah! They're the worst kind!"

    Then there were films like Frankenstein Created Woman, which seemed specifically designed to get Peter Cushing to act through the goofiest possible situations. Thespians, study this film to truly understand the professional demands of your craft.

    In summary, apart from their wonderful atmosphere, the thing I probably admire most about Hammer films is their enthusiasm. The best of them manage somehow to be both lurid and cerebral. Even when they were sliding downhill into the malaise of the 1970s, they often retained a certain British grooviness. Hammer, how can you be making films entitled Beyond the Rave when some of us are still waiting for the further adventures of Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter?

  4. #4
    Oliphaunt Rube E. Tewesday's avatar
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    Yeah, glorious colour, big-busted wenches with low-cut tops, bizarre plot lines...I love those movies.

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    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
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    Hammer movies were a law unto themselves. It still amazes me just how many films they turned out on yearly basis.

    The Flesh and Blood compilation is worth getting for an overview of Hammer Studios and I would also recommend

    The Mummy, The Curse of the Werewolf and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde

    as films that are worth watching.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
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    I am watching The Brides of Dracula right now. Movies use to pace so differently back then, refreshing really.

    Yvonne Monlaur was gorgeous.
    Last edited by What Exit?; 28 Feb 2010 at 11:45 AM.

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    MOON GIRL FIGHTS CRIME Myrnalene's avatar
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    Great! Please let me know what you think of it.

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    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
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    I am enjoying it very much. Some bad special effects but just a fun classic horror film.

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    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
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    Fun movie and now onto the "Curse of the WereWolf".

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