Hammer Horror

[Serin]

I am a big fan of the Hammer Horror films, and I am currently converting my collection to dvd. Are there any Hammer horror fans out there who, like me, remember the good old days of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing et al?

[Foxbat]

I have a soft spot for Hammer and have just acquired a couple of Fu Manchu movies with Christopher Lee (ok they're not quite horror but close enough). There are a few sets of Hammer Horror stuff out there so you should have no problem converting to DVD. Some of my favourite Hammer movies include The Evil Of Frankenstein, Vampire Circus and Paranoiac (all available on DVD)

I'm also a fan of the Universal monster movies but I suppose that's fodder for another thread

[j. d. worthington]

Oh, indeed... I definitely enjoy (at least a fair amount of) Hammer Horror! There are large amounts I've not seen, and some of the later pieces were... debatable, shall we say? But at their best, they were quite wonderful; and (not speaking just of the blood) they made excellent use of color; they're very rich films visually.

Something I'd like to find out more about are the films put out by Amicus, as well; those don't get much mention, and they, too, had some very good entries in the realm of cinematic horror....

[Serin]

I haven't heard of Amicus films. What films did they make as I may have heard of them just not the studio.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Serin

I haven't heard of Amicus films. What films did they make as I may have heard of them just not the studio.

Actually, you probably have heard of them, but just don't recall. For one thing, they did the two Doctor Who films with Peter Cushing back in the 1960s, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (with Cushing and Lee, among others); The House that Dripped Blood (with Cushing, Lee, Jon Pertwee, Ingrid Pitt, etc.); Asylum; Tales from the Crypt; The Vault of Horror; The Land that Time Forgot....

Essentially, they were a rival to Hammer, and often used a lot of the same actors, writers, etc. They were similar (many people have confused Hammer and Amicus films), but there's a different feel to the Amicus productions, the color (due to the difference in film stock used, I think) has faded somewhat, and they were a bit more wobbly in quality at times; also they tended to do a lot more anthology films, where Hammer films tended to concentrate on single stories. But quite a few of these are well worth seeing, and at least a fair number are available on DVD, as I recall...


Amicus Productions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amicus: The Studio that Dripped Blood

Amicus Collection, The (US - DVD) in Reviews > Video Discs at DVDActive

[Serin]

Yes, you're right, I have heard of most of these films. I just didn't realise that they were made by a rival company. I shall be keeping my eyes open for all of these titles, so thank you JD, you have been a tremendous help.

[j. d. worthington]

Thank you. I've just always had a fondness for Amicus films... I suppose because, growing up, I saw more of them than of the Hammer product -- less blood, generally speaking, so often rated where kids could go without giving parents fits, for instance... and all of those were released during my lifetime, so I saw a lot of them when they first came out. Hammer I didn't get to see many (and even then, often quite edited) until I was in my teens....

[Serin]

Here's a little update for all Hammer fans:

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Hammer horror films set to return

It'll be interesting to see how this new company will create/produce films under the Hammer label.

[roddglenn]

I absolutely love all the old Hammer films and would heartily welcome a resurgence of interest.

[UltraCulture]

Are we talking just films or Hammer House Of Horror?

I loved Hammer House, a couple of standouts we're The house that bled to death(Dont quote me on the title), and one which a Scarecrow jumped into the view of some car travellers....scared...you bet.

[roddglenn]

Hammer House was excellent too - some awesome episodes. Remember the werewolf at the window when the woman opens the curtains...I nearly had a heartattack as a young lad.

[ravenus]

I loved their Frankenstein series with the awe-inspiring Peter Cushing as the obsessive researcher. Also really liked Horror and Brides of Dracula. Yeah, I am a fan of Cushing-Lee

[Ice fyre]

There's a magazine called Fortean Times which I bang on about endlessly round here. This month it has a very good article on Hammer Horror.

Was the Asphyx (think thats how it was spelled) a Hammer?

[urchin]

Originally Posted by UltraCulture

Are we talking just films or Hammer House Of Horror?

I loved Hammer House, a couple of standouts we're The house that bled to death(Dont quote me on the title), and one which a Scarecrow jumped into the view of some car travellers....scared...you bet.

The House That Bled To Death is a classic, the ending has stayed in my mind for twenty five years. Awesome!

[urchin]

Originally Posted by Ice fyre

There's a magazine called Fortean Times which I bang on about endlessly round here. This month it has a very good article on Hammer Horror.

Was the Asphyx (think thats how it was spelled) a Hammer?

This article was superb and is well worth the trouble of seeking out if you are a Hammer fan.