The 70s were hard times for Hammer and, ironically, it was also the studio’s most prolific period, despite varying degrees of quality among the varied output of buxom vampires, screwy comedies and Jurassic adventures. Their massively successful Dracula and Frankenstein...
It might sound strange to say that one of the best movies from Hammer deviates from their den of monsters, doesn’t take place in the gothic era, nor relies on any classic horror story, tall-tale, or mythic creature. Implacably stirring...
Hammer’s Dracula and Frankenstein series have their high and low points, but neither grew tiresome or redundant. Much of that is thanks to director Terence Fisher, their frontrunning director who helmed the inception of both series. Discounting the studios later attempt to revamp the...
Going through the library of Hammer films, I wanted to break from their reputation as purveyors of macabre thrillers, victorian horror, and tales of science fiction. At times I find myself at odds with the reductive attitude towards a studio...
Needless to say, The Curse of Frankenstein shook up the world of horror and put Hammer on the map. By this time, Universal’s classic monsters descended into self-parody with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein along comes this colorful and lurid...
Hammer made plenty of great gothic chillers but when you arrive at the Frankenstein and Dracula series, you’re entering the masterclass of their Victorian horror movies. Prior to Dracula, The Mummy, or plagues of zombies, it was an enigmatic Baron...
Earning the reputation as one of the strangest films from Hammer Studios is no easy feat and, considering the competition, These are the Damned (aka The Damned) should wear that badge proudly. I’m kicking myself for selecting this title because...
When you treat a studio as if it were a genre, it might seem like favoritism, nostalgia or cult appeal as a result of predominantly working in the horror genre. Even if you’re not a fan of horror films or...
The pattern of Hammer’s horror films shadowed Universal’s, as Hammer struck gold over the course of one year (1957-1958) with The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula. These films made Hammer Horror the sensation we know it and introduced...
Before Hammer had set the world of cinema ablaze with their lurid Victorian horror films, the studio that dripped blood coined a new type of thriller. “Gothic fantasy” became the best way to describe their adaptation of Nigel Kneale’s hit...
