Tag Archives: Hammer Horror

Retrospective: The Abominable Snowman (1957)

25 Sunday Sep 2022

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Hammer Films trio of features to be released in 1957 would be complete with The Abominable Snowman. The heightened success of The Curse of Frankenstein and Quatermass 2 had made people sit up and take notice of this British film production company. TAS would see Director Val Guest team up again with one of his lead stars Peter Cushing, a formula that would be successful for this fictionalised expedition in search of the snow dwelling yeti. 

Nigel Kneale would once again take on writing duties that would pen Cushing as botanist John Rollason who agrees to join the party led by Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker), only to discover that the true intentions behind the enterprise is to capture the ape-like creature for commercial gain. 

The group are attacked by a yeti one night but one of the trappers is able to kill it, and in turn they try to use the creature to lure others of its kind to them. All of this goes against Rollasons’ moral integrity and he soon comes to believe that the yeti may indeed be of vastly greater intelligence to humankind. It is possible that they are hibernating in the mountains, waiting for humanity to reach its natural decline, before taking over as our planet’s chief primate.
The narrative will now see a turn of the tables, and the expedition must try to survive their ordeal before the terrain or the yeti’s bring about their ruin.

For a feature set in the vast open spaces through sets created by Bernard Robinson based on existing photos of shots taken in the French Pyrenees and built in the now famous Pinewood Studios, there is enough eeriness conveyed. This despite the lack of fear from the little seen yetis. It’s a strong movie with a decent plot that deserves more attention and a chance to rise out of the shadows left by The Curse of Frankenstein. The next horror feature to be released would forever cement Hammer Films’ place in the genre movie scene…

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Quatermass 2 (1957)

24 Saturday Sep 2022

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Hammer Films swift follow up feature to The Curse of Frankenstein released in the same month of 1957 would be a sequel to the previously successful The Quatermass Xperiment. Continuing with the exploits and investigations of Professor Bernard Quatermass, this time around would see the brash scientist look into the strange goings on at Winnerden Flats following a high amount of meteorite falls. What he uncovers though is a lethal toxin being experimented on and an alien infiltration that could lead to disastrous consequences for the human race.

Based on the BBC production, this time around screenwriter Nigel Kneale would oversee writing duties for the feature but much to his chagrin would see American actor Brian Donlevy take on the lead role for the second time. Kneale was much aggrieved that Quatermass was portrayed by an American, a man very much considered to be British, but also by a man that he would describe as…

a bully whose emotional range ran from annoyance to fury

Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes – The Hammer Story: The Authorised  of Hammer Films.

It doesn’t help that Donlevy was allegedly on the sauce throughout filming and apparently read off what is commonly known as idiot boards to recite his lines.

The film itself feels remarkably different from its predecessor, tapping into a more action, thriller style of exposition and one that in my opinion, goes against the grain of my high-held expectations. In this instance, I identify with Kneale’s plight about the casting of Quatermass, and find little to connect to, but admittedly I may be being biassed, as I much prefer Andrew Keir’s take in follow up Hammer film, Quatermass and the Pit.

Val Guest however does cut a fine take as director to the government, alien conspiracy flick, tying into the paranoia surrounding a post-war paranoia. It’s the beating heart of the feature and one that led some to believe that it was ahead of its time.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)

17 Saturday Sep 2022

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For me, The Curse of Frankenstein would mark the official change of the guard in horror films from Universal to Hammer. Not only did it revamp the now stagnant monster franchise, but propelled a new identity in the Gothic scene thanks to the vision of its director Terence Fisher; its two leads Peter Cushing in stoic form as the titular Baron Frankenstein and the heavily made up Sir Christopher Lee as the creature; but also the X factor charged with and championed by the films’ producers, setting a tone that would be replicated for another couple of decades to come. It also would have in its company writer Jimmy Sangster and composer James Bernard, who would both be part of Hammer’s signature. Above all else though, it would be Hammer’s first colour creature feature; one that would highlight all the blood, gore, and extravagant costumes with a vibrancy not seen on the big screen before.

Cushing and Lee would also prove to be a formidable duo before the camera for Hammer, for another 7 times with varying degrees of success. Lee would have to endure two to three hours in the makeup chair as Phil Leakey crafted the final, repulsive look from mortician’s wax, cotton wool, and rubber. The look deliberately steered away from Universal’ previous incarnation due to legal rights, allowing Hammer to present a unique spin on Mary Shelley’s classic tale. 

The narrative is told in flashbacks as Baron Frankenstein awaits a trip to the gallows,  but never wavers from his pursuit of achieving and creating life beyond the grave. What is starkly different from its predecessor is the cold and meticulous manner that Frankenstein’s actions are driven to in order to attain his goal. It is this characterisation and Cushing’s portrayal that offers a darkly disturbing version and one that is explored further throughout the various instalments that follow, most notably Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed which Cushing and fellow star Veronica Carlson believed crossed the boundaries of good taste.

The British press would initially turn up their noses to Hammer’s adaptation, with a general feel that it was purely for sadists. Both the British and American public would lap it up, which may or may not say something about our society. Regardless, it was enough of a reaction that was considered huge for its time that it would cement the foundations for Hammer Films and pave the way for their success to follow. It would also spawn a cult following and be an inspiration for many filmmakers to come. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

29 Friday Jul 2022

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In the same year that Universal release This Island Earth, Hammer Films were about to enter a brave new world of their own, and it would all begin with their release of The Quatermass Xperiment. Spearheaded by James Carreras knack for networking and the ability for Hammer to produce the familiar in the eyes of the backers but with their own spin. In this instance, the appeal would come from an adaptation of BBC serial The Quatermass Experiment. 

The tale takes place when a three-manned rocket ship owned by Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) loses radio contact and crash lands with two of its occupants vanished without a trace. Its sole survivor, Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth) has been clearly affected by a parasitic alien organism that slowly engulfs his body and is also transfused with a cactus plant that he came into contact with. 

Part of the attraction to TQX is that Quatermass himself leads questionable character choices. From the get-go, we learn that the rocket ship in question was launched without being sanctioned to do so. This recklessness is still evident too by the films’ end when he is still insistent in going ahead with his scientific plans despite the flaws and drawbacks that were brought about due to his decisions. Was there no lesson learned for him at all? Or is it purely that he is driven to succeed in his experimentations? At what point is it too far to cross? Or does the line simply not exist for the likes of Quatermass?

Richard Wordsworth’s performance is equally compelling, providing heart to the troubled Carroon. His deterioration both physically and mentally on screen keeps the audience gripped and able to connect with his plight.

It should also be noted how integral Director Val Guest’s vision had on defining the style of Hammer’s more sci-fi horror leaning productions, (the more recogniseable Gothic features would very much fall to Terence Fisher) and would have him return for Quatermass 2. There would also be the notable push for adult classification in Hammer’s production releases hence the deliberate X placement in the title to define their approach and the audience they wanted for their movies.

The success of TQX for Britain and across the seas in the States would project them further towards success and unite them in a deal with Columbia Pictures. Hammer Films were a heartbeat away from The Curse of Frankenstein, the movie that would cement their footing in the horror scene, but TQX would provide them with the first footsteps to celluloid history. It’s incredibly riveting and watchable still and highly recommended. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Four Sided Triangle (1953)

18 Saturday Jun 2022

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Just as Universal were making significant strides away from the horror genre and into the sci-fi realm with It Came From Outer Space another new name would rise to take up the mantel.
This production company would have its roots across the pond on British soil, but the Hammer Horror epithet was yet to come and the name would be generated in familiar territory, science fiction.

Four Sided Triangle is a complex tale, but contains some essential ingredients on Hammer’s path to notoriety. None more so than with its director Terence Fisher who would spearhead the Hammer vision and helm the Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing starring film, The Curse of Frankenstein just two years later.
For now though, Fisher’s playing field would follow a couple of scientists, Bill (Stephen Murray – A Tale of Two Cities) and Robin (John Van Eyssen – Quatermass 2, Dracula), who dabble in the duplication of objects. 

The duo find their scientific breakthrough and look on the borders of success, but as with these things a dramatic barrier must stand in the way and serve as the antithesis to their genius. In this case it is through our love triangle as both Bill and Roy have eyes for their longtime friend, Lena (Barbara Payton – Bride of the Gorilla). The only trouble is, Lena only has romantic feelings for Robin.
Heartbroken Bill doesn’t acquiesce but comes with another solution – duplication of Lena.
What he doesn’t account for however is that the replicant Lena, named Helen will also fall for Robin. Not content with this, Bill devises a new way to win Helen’s affections through electro-shock therapy to erdicate any memory she has of Robin. Bill’s pursuit for love will only lead to ruin, but how many will fall in his endeavours to win Helen’s heart is left until the final reel.

There are some marked moments that lift this low budget flick above the grade for its time, tackling some interesting subject matter. Fisher also lends a level-headed approach to story-telling in order to deliver the compound narrative in a simple way for audience to understand. Narrated by a secondary character Dr. Harvey (James Hayton – The Pickwick Papers) who breaks the fourth wall through flashback with his pleasing and harmonious nature only solidifies Fisher’s strong direction further.

The film deserves more recognition, being overshadowed by Hammer’s next turn in The Quatermass Xperiment and of course The Curse of Frankenstein. Both of which would stem the way for Hammer’s future, but neither would be as bright without Four Sided Triangle shining a light for the production company to walk towards success.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)

17 Sunday Oct 2021

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The last quartet of movies to be released in October by Hammer Films Production in their 70s evolution would pit their new blood, new generation actor Ralph Bates in the lead for their reinvention of Robert Louis Stevenson’s short novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Their bold approach to the story, especially for its time, would fuse a gender-bending with Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders of the late 19th Century.

It’s setting would combine the gothic themes of yester-year upon which Hammer forged its name with this twist in the tale that was an extremely modern approach to storytelling.

Charged with steering the direction was Hammer regular, Roy Ward Baker (Quatermass and the Pit, Scars of Dracula) alongside screenwriter Brian Clemens (Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter; The Professionals) who between them managed to tread the fine line of humour and horror with what is essentially a delicate subject.

As the title suggests, Dr Jekyll is set on finding the elixir of life using female hormones due to their longer life expectancy when compared with men. In order to do so, much-like Dr Frankenstein looks for fresh cadavers to perform his experiments upon, so employs known grave robbers Burke and Hare (Ivor Dean and Tony Calvin) to carry out the deed. 

When the need for more fresh cadavers arise, Burke and Hare take to killing women in the name of Jekyll’s science.

Things take a drastic turn for Jekyll however when his experiments transform him into a female version of himself who he calls Mrs. Hyde (Martine Beswick). Part of the film’s appeal and one which allows for a stronger sense of believability is that Beswick has a strikingly familiar appearance to Bates. The idea is well executed and the shifts and changes in the narrative are incredibly advanced for its time, marking this film as a significant movie in the Hammer Films canon.

To hook the audience further, there is the potential love interest between Jekyll and Susan Spencer (Susan Brodrick), and similarly the seduction of Susan’s brother Howard (Lewis Flander) towards Mrs. Hyde. Both relationships are predominantly on the tipping point of danger as the murders increase and police start honing in on their suspect.
Can Jekyll find the formula to reverse the transformation, or will it ultimately lead to ruin?

Looking at the movie now, it has admittedly aged but there is something incisive about the way Hammer Film Productions and its creatives chose to deliver the narrative that lends weight to the final product. The performances are on point and direction cutting to the point that this film should be praised and is one of the last great films that the production company released in its final years before they would be resurrected again in the 2000s.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb (1971)

14 Thursday Oct 2021

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October would prove to be a prolific time for Hammer Film Productions as far as output goes as they looked at ways to reinvent themselves and draw in a younger generation of audience. The month had already seen the release of double feature Twins of Evil and Hands of the Ripper and for their third release the British film company would look again to the movies that shaped them, inspired by the Universal horror films that were so successful in the 1930s.

In spite of three previous films released based on The Mummy, Hammer would once again look to the source for creativity in Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of the Seven Stars shaped for a modern audience courtesy of screenwriter Christopher Wicking (Scream and Scream Again).

The film itself would be seeped in tragedy with its initial star Peter Cushing stepping aside to play the role of Julian Fuchs (replaced by Andrew Keir) after one day of filming to be by his wife’s side, following her diagnosis with emphysema. Furthermore, the film’s director Seth Holt (Taste of Fear, The Nanny) suffered a heart attack five weeks into the shoot and producer Michael Carrerras would step in to complete the shoot.

Despite all this, there is a visual style to the narrative that is in keeping with the direction that Hammer was hoping to achieve which stands up. Despite its obvious deviations from Stoker’s novel, there is a level of tension that is successfully established with the dispatch of the archaeological team (consisting of great actors in James Villiers and Aubrey Morris) who unearthed the tomb of evil Egyptian queen,Tera (Valerie Leon).

Throw in the added component that Julian Fuchs’ daughter Margaret bears a striking resemblance to the villainess, then we’re presented with a body possession flick into the equation too. Coupled with an ambiguous ending that leads us to question which personality survived as the closing credits roll

There may be questions around a potential curse surrounding the films’ production which clouded peoples’ perceptions. There are also glaringly obvious misbeats in the muddled storyline strung together by Carreras in an attempt to fill in the blanks not yet captured in the films shoot, but for me Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb climbs above Hammer’s previous two Mummy outings for its bold and and visual approach to an age-old tale. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Hands of the Ripper (1971)

03 Sunday Oct 2021

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While Twins of Evil ignited a certain visual style and direction as spearheaded by Hammer Horror film producer Michael Carreras, (who was also the son of the British production company’s founder, James) Hands of the Ripper, which was released as part of a double feature struggles a little under the weight of its premise.

It’s actually a pretty cool idea, presenting Angharad Rees as Anna, the daughter of the notorious Whitechapel murderer Jack The Ripper. As an infant, Anna witnesses her father’s brutal attack on her mother. Years later, we’re introduced to her again aiding a medium trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the paying customers. Unfortunately, it is also discovered that her trauma can be awakened by a flickering light followed by a kiss on her cheek, igniting a menacing steak that lies deep within and turning Anna inot a psychotic killer.

Hammer were fortunate to cast acting veteran Eric Porter in the role of John Pritchard, a doctor and psychiatrist who believes that he can cure her of her ailment, unaware of just how deep her psychological scars go. He also doesn’t anticipate how enraptured he would become with Anna, falling for her charms and in doing so, makes ill-judgement to cover up her misdeeds in the hope that he can steer her back on the path of sanity.

By the time the film’s climax comes around at the famous London landmark St. Paul’s Cathedral, we are destined for tragedy. Pritchard, already mortally wounded, rushes alongside his son Michael to rescue his son’s fiance, Laura (Jane Morrow) from the hands of evil.

It acts as a slow burn much like Director Peter Sasdy’s earlier feature Countess Dracula starring the brilliant Ingrid Pitt. Both films prove hard to connect with due to its pace, but are equally well composed and directed making them strong films as far as production is concerned, but ultimately prove hard to connect with and may turn some people off.

Of all the original features that Hammer produced though, Hands of the Ripper could easily be remade with a different lens today, if it were to immerse itself into the gothic time, place and setting. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Twins of Evil

03 Sunday Oct 2021

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This movie will always have a strong place in my heart, and quite possibly in my loins if you’ll forgive me for being so crude. 

It would have been late night on BBC 2 or Channel 4 when I first began to discover Hammer Horror films in my adolescent years and my earliest memories were of Mary and Madeleine Collinson decked in the yellow dresses or their negligee that would reveal so much to this impressionable mind.

The Collinson’s would go on to become the first twin playmates to stir the sense of male youth and this was the perfect recipe for young horror fans that Hammer Film productions were hoping to lure into their cinematic fold. It clearly worked on this writer and I became enraptured and was intrigued by the whole virtuosity vs temptress component that these twins of evil were to portray.

It helped that this film would also feature Peter Cushing, who for those who know me well understand that I had developed some kind of man-crush on the dignified English Gent, Cushing alongside Christopher Lee would become synonymous with Hammer films and even though Lee would be absent in this feature, Cushing more than holds his own as the Matthew Hopkins inspired witchfinder, Gustav Weil. This tyrant of a figure, Weil is hellbent on steering everyone to his purtiancial ways and ridding the world of sinners and those who practice in the dark arts. Struck by his passionate beliefs, Weil with his Brotherhood will drive out the women fallen to sin and burn them at the stake. His main prize though is towards Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), a man who is drawn to the dark arts and enticed by one of his ancestors, Mircalla (Katya Wyeth).

Twins of Evil also rounds out the Karnstein Trilogy (The Vampire Lovers, Lust of a Vampire) that Hammer had focused on through Mircalla and finding inspiration from the Camilla story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
What I particularly liked about this feature beneath the thinly-veiled sexual exploitation, is a story that paints its characters in grey rather than black and white. As puritanical as Weil is in his mission, he is conflicted by his own dedication to his cause and that of the notion that his nieces could have fallen prey to evil temptation. It is his blinded view of the world that leads him to his own ruin.
The twins would be the symbolic pendulum between what is deemed good and evil, each representing the yin and yang in this equation. Count Karnstein is deeply entrenched in sin but also shows signs of uncertainty when tempted by Mircalla before ultimately being consumed by darkness. And the local school teacher, Anton (David Warbeck) would also display signs of weakness, who despite his pure values is tempted by Frieda’s wilder streak before realising that it is Maria’s innocence that needs protecting.

There is a nice conclusion to the piece too which sets up mistaken identity, before pitting the two actual twins of evil in The Count and Weil against one another. Twins of Evil, directed by John Hough would mark an important step in Michael Carreras trying to reinvent Hammer Horror for a new generation and arguably succeeds in this instance. It would set up the tone for the 70s and the last great hurrah for the British film company that brought Dracula and Frankenstein onto the screens again in the 50s. 

There are certainly some misses more than hits during this time, but I at least enjoy succumbing to the visuals and narrative that is embedded throughout this feature and it is one that I find that I am drawn to time and time again.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Lodge

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Those who have followed my musings for the last few years will know that, yes I am British and that my love of horror movies has no bounds.
With those two elements combined it’s no wonder that I have strong attachments to Hammer Films and the wonderful movies that they produced throughout the 60s and 70s and often starring the late greats Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Since those golden years I’ve watched with a keen eye, the resurrection of this much-loved company under the guidance of their CEO Simon Oakes.

This journey has seen them admittedly stumble along finding a unique voice in a plethora of genre movies and make their mark once again.
2010 would see their first full length feature in the brilliant, Let Me In. Despite the film’s strength it was married by the masterful Let The Right One In, a Swedish version of the story released the year before that sent ripples through the community and has become a modern classic in some circles, because of this Hammer found itself in the shadows still.

Their next two features would cause a minor stir with The Resident and Wake Wood, which still pose strong stories but failed to click with a wide audience.
This wouldn’t occur until Woman In Black hit the screens and proved to everyone that hallways can be scary, if atmosphere is played in a certain way.
With that release, Hammer had struck a chord and not surprisingly look to replicate this again, unfortunately the sequel couldn’t match it’s predecessor and The Quiet Ones also released the same year, did not connect or resonate with its audience.
Even Dame Helen Mirren couldn’t stop this downward trajectory that Hammer was facing four years later with the woeful and messy plotline delivered in Winchester.
Was Hammer’s magic wearing off?
Could they invoke that mystery once again?

With the release of The Lodge, I would argue that they can and hopefully turn things around once more.

Whilst it still isn’t at the levels of Let Me In and Woman In Black, falling marginally short in its execution and this is purely down to predictability and in my opinion, not allowing the true horror of the situation unfold to the psychological  steps it could have gone to.

Having said that, writer/directors Veronika Franz and Severin Flava (Goodnight Mommy) alongside fellow scribe Sergio Casci have produced a remarkably disturbing film that turns the notion of gaslighting on its head with a suitably modern twist.

The most compelling part of the narrative is the way that characters are portrayed so that the audience is never quite sure who it should pay allegiance to.
Each of the participants display positive and negative sides of their personalities which ebb and flow throughout the film as they tackle both spiritual, mental and physical ordeals.

The picture paints a story of a fractured family which sees the father, Richard (Richard Armitage) leaving his wife, Laura (Alicia Silverstone) for a much strikingly similar looking but younger, Grace (Riley Keough).
The fact that Richard and Laura have children, Aidan (Jaedan Martell – IT, IT chapter two) and Mia (Lia McHugh) only makes the situation more complex, especially as they see the mysterious rival to their mother.
From here on, the kids look at how they can make life difficult for Grace and a potential situation arises on a winter retreat to the titular lodge.

The Prognosis:

Hammer Films have produced a colourful film in a stark landscape built on a tide of emotions indicating a return to form.

The performances are compelling with all the actors showing a range of emotional turmoil and delivered by a creative team who continue to push the boundaries of the psyche.

– Saul Muerte