Love it! We even get a guy in a red velvet jacket and frilly shirt to remind us the updated Hammer Dracs were written by the Pertwee era Doctor Who's Don Houghton. And he even appears to be wearing Tom Baker's hat for good measure...lol
I am a HUGE Hammer Horror fan... They are my favorite horror films, along with Classic Universal Horror films and John Carpenter films...
I love ALL the Hammer films... However, if I had to choose, my ABSOLUTE TOP 5 FAVORITE Hammer Horrors are (in no order):
HORROR OF DRACULA THE BRIDES OF DRACULA DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE SCARS OF DRACULA
Obviously, I am very bias to the Dracula films, as I love that series so much...
So, here are my Top 5 Runners-up (in no order) to include some other classics:
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED THE MUMMY THE GORGON QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
You can't go wrong with Hammer films, especially with ones featuring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and director Terence Fisher... And of course with ones featuring the great music of James Bernard!
And if the preceding wasn't enough British Horror greatness for you, as a bonus, I also highly recommend the following classic from Hammer's competitive studio, Amicus Films... That film being...
October once more. I'm going through the Hammer Mummy movies this time before returning to old favorites. Are there any Hammer fans here who dig (pun intended) this mummy series?
Terence Fisher’s version with Lee and Cushing is terrific, one of the best Hammer films. The other ones are a little dumber.If I remember correctly, the mummy pitches Michael Ripper out a window in one of them. They’re entertaining.
Quatermass and the Pit is also essential Hammer viewing. Check out Disco Stu’s commentary a while back concerning Barbara Shelley in this film which I wholeheartedly endorse.
Quatermass and the Pit is also essential Hammer viewing. Check out Disco Stu’s commentary a while back concerning Barbara Shelley in this film which I wholeheartedly endorse.
I did see Blood from a Mummy's Tomb a couple of years back and was impressed only with Valerie Leon's leonine beauty. But I'll be giving the two 1960s Hammer mummy movies a try over the next few days.
And I most certainly want to complete the Quatermass trilogy this month as well!
"Dracula" aka "The Horror of Dracula" is my ultimate favorite. It was my 1st Hammer film that I saw as a kid. And then in no particular order:
Brides of Dracula The Gorgon The Curse of Frankenstein Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell Quatermass and the Pit Frankenstein Created Woman The Mummy Kiss of the Vampire Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter Fanatic - aka Die! Die! My Darling
Heck, I like almost all of the Hammer output, including their dramas, costume dramas and suspense films.
May I include "Carry on Screaming" which is in many ways a spoof of Hammer although definitely not made by Hammer? Oh well consider it added...
Carry on Screaming is excellent! Hammer themselves made some comedies like Up the Creek and Watch It, Sailor! Have you seen any of those?
Let's be honest, Carry On and Hammer have much in common. The better films are the earliest, with gems in the middle, and a downturn in quality relying on smut towards the end.
Definitely the 1967 version of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT !!
I also still need to do the complete Quatermass series. (I've only seen the first one.)
I finally watched Q 2 and Q and the Pit during the last few days. Pit has some true red-hot sequences that approach Altered States-level of intensity; I also like the late afternoon mood of some of the early scenes - the subway dig, the curious public and journalists in the area.
I can see now why John Carpenter used a "Quatermass" pseudonym for the screenplay to his 1987 Prince of Darkness - that film also is about uncovering an alien "crypt" which contains secrets that shake the world.
I'll probably be rewatching The Evil of Frankenstein tonight and seeing To the Devil a Daughter for the first time also tonight or tomorrow.
Share your Hammer viewings if you're doing any this month!
LIFEFORCE was also more or less influenced by QUATERMASS AND THE PIT.
However, I am really surprised about the similarities of many shots and sequences both in Q&tP and Star Trek's RETURN OF THE ARCHONS !! I think they most have been written and made ca. at the same time ?
