While I was growing up Hammer horror was a staple diet – Dracula, Frankenstein and Quatermass movies galore, Rasputin: The Mad Monk, She, Mark of the Devil, Kronos and The Devil rides out to name but a few that spring to mind, they were fantastic. Low budget and incredibly effective horror, sometimes so cheesy and camp you could not believe with some complete stinkers, but some absolute classics came out of that Production house.
So it is with a glad heart I read in The Guardian today that:
The lucrative resurgence of the horror genre in recent months has inspired a group of investors to back the first productions from the legendary Hammer Films studio in nearly 30 years.
The studio behind such classics as Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Devil Rides Out is joining forces with Random Harvest, a British production and funding company, and Stan Winston Productions, a Hollywood-based effects house, to set up Harvest Pictures III to back new productions.
Excellent news! Apparently they are returning to produce low-budget, but high quality, movies in the likes of 28 Days later (arguable in my mind), Shaun of the Dead and Saw.
They are also keen to play off the recent success of horror movies and remakes, which have brought higher than expected box office figures (for that read profit) than expected. The time of the horror movie has returned.
Reading that I had wondered, “are they too late?” but with the list of upcoming horror movies (remakes, sequels and videogame adaptions included) looking very healthy for next year, it’s clear the other Studios haven’t given up on the idea.
Hammer projects in the pipeline already include Perfect Sight and The Beetle. Filming is expected to begin in the early summer, close to three decades after Hammer produced its final title, The Lady Vanishes, in 1978.
Wonderful, and for some abject lessons in low budget horror, Hammer is definitely a House to visit.
I think Hammer was a very good studio and I am glad they are returning. Though they will never beat there older stuff, with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (Though they can bring Lee back)and they may never make films as good as before but I hope they are very successful!
I’ve been waiting for the Hammer resurrection for some time now. If they adhere to their past history and use sound scripts to make innovative movies, low budgets and lack of “A” class stars won’t matter because fans of the horror genre fans have not had anything to draw them to the theatre more than once a year since about 1985. I’d even be pleased if they made them just for the home theatre market.
The Abominable Snowman (Peter Cushing), The legend of the 7 golden vampires (Peter Cushing – vampires, kung fu, lot’s o’ nudity), The Hound of the Baskervilles (Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee), And definitely the Quatermass series. Check out the Anchor Bay Hammer Horror collection on DVD. Usually great transfers and some decent extras.
Good news, but, man, you say ’28 Days Later’ is iffy, but ‘Saw’ is good? Sorry, but I saw ‘Saw’ (ha-ha) on the weekend, and, well…derivative, sloppily written, badly acted, and full of plot contrivances. Fun, I admit, but only if you ignore how bad it is…
Hammer was to British film what Roger Corman’s productions were to American film – a micro-budget production line dedicated to churning out cheap, effective storytelling that was (at the same time) deeply formulaic and staggeringly inventive. It gave a lot of good people their first breaks, and inspired a hell of a lot more. I’d love to see that kind of opportunity hot-house return to the film industry (on either side of the Atlantic) – right now the only recognisable person continually working in such a low-budget, experimental way is Michael Winterbottom, although quite a few other British directors with some industry clout (Danny Boyle, notably) seem to be heading in that same direction.
I suppose it’s the advent of cheap digital recording that’s allowing a much more free-and-easy spirit to return to the industry, and it can only be a good thing.
as far as i know hammer has had to maintain an office even though it hasnt managed to get films together… its been constantly working on ideas and finance, and such stories surface every few years or so…
I’m not terribly familiar with the Hammer oeuvre, but the Quatermass films, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Horror of Dracula are essential viewing in my opinion.
I cringe to even admit this, but I think the only Hammer Horror I’ve seen is The Mummy w/ Lee and Cushing. What are your top 3 or 4 must-see Hammers? Should I go off of Richard’s list above?
hahaha….we do think alike.