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Hammer Horror

Started by Megadeth, 10 January, 2006, 09:35:27 PM

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Megadeth

Trying to get an early start on researching an essay this term that I hope to do on British horror films but have very little idea where to start.

What films would you guys recommend, particularly but not exclusively Hammer? Also anyone know any decent books on the subject or writers I should look out for?

Thanks for any help.


Art

Link: http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/index2.shtml" target="_blank">britishhorrorfilms.co.uk - rather obvious really..


Art

Theres a hugemongous wikipedia article on Amicus) as well.

Grant Goggans

Wikipedia has a very good overview that should point you in the right direction.  Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter is incredibly good fun, although I think Quatermass & the Pit was their best film.

Megadeth

Cheers for both of those : )

Anyone got any personal recommendations of particular films?

DavidXBrunt

There's a very good book on the subject by some chancer called Barnes that I'd recommend.

Daveycandlish

Personal recommendations of Hammer films - try Devil Rides Out (based on the Dennis Wheatley book), Dracula, Prince of Darkness (Chris Lee at his best), and Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (a kung fu hammer! A bit of an oddity, but great fun). And Kronos is great, too
An old-school, no-bullshit, boys-own action/adventure comic reminiscent of the 2000ads and Eagles and Warlords and Battles and other glorious black-and-white comics that were so, so cool in the 70's and 80's - Buy the hardback Christmas Annual!

Art

The Hammer boxed set with The Devil rides out in it is a bargain, if you can find that one.

Funt Solo

Season 2, tonight, Sky One, 9pm.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Funt Solo

Oops - I meant to post that as a new thread.  Pardon my guff.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

SmallBlueThing

"...an essay this term that I hope to do on British horror films but have very little idea where to start..."

Briefly summoning myself up from the Darker Reaches of the Inner-Un-Realms to say but three words: The. Wicker. Man.

Any essay on British horror that does not include a large percentage of its wordage about this movie deserves its arse slapped.

And, just cos I feel like growling film titles:
From Beyond The Grave, Plague of the Zombies, Deathwatch, Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Lair of the White Worm and Dracula: AD1972.

I dissappear now, in a purple futz smelling feintly of brimstone and somewhat like newborn babies' heads.

Steev
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Megadeth

Although The Wicker Man i sa great film really I want to be focusing on earlier British horror.

Thanks everyone for your input.

greylurker01

for good atmospheric british horror/sci-fi check these films.Admittedly most are sci-fi but they will still scare the pants off you.
Night of the Demon (1957)
Village of the Damned (1960)
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
Quatermass 2 (1957)

also for a really scary modern horror try to track down Ghostwatch (1992).It was a BBC halloween special done in a documentary style that received so many complaints that BBC tried to deny all knowledge of it.
Hope these are some use.

SmallBlueThing

Yeah, Ghostwatch. S'funny that I find myself still shouting long and loud about this, even though it's been available on dvd now for a few years- it's still got that mystique and it's still the scariest thing I've ever seen.

Reccommended it, in passing, to a colleague the other day and she, despite being only 20, had not only heard of it by reputation, but went (she said) physically cold when I said the name and said that she "couldn't possibly watch" that as it was "just too sick".

How odd. But yes. Ghostwatch.

And and and- "Although The Wicker Man is a great film really I want to be focusing on earlier British horror."? What? Earlier than 1973? I've never heard TWM called "too modern" before! Oh well.

Steev
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