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Paul Stanley recommended The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) in Movies (curated)
Dean (6927 KP) rated Dracula - Dead and Loving It (1995) in Movies
Jul 14, 2018
Awix (3310 KP) rated Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974) in Movies
Feb 14, 2018 (Updated Feb 14, 2018)
Somewhat atypical late-period Hammer horror; feels a bit like a pilot for a TV show but is none the worse for that. Dope-smoking, katana-swinging action man Kronos does battle with a vampire that feeds off youth itself.
Works hard to avoid the usual clichés, with some great moments of black comedy along the way. References to other Hammer films from around the same time will please the faithful. Action choreography by doyen of swordmasters William Hobbs means that the fight sequences (especially the climactic duel) are considerably better than you'd expect from such a low-budget movie. Should have been the start of a series, but Hammer had run out of money.
Works hard to avoid the usual clichés, with some great moments of black comedy along the way. References to other Hammer films from around the same time will please the faithful. Action choreography by doyen of swordmasters William Hobbs means that the fight sequences (especially the climactic duel) are considerably better than you'd expect from such a low-budget movie. Should have been the start of a series, but Hammer had run out of money.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Vampire Circus (1972) in Movies
May 8, 2021
Visually striking if rather unsubtle and slightly incoherent Hammer horror movie. The usual sort of thing: humble townsfolk have enough of the local vampire and do him in, only to face a dreadful revenge years later. This time the instrument of vengeance is a circus full of (you'll never guess!) vampires.
Pretty much as extravagant as Hammer ever got, in terms of gore and nudity; the impact of the film is helped by lurid production design and cinematography. That said, the story's nothing special and most of the acting from the leads is very drab. (Extraordinary supporting cast full of culty names who don't get much to do.) The odd decent moment and sequence, not far off the average standard of early seventies Hammer. Vacuous but watchable.
Pretty much as extravagant as Hammer ever got, in terms of gore and nudity; the impact of the film is helped by lurid production design and cinematography. That said, the story's nothing special and most of the acting from the leads is very drab. (Extraordinary supporting cast full of culty names who don't get much to do.) The odd decent moment and sequence, not far off the average standard of early seventies Hammer. Vacuous but watchable.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Mummy's Shroud (1967) in Movies
May 28, 2020
Third-division Hammer horror - the one with 'Beware the beat of the cloth-wrapped feet' as its advertising slogan, which may be the most memorable thing about it. Has pretty much the same plot as all of these movies (expedition, tomb, curse, murders) with the marginal addition of a rich businessman running everything just asking for a comeuppance.
Some decent direction, an unusually good role for perennial Hammer supporting actor Michael Ripper, and some inventive set pieces, but the general lack of imagination and new ideas means the whole thing drags. None of Hammer's A-team are involved (with the possible exception of Ripper) and you do feel the film is desperately lacking a big star or a genuinely new idea. Sort of passes the time agreeably but probably one for Hammer completists only.
Some decent direction, an unusually good role for perennial Hammer supporting actor Michael Ripper, and some inventive set pieces, but the general lack of imagination and new ideas means the whole thing drags. None of Hammer's A-team are involved (with the possible exception of Ripper) and you do feel the film is desperately lacking a big star or a genuinely new idea. Sort of passes the time agreeably but probably one for Hammer completists only.
The Craggus (360 KP) rated Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) in Movies
Nov 9, 2018
Welcome to the hellmouth, we've got double games. Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) Review
If Hammer House Of Horror had produced “Spaced”, the result could have been a lot like “Slaughterhouse Rulez”. A common room home brew of British Boarding School classics like “If….”, “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (the 1969 musical version specifically) mixed with “Ghostbusters” and dash of “Harry Potter”, this intoxicatingly lowbrow comedy horror offers a novel spin on the idea that British education has gone to the dogs....
FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusSlaughterhouseRulez
FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusSlaughterhouseRulez
Darren Fisher (2454 KP) rated The Room Upstairs in Books
Dec 10, 2020 (Updated Dec 10, 2020)
Wright on!
I have now read a few of Iain Rob Wright's books (which I will get round to reviewing soon). The Room Upstairs was the latest read and I have to say that, like all his books so far, it was a rollicking good read. Wright delivers a good balance of horror and dark humour. I have often been reminded of the old tv show Hammer House of Horror whilst reading his books (a good thing for me at least). Recommended reading
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018
What you'd call the economy tour
Archetypal Hammer horror movie from the studio's imperial mid-60s period; unwise English tourists in Transylvania ignore warnings from bad-ass local abbot (Andrew Keir) and spend the night at Castle Dracula. They think they're there as guests; actually they're a kind of walk-in buffet organised by Dracula's butler to help get his boss back on his feet.
A bit of a slow start, but atmospheric and effective, with some good sequences in the second half. Keir stands in for Peter Cushing with his usual authority and charisma. Christopher Lee isn't in it that much, but is good when he appears - there are differing explanations of just why he doesn't have any dialogue. Everybody's idea of what a Hammer horror movie should be like.
A bit of a slow start, but atmospheric and effective, with some good sequences in the second half. Keir stands in for Peter Cushing with his usual authority and charisma. Christopher Lee isn't in it that much, but is good when he appears - there are differing explanations of just why he doesn't have any dialogue. Everybody's idea of what a Hammer horror movie should be like.
Suswatibasu (1702 KP) rated Phantoms in Books
Jul 25, 2017
Flimsy story, almost comedic
While this story was extremely engaging for its genre and content, it started off with the mystery of a psychological thriller and ended up becoming like a 1970's hammer horror. It couldn't hold itself in the end and the description of the "thing" reminded me of a Sam Raimi style boring gorefest. A bit of a disappointment after 14 hours of listening.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Hammer House of Horror in TV
Mar 15, 2018 (Updated Mar 15, 2018)
Last-gasp attempt by the famous film studio to stay solvent is a fairly decent stab at a horror anthology show, featuring some of Hammer's regular personnel (though not Christopher Lee, as he was in the States at the time).
The fact the show was made for a commercial British network inevitably means the horror content is somewhat constrained, and the low budget means the episodes have a contemporary setting quite unlike the archetypal Hammer films (then again, Amicus House of Horror wouldn't have been as catchy a title). This being an anthology show, the quality and tone of the episodes is inevitably all over the place: some of them are rather subtle and inventive, others are predictable nonsense. Some good performances, though, including many from the before-they-were-famous file - a 27-year-old Pierce Brosnan gets one of his first speaking roles as 'Last Victim' in the Carpathian Eagle episode. As a whole, the series is probably more of a curiosity for Hammer completists than anything else.
The fact the show was made for a commercial British network inevitably means the horror content is somewhat constrained, and the low budget means the episodes have a contemporary setting quite unlike the archetypal Hammer films (then again, Amicus House of Horror wouldn't have been as catchy a title). This being an anthology show, the quality and tone of the episodes is inevitably all over the place: some of them are rather subtle and inventive, others are predictable nonsense. Some good performances, though, including many from the before-they-were-famous file - a 27-year-old Pierce Brosnan gets one of his first speaking roles as 'Last Victim' in the Carpathian Eagle episode. As a whole, the series is probably more of a curiosity for Hammer completists than anything else.