MY HAMMER HORROR DILEMMA

I love Hammer movies. I grew up with them. I saw so many Hammer Horror double bills when I was a kid in the 70's that they're as much a part of my childhood as Pet Rocks and flared jeans.

Hammer made movies that literally thrilled me as a kid, goofy as that sounds. I would watch the screen crouched down in my seat, anticipating the next vampire's hiss or Frankenstein Monster's stumble. Today, I appreciate them, partly for their nostalgia value, but mostly because they are terrific movies.

The studio was so successful at being distinctive in what it did, at creating its own world, that it also created a dilemma for me. You see, it's almost impossible for me to differentiate one Hammer movie from the other. Not that they're all the same; far from it. Some are Black & White, some are colour; some are gothic, some are contemporary; some are graced by the presence of Lee and Cushing, some aren't; and some are just better than others. But all share that Hammer stamp, unlike almost anything else I can think of other than the Val Lewton-produced cycle of suggestive horror flicks from the 40's, and there were only nine of those. Different than a world that a single filmmaker creates through an entire filmography, say Alfred Hitchcock or Jean-Luc Godard, Hammer movies feature different directors, writers, cinematographers, composers, and casts, but each Hammer Horror makes up a part of the "world of Hammer" in my mind, and to me "The World of Hammer" is one utterly fantastic, continuous movie.


As a blogger, the opportunity to take part in numerous Favourite Film lists arises with some regularity. My Hammer dilemma means that I rarely include a selection from the Hammer studio... There's just too many to choose from and I want to include them all! It's as if one Hammer film comments on or relates to another in the Hammer cannon; like one is somehow connected to the others. This leads me to attempt to pick a representative movie, but that's just foolhardy and it's just not fair to the individual films. The fact is that Hammer produced a large number of not just good films, but several that can easily be considered classics.

So in recognition of all the times that I've left a Hammer film out of the creation of whatever list I may have been taking part in, and because I'm so fond of each of these films, here are my favourite Hammer Horrors, each one a unique part of "The World of Hammer":

The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Brides of Dracula, Never Take Candy from a Stranger, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Taste of Fear, The Curse of the Werewolf, These are the Damned, Paranoiac, The Plague of the Zombies, The Reptile, Frankenstein Created Woman, Quatermass and the Pit, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, The Devil Rides Out, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Scars of Dracula, The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Hands of the Ripper, Twins of Evil, Straight on Till Morning, Vampire Circus, Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, and The Satanic Rites of Dracula.

There is, however, one Hammer Horror that I'm incredibly partial towards. And having said that, I feel like I'm being oddly dismissive of all the others. That film is Hands of the Ripper. I first saw it when I was 12 years old, on TV during a trip to England with my parents. There in the St. James Hotel, I watched fascinated and terrified as Jack the Ripper's daughter gorily (for its time) slashed her way through victims both deserving and shockingly undeserving. Later during this trip, we visited the Whispering Gallery at St. Paul's Cathedral. The fact that the climax of Hands of the Ripper occurs there added an extra frisson for me as we sent our whispered messages around its circumference. I've watched this film several times since this initial and impressionable viewing, and it's still one of my favourite films. The attack scenes still pack a jolt, the story is still involving and fresh, and Anna, the Ripper's daughter played by Angharad Rees, is one of the most tragic heroines in all of Hammer's films. I love it.


Hammer Studios closed in the late 70's after changing public taste resulted in declining box office. With the old studio recently reanimated anew and producing films like the remakes (sigh) of Let Me In and The Woman in Black, there's the potential that it may yet recapture some of its old glory. Whatever the future of the new Hammer, there are plenty of Golden Era Hammer films out there; go get you some!

MY HORROR AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION

Clive Barker (Author)


Dario Argento (Dir, The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, Deep Red)


Herschell Gordon Lewis (The Godfather of Gore)


Herk Harvey (Dir, Carnival of Souls)


Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead; Savage Streets; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Night of the Demons)


Autographs M.I.A.: David Cronenberg, Tom Savini.

My Top 10 Willy Inducing Moments

As per The Horror Digest, here are My Top 10 Willy Inducing Moments in random order:

1. "PSYCHO" (1960, Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)


The look Norman gives the audience... that's right, he looks at the audience, breaking the 4th Wall in such a way that we don't even realize it at the time... at the end of "Psycho". This, mixed with his "I wouldn't even hurt a fly" speech, is shiver time... even before Mother's skull appears in a double exposure.

2. "SESSION 9" (2001, Dir: Brad Anderson)



The final voice over from the reel-to-reel recording of the final session... when we finally hear from the personality known as Simon and discover exactly where he lives... Goose bumps.

3. "DEEP RED" (aka "Profondo Rosso", 1975, Dir: Dario Argento)



Dario Argento's laughing mechanical puppet from one of the essential gialli (that significantly predates that talking, mechanical puppet in "Saw").

4. "SCREAM OF FEAR" (aka "Taste of Fear", 1961, Dir: Seth Holt)



Susan Strasberg discovers her father's corpse (for the first time) in Hammer's excellent "mini-Hitchcock".

5. "INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS" (1956, Dir: Don Siegel)



The pay-off (later) to this innocuous dialogue:

Becky: [laughs] I'm not the high school kid you use to romance, so how can you tell?

Miles: You really want to know?

Becky: Mmm-hmm.

Miles: [after kissing her] Mmmm, you're Becky Driscoll, all right!

6. "PRINCE OF DARKNESS" (1987, dir: John Carpenter)



Those video transmissions; unclear images of something... bad.

7. "LOST HIGHWAY" (1997, dir: David Lynch)



Robert Blake makes a phone call to himself... and answers at the other end.

8. "THE HAUNTING" (1963, Dir: Robert Wise)



The "Whose hand was I holding?" scene.

9. "BLACK CHRISTMAS" (1974, Dir: Bob Clark)



Many moments to choose from in this one, but the eye through the crack in the door has it!

10. "HALLOWEEN" (1978, dir: John Carpenter)



Michael emerges from the darkness behind the world's most famous Final Girl. A semi-slow burn.

PUBLISHED IN RUE MORGUE! A NEW KICK FOR ME

Hey! My first piece for Rue Morgue Magazine has been published in the June 2010 issue, #101. It's a Cinemarquee article about the 1957 giant grasshopper flick "Beginning of the End". I'm a huge fan of Rue Morgue, so this is an A+ experience for me. Managing Editor Dave Alexander was an ace in his editing advice. Yay for me, I say.

Link-o-rama: Rue Morgue Magazine

FLORID (22 min)

Florid from Rob MacDonald on Vimeo.


In the early 90's, Rob MacDonald and I made a short film called "Florid". It details the attempts of a group of homeless people to leave their freezing cold home in P.E.I. on Canada's East Coast for the warmer temps of Florida.

Recently, we had it digitized. Revisiting it, I can see all kinds of things I'd change (I'd move the camera more... at least once, I'd use more close ups and cut more during conversations, I'd emphasize the winter weather, I'd have the talent show winners we see at the beginning come back for a showdown during the second talent show, I'd change our protagonists' talent [sorry, Rob], and I'm not sure about the ending, though Rob and I agreed it had to be happy). And I'm not sure about those cuts to black we used as transitions. All I can say is that we were all fans of Jim Jarmusch's stuff like "Stranger in Paradise" and "Down By Law", and that was our influence there. Having said all that, I'm fond and proud of "Florid". I think some of the jokes/situations work well, I love the story and the characters, and most of all, I love what the actors brought to their roles. And my dad, Russell, hand lettered the opening credits and some of the signs used as props in the film.

We also shot some stuff that didn't make it into our final cut. My favourite piece that didn't make it was a montage of three of the main characters completing their assigned tasks: Lawrence stealing a shopping cart, Millie phoning Florida for some information and reaching Burt Reynolds, Jimbo trying to get into the library, but not being able to operate the door.

Since we finished the project, Rob and I have toyed with the idea of turning it into a stage musical, which I think would work beautifully. The short as it is was very positively reviewed by Hank Stinson in the late great Arts Atlantic Magazine, and it won the Viewers Choice Award at the 2004 Reel Island Film Festival. Two of my favourite comments that "Florid" has received are from filmmaker Mille Clarkes who called it "a PEI classic if there ever was one", and the other is from Darrin Dunsford who said it was "like 'Goin' Down the Road' with a happy ending." And I'll take that, with thanks.

PAUL NASCHY & CHAS BALUN

A while ago, two important figures in the history of horror film passed away: Paul Naschy, whose 1968 “Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror” this site takes its name from, and Chas Balun, whose writing about the genre helped define what that art is all about.



Paul Naschy, d. November 30, 2009

Naschy, born Jacinto Molina, was the Spanish successor to Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. In his career he managed to play versions of many of the classic monsters, his most popular character being werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, a role he essayed in 12 films. Alternating between (and sometimes combining) the task of scriptwriter, director and star, Naschy’s enthusiasm for the genre comes across in each and every one of his features, from his crazed Gotho the hunchback in the insane “Hunchback of the Morgue” to his well… crazed strangler in the giallo “Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll”.

I’ve been watching a lot of Naschy movies lately, both before and after his death in November of 2009. Of note, I’ve revisited “Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror" for the first time since the mid-70s’. It’s a lot of fun with its combination gothic atmosphere and “modern” setting. No Frankenstein though, but for a brief mention in the prologue. Apparently, the North American distributor was contractually obligated to deliver a Frankenstein pic, so the name was added as an afterthought. Naschy’s there as Daninsky, however, fighting vampires and wearing some mighty impressive getups.

I’ve also experienced the aforementioned “Hunchback of the Morgue” and it really is one of the most off its rocker movies I’ve ever seen. Naschy’s portrayal of Gotho is a little too hilarious for me, unfortunately, though he received accolades for his performance. Here, he’s a necrophile who is tricked by a mad scientist who promises to restore his deceased love to life, if Gotho will continue to provide him with bodies for his experiments. The movie is a mind fuck of the first order as campy hunchback and goop creature scenes are mixed with disturbing footage of rats actually being set on fire and a real beheading, as the filmmakers were given the okay to decapitate a corpse. The story goes that Naschy downed some scotch before hand, but was unable to continue beyond the first slice into the corpse’s neck. Yikes! Strong stuff and completely insane when mixed with the other less intense content.

“Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll” is a giallo of, if not the first order, then the second order. It’s got everything we love about gialli, from convoluted storytelling and set pieces, to nudity, violence and a lyrical title. “The Hanging Woman” is not a star vehicle for Naschy, but he makes an impression as a sleazy gravedigger in this entertaining Scottish-set period piece about inheritance, covens and the living dead. And the Naschy-directed “Panic Beats” is a gory good time that features plenty of double-crossing as the spirit of a knight returns every 100 years to slash, chop and spindle unfaithful spouses. Bottom line, there are plenty of Naschy flicks out there waiting for you to discover if you haven’t already. Check out the invaluable Mark of Naschy website in the links section for more in-depth information.



Chas Balun, d. December 18, 2009

Chas Balun wrote about horror movies with humour, love and in his own voice. An opinionated (Thank God!) writer, Balun didn’t mince words when he felt something was worthy of scorn, just as he was incredibly generous when he felt something was worthy of praise. His writing is responsible for turning many of us who were fear fans in the 80’s on to flicks we’d never heard of, particularity a lot of Euro-Horror. “Nekromantic” anyone? My copy of Balun’s “Deep Red Horror Handbook” fittingly and proudly houses an autograph I was able to eke from the silver marker of Dario Argento, a filmmaker Balun championed, at the Toronto B-Festival premiere of “Two Evil Eyes”. Balun’s other essential writing includes “Horror Holocaust”, “Beyond Horror Holocaust”, and “Gore Score”, as well as his “Deep Red” magazine, and pieces for “Fangoria” and many others. Also a talented artist who did illustrations for many of his publications (check out some of his t-shirt work at www.RottenCotton.com), Balun’s writing helped change the way we look at horror films, and gave birth to a generation of writers.