Reflections on the twilight years of any great artist or company tend to be tinged with sadness and regret, lamenting on how the mighty had fallen, how their latter day work could only serve as a pale reminder of how great things had once been. Conventional wisdom would seem to dictate that this is how […]
Hammer is best-known for its Kensington Gore and its literary monsters, usually shot against a 60s-coloured 19th Century which is a distinctive aesthetic all of its own; the studio deviated from this formula quite considerably at times, though, in a range of films which seem to have divided critics ever since. Fear in the Night […]
It’s interesting how accounts of the later years of Hammer Films can vary according to the tastes of the writer. Some will sigh in resignation at how the once great company lost its way as the times changed; others, such as myself whose early horror education largely consisted of films from that era, look back […]
Strange, isolated houses, villages and islands; closed communities, whose initial friendliness seems to mask something deeply sinister; people who have rejected modernity, or have simply been passed over by it; ritual practices; the uncanny; dark magic; pagan symbols; the threat of the old ways spilling over into the new, with devastating consequences… Welcome to a […]
By Keri O’Shea What is it that defines the term ‘gentleman’? Without a doubt, it is a term which remains nebulous, and one which has changed throughout its history; you could also make the case that the term itself has lost much of its meaning in the modern day, but perhaps we can still say […]
By Ben Bussey If I were to ask who the most iconic screen Dracula was, I imagine the answers would be wide-ranging. Presumably most would be torn between Lugosi and Lee, with maybe a few shout-outs for Oldman, and one or two bending the matter slightly by arguing for Schreck. However, if I were to […]
By Oliver Longden 26th May 2013 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Peter Cushing. Perhaps best known to modern audiences as the skeletally thin Grand Moff Tarkin from the first Star Wars film, Cushing was a versatile and immensely dedicated actor. He achieved worldwide recognition for his many roles in Hammer horror […]
Review by Keri O’Shea Good ghost stories are hard to find on film these days – and directors, I would argue, know as much. Of course, there are myriad reasons for the glut of endurance horrors we have had in recent years, but at least part of that must stem from the fact that it […]
Wake Wood (2011) Distributor: Dark Sky Films DVD Release Date: July 5, 201 Directed by: David Keating Starring: Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle, Timothy Spall, Ella Connolly Review by: Keri O’Shea Ah, Hammer. I must admit that seeing that Hammer logo appear on the big screen – replete with a brief montage of classic Hammer poster art […]