But what kind of monster is returning?
I learned a few years ago this decade that Hammer Films arose from a long slumber to roam the cineplex anew! Their website is up and running, and two new productions are currently underway.
If I was participating in a market research survey on Hammer Film Productions, I could give you several key signifiers of its brand name: lush, gothic horror; atmosphere; high melodrama; cheap thrills; class; Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee; and above all, gorgeous and glamorous European actresses (most recently celebrated in a coffee table book titled "Hammer Glamour" by Marcus Hearn, cover depicted above, featuringMadeline Smith).
Would this formula fly today, or are the classic Hammer Films ‘of their time’? Do I have a vintage fetish? Is there a modern day Caroline Monro, Martine Beswick, Veronica Carlson, Stephanie Beacham or Ingrid Pitt? Maybe you can find vestiges of their scorching sophisticated sultriness in the vapid eyes of Megan Fox, but I sure can’t.
I talk a lot about how Hammer's Dracula series used to scare me as a kid, but I didn’t have adult filters, and all it took to make a vampire frightening was the thought that it could get into your house and harm you as you were sleeping in your own bed. I can’t imagine a filmgoing public that proclaims “Rosemary’s Baby” ‘boring,’ ‘sucks,’ ‘lame,’ ‘not horror,’ and sings the highest praises of the Saw series would get on board for a Hammer-style classic. Don’t believe me? Check the imdb message boards on any of those films.
There are currently two productions underway. One looks very promising. “The Resident,” starring Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Christopher Lee himself, looks like it will be a interesting thriller, though a far cry from the Hammer brand. I’m sad to say, though, that their next production will be "Let Me In," a remake of the excellent Swedish vampire film, “Let the Right One In.” I’ve yet to see a horror remake that I like, and "Let The Right One In" stands on its own and does not need a remake. I'm disapppointed they aren't going for something original.
I’m hoping that Hammer films will retain some of old-school charm and style, and offer us something different. Tim Burton gave us his love letter to the production house in “Sleepy Hollow.” Believe it or not, so did Cassandra Peterson in “Elvira’s Haunted Hills.” Christopher Lee is still enjoying his recent Star Wars/LOTR renaissance. There’s countless of public domain horror classics to draw upon. How about a topical, politically relevant “Carmilla”? Or revisiting Dennis Wheatley or H.P. Lovecraft? Perhaps even a grand, fun magnum opus adapting Kim Newmann’s alternate history epic “Anno Dracula”?
Here's to a New Groovy Age of Horror!
UPDATE:
HELL. TO THE. YEAH!
AUTHOR TAGS:
hammer films. hammer film productions, hammer, caroline munro,chillerpop, christopher lee, peter cushing, ingrid pitt, veronica carlson, martine beswick, stephanie beacham, horror, horror movies, movies, cinema, horror cinema, salon, fear, terror,vampires, dracula, dennis wheatley, hp lovecraft, anno dracula, kim newmann, carmilla, fashion, let the right one in, let me in, hilary swank, jeffrey dean morgan, the resident, hammer glamour,marcus hearnYOUR TAGS:
AddTIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Comments
Intriguing essay, my dear M. ChillerPop! All I really know of Hammer Horror is from a screening of The Nanny, in Los Angeles, which had me shivering with suspicious pleasure. Also, doesn't James Whale (The Bride of Frankenstein), have some connection to the outfit? As a major fan of psychosupernatural thrillers like Rosemary's Baby and Don't Look Now, I am curious to encounter more of your fascinating excogitations on the subject.
Interesting - I've never seen The Nanny - but then, Bette Davis has her own unique horror history, doesn't she? I'm not quite sure what James Whale's relationship with Hammer was.
If you ask me, the Hammer Films that are most memorable would be Dracula (1959), the start of the great Christopher Lee's serial turn, Dracula AD 1972, a groovy swingin' London update to the series, and The Devil Rides Out for its effects and its occult themes based on the work of Dennis Wheatly. But, there is much more to contemplate and review. Stay tuned!