I know I may sound like a broken record here, but you never know when something you write hits the right person at the right time. Plus, when it is something you really believe in, you want to keep saying it! Hammer recently announced they will be releasing a 4K release of their 1953 film Four-Sided Triangle, which is a science fiction tale, but has strong shades of the Frankenstein message, of just because we can do this . . . should we? Directed by Terence Fisher, the film is about two scientists develop a machine that can duplicate anything. Including a person. This was released on DVD age ago by Anchor Bay but now will be coming to us with a nice new 4K release.

The reason for bringing this up is that most horror fans that know Hammer are familiar with the Frankenstein films starring Peter Cushing, or the Dracula films starring Christopher Lee. But for a studio that technically had been around since the ’30s, only really making a splash in the horror & sci-fi genre in the ’50s, they crafted a ton of really great films during their reign of terror. So, my point is simply this: how well versed are you in all of their films? Don’t take this as an insult that you haven’t seen them, but as a challenge. As horror fans, there are always more to explore, some that will blow you away, more so than newer film that just hit the theaters. And yes, it can even happen to us old timer fans.

Last month, I picked up the Daiei Gothic box set from Radiance Films, which features The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) aka Yotsuya kaidan, The Bride from Hades (1968), and The Snow Woman (1968). I had seen both Ghost and The Snow Woman before, but both from gray market DVDs, so seeing them from these prints was just amazing, especially The Snow Woman which is in 4K. But it was the first time for me seeing Bride, which I absolutely just loved. I was used to a lot of the Japanese ghost story films being every similar in story, where some asshole of a guy treats his wife/mistress poorly and she comes back from the grave, for revenge. But Bride gave me something very different and was amazed at how it looked, the makeup effects and camera tricks. Truely incredible. But what it also showed me was there was still a lot more entries in Japanese ghost story films that I still need to check out!

So yes, always keep digging. As horror fans, we will NEVER stop finding some incredible cinema that has alluded us for some reason. And even more importantly, when you do discover something special like this, pay it forward! Tell your friends about it. Post a review. That way others can maybe have that same enlightened discovery as you did.