Tag Archives: Hammer Films

Movie Review: The House of Hammer: Volume 1

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For decades, Hammer fans would get excited when the famous studio would get a new owner and we’d hear promises of a return of the name of Hammer. And then we’d wait. And wait. And nothing. Then another new owner, and the same would follow. But ever since John Gore bought Hammer Films, those promises has not only happened but have gone way beyond any fans’ dream. It started with the glorious 4K restorations of not only some of their most famous classic titles, but even some more obscure and non-horror titles that started Hammer on their path years before the gothic revival they started in 1957. And they continued on.

Then they started to announce titles that were not from the Hammer catalog but other British titles, acquiring licenses from studios like Tyburn, AIP, United Artists, and others. They are giving these films the same treatment and restorations as their own titles, giving movie fans a chance to see them like never before. Not to mention the extras included in the releases.

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The Hammer Story: Revised and Expanded Edition

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Time to update the library! A new version of The Hammer Story is set to be published on September 15th, adding over 30 pagers of new material. It was originally published in 1997 and then revised in 2007. And now, almost two decades later, we’re getting a new edition with more content, updating the volume to add all that has been going on with Hammer Films, now that it really has risen from the grave and continues to bring the history of the famous “studio that dripped blood” back to life, to a whole new generation of film fans. While making us older fans giddy with excitement with all the new re-mastered and polished releases that have been coming out.

This version has gone from the past editions with 192 pages to 224 pages, delving into Hammer’s restoration programs, which includes the remastering of the studios classics films, as well as some other British titles, in the gorgeous looking 4K prints.

Released by Titan Books and priced at only $39.95 for this new hardcover edition, I would say without seeing it, that it is probably going to worth getting it, even if own the previous edition, even if this amazing new cover with both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing on it. Written by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes, these guys definitely know their Hammer history. And if by chance you never owned one of the previous editions, then now is the perfect chance to correct that error!

If you’re not sure if you own a previous edition, below are the last two covers.

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Horror of Dracula in 4K and UNCUT!

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We kind of figured that a 4K release of Hammer’s Horror of Dracula (1958) would be coming out at some point, after the huge release of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), not to mention several other titles. But what most fans didn’t expect was that it would contain footage never seen before, thought to lost for over six decades! I know when the Blu-ray came out a few years ago, which had a few seconds of long thought lost footage, of the Count’s demise, everyone was pretty excited about that. Those were some extra seconds, but now they are talking about 3 minutes of footage that is being restored into the film.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors – End of an Era

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The first issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors I purchased was # 8, which had originally come out in May of 1984. It was probably closer to the mid ’80’s to late ’90s when I picked it up. The main reason was because I was starting to go nuts over Hammer Films and The Vampire Lovers was one of my favorites, and issue # 8 was all about the Karnstein trilogy, so of course I had to get it. And from that issue on, I started to get the latest copy of Little Shoppe of Horrors every time one came out. It really was a Hammer Films fan’s dream come true, because it was so damn informative about not only the films, but those that were involved in making them.

And now, after over 5 decades and 53 issues, it is finally coming to an end. Issue # 53 will be released next month and has a cover story of the making of The Abominable Snowman (1957) by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, as well as an interview with Clive Dawson on the un-filmed Snowman, and an interview with star Forrest Tucker by David Aquino & George Stover. There is also a feature on the making of The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) by John Hamilton, an article by Stephen R. Bissette on John Gillin’s The Gamma People (1956), as well as other amazing pieces such as interviews with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Anthony Hinds.

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Hammer Unleashes X

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Two years before The Blob emerged from a meteor that landed in Pennsylvania and started devouring very old teenagers, over in Scottland, a very similar creature started attacking the locals. Except this one didn’t come from outer space, from within the bowels of the earth. In X – The Unknown (1956), during some mine detection training with the army, the radioactive material used drew the attention of some creature that breaks loose onto the surface, leaving a couple of soldiers with severe radiation burns. Except with no witnesses, and the creature going back down underground, nobody can figure out what could have caused the burns on the men. That’s when you call in the scientist, Dr. Royston, played by American star Dean Jagger, which was a common thing to do for British pictures to help with foreign distribution. You also have Michael Ripper as one of the sergeants in the military.

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House that Hammer Built

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Back in the late 90s, there was a magazine put out by Wayne Kinsey called The House That Hammer Built, with each issue devoted to all things Hammer Films. Because these were put out in England, they were not the cheapest or easiest to find. But now that Kinsey is one of the guys behind Peveril Publishing, starting in 2022, he has been taking all the info from those magazines, plus plenty more gathered in the years since then, and is putting them out in a series of books, appropriately titled The House That Hammer Built. Peveril has already published the first 3 volumes, covering the studio’s work from 1934 to 1958, but have now released the cover of Volume 4, which will cover from 1959 to 1962, and will be released hopefully this year.

I know I’ve posted before about these, and yes, they are not cheap, especially if you’re in the US, shipping from the UK is not cheap. But each volume is incredible, filled with some amazing photos, both black and white and in blazing color, and filled with so much information about the famous Studio that Dripped Blood, that if you are a serious fan of movie reference books, this on-going set are a must. Even if you don’t get the Scrapbooks they put out, I would consider this series as essential. Thankfully, all volumes are still currently available, but I wouldn’t hold out if you have any inclination of getting them. Each one has a run of only 750 copies, so that is not a lot. You can get all the information by heading over to Peveril’s site HERE.

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Severin Celebrates Sangster!

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Jimmy Sangster is one name that is partially responsible for what Hammer Films is known for. While he may not think that what he did was all that special, he was an essential part of the mechanism that help give birth to a new generation of gothic horror films, resurrecting famous monsters that were not only long-thought passé, but giving them to fans like we’d never seen before.

Sangster had started in the industry, like most, at the bottom, as a third assistant director on the film Third Time Lucky (1949) for producer Mario Zampi. That same year, when Zampi was asked to produce the film Dick Barton Strikes Back for Hammer, he brought a lot of his crew to work on the film, including Sangster, who would now make his Hammer debut as Second Assistant director! At the age of 21, he became Britain’s youngest Assistant Director!

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Hammer is Killing My Wallet!

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After years of complaining about Hammer Films getting a new owner and a promised reboot that never happens, I would almost say that I’m regretting that it is actually happening now. But I won’t. Because even though it’s costing me more and more money, I’m loving every minute of it! We all know the incredible special edition box sets they have put out on the first two Quatermass films, as well as The Curse of Frankenstein, as well as some other more rare non-horror titles, but now even releasing some non-Hammer but still British horror titles, such as Doctor Blood’s Coffin and Cry of the Banshee. Then there is their new documentary Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters documentary that his coming out. What more could we ask for? How about The House of Hammer: Volume 1?

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2025 Year End Review – Part 1

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This has been one hell of a year. On my write up for 2024, I made a point to remind us of all that with all the crap going on in the world, we need to look for the positives out there, because they are there and we need not lose sight of that. But I have to say, it wasn’t the easiest to do that in 2025. When I first started to review the past year from the posts here in the Krypt, I couldn’t find much that I thought were highlights. At least not more than a couple of things. But then I went back a couple of weeks later, with a more thorough set of eyes, and low and behold, there were plenty. Once again, it just shows that sometimes the positives are hard to see and remember. They might even seem pretty trivial, but they are there. So, amidst all the chaos and tragedy that is going on, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to make us sit back and think “yeah…that was pretty cool.” They might not be huge events or something, but that made you glad you were there and part of it. And we need to be focused on and remembering those moments, now more than ever, to help us get through this dark time we’re going through.

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Hammer in Production Hell

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I know most of us out there love Hammer films, from their Frankenstein films, all the Dracula and vampire titles, to the black and white thrillers, and plenty of their sci-fi/horror titles as well. The more you read up on the history of the studio, you realize some titles took years to finally make it to the big screen, sometimes in a very form or version it was originally written as.

But what about the titles and ideas that never it through the process, that lingered for too long to the point there weren’t of interests anymore, or they just couldn’t agree on a final script, or maybe casting, or countless other reasons. Titles like When the Earth Cracked Open, Nessie, or even Zepplin vs Pterodactyls?

But fear no more because author Glen Davies has now given us this new book dedicated to all of those titles in this book Hammer in Production Hell: In Search of Unfilmed Hammer. It’s 222 pages all dedicated to films that were in varies stages of planning but never made it to the big screen. It’s always interesting to read about what almost happened, especially for fans of this studio.

Available in both hardcover ($48) and paperback ($25) version through Amazon. I know you can never have too many horror reference books, and that includes ones on Hammer Films! Trust me, I know all too well!