On October 28th, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, fans will have the opportunity to witness one of the reasons that Hammer Films, along with actors Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, become international stars in the movie world. While their previous film Curse of Frankenstein broke the ice, Horror of Dracula showed it wasn’t a fluke.
But now, not only is it just being screened on the big screen, this is a version nobody has seen before, recently restored in 4K that also has footage that had been believed lost for more than half a century! You will get to see all of the Count, blood and all, in glorious color like you’ve never seen before! All on the big screen at the Music Box.
I’m not sure what worries me more, the fact that I’m going to run out of room for all these books I want to add to my library, or just how the hell am I going to pay for all of them! I know I’ve stated before that if they stopped making movies now, I still wouldn’t be able to see them all before I’m gone. It’s really same for these books. With each movie offering you something we haven’t seen or experienced before, these volumes below, as well as so many more, are just waiting for you to read and absorb the knowledge within, which then in turn is going to help you see those films in a different light. It really is a never-ending path, and one I intend to continue to travel down as long as I can!
We have new books, updated and revised volumes, covering classic British horror films, horror in the USA, Lewton horrors of the ’40s, and much more. Take a look below and start that Want List or add to the one you’ve already started!
Bride of a Vault of Horror – Back in 2004, author Keith Topping gave us A Vault of Horror: A Book of 80 Great British Horror Movies from 1956-1974, which we reviewed HERE, and had a lot of fun with it. Then in 2024, he published a sequel, Return to the Vault of Horror, giving us reviews of another 58 titles of British horror films, following the same format and fun. Then last year, he switched to Science Fiction to give us Island of Terror (A Guide to 60 Great British SF and Fantasy Movies From 1936 – 1984). One would think that Topper has really kept himself busy, but apparently not. Because now we get Bride of a Vault of Horror: A Book of 72 Great British Films of Mystery and Suspense from 1933-1986! Taking a little different direction on the sub-genre but still covering plenty of horror titles and more here. Within the 600+ pages, this volume covers titles such as The Ghoul, Hell is a City, The Flesh and the Fiends, Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, The Shuttered Room, and many more.
This is coming from Telos Publishing at the end of October, priced at £24.99 or $33.40. You can head over to their website by clicking HERE.
This year’s Music Box of Horrors, their annual 24-hour horror movie marathon, as we know sold-out in record time this year. Literally within minutes. Just crazy. But honestly, it shouldn’t be a surprise with what the Music Box has been programming, with plenty of stuff to keep us horror fiends excited all year long. They have announced a few more titles for this year’s marathon, which we have everything they have listed on their website below, or you can just click HERE to right to their page.
Amityville II: The Possession (1982) with Diane Franklin in person for a post-film Q&A
Attack the Block (2011)
Black Magic with Buddha (1983)
Danse Macabre (2011)
The German Chainsaw Massacre (1990)
The Haunted House (1921)
I Saw the Devil (2010)
The Leopard Man (1943) – Val Lewton!!!
Suspiria (1977) – Ultra-rare IB Tech 35mm print English-language, original UK release version
But it is the rest of October that is just jar-droppingly stunning with the number of amazing features, Q&As, and everything else they have listed. This isn’t the full list, but just a few titles that I think are pretty special or have a special guest attending! For the entire lineup, just click HERE.
We all knew it was coming, but I don’t think we had a clue to the massive extent this release would be giving us. And yes, it is going to cost you over $100. But for 7 discs (!!!) worth of material, including a 4K restored version that has footage believed to be missing since its original release??? Honestly, as exciting it is going to be to see the missing footage, the massive amount of extras on this set is just mind-boggling. I know it’s been posted several times on Facebook and other places, but I’m going to list them below because it takes a while to go through them! Not only do you get almost 15 hours of new and archival content, but there is also a 200-page book, a 60-page House of Hammer comic reprint, a double-sided poster, and 8 replica lobby cards.
It’s strange that with the beginning of Bram Stoker’s 1897 Dracula that the title character has lived on and on over the centuries, just like the character from the book. Granted, through cinematic adaptations, the character has changed a bit over the 129 years, not to mention just that of the vampire. But usually in any vampire movie, there is a character stepping up to do battle with this mighty creature. In Stoker’s novel, it was Professor Abraham Van Helsing, the old but learned scholar that knew what was behind this recent infection. While he was brought over to the original stage play adaption, and then into the 1931 film, Dracula. But while there were countless variations on Dracula, as well as the vampire, for some reason, the character of Van Helsing, who usually is there to save the day, doesn’t seem to get the credit he deserves.
Until now!
Van Helsing and His Kin is a new book from Daniel O’Brien coming from Telos Publishing that not only covers the different variations of this character through film and television, and who played him, but also digging deep into the character and characteristics of this age-old vampire hunter.
This book will be published in September of this year, running a little over 300 pages, and priced at £16.99 or $22.85. For more information, head over to Telos Publishing’s site HERE.
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.
While there are plenty of books out there on Hammer Studios, and trust me, I know since I probably have most of them, this multiple volume book series that Peveril Publishing has been putting out is a set that would probably answer many, if not all, of your Hammer question. The first 2 volumes of their series The House that Hammer Built have been released, volume 1 covers the years between 1934 to 1949, while volume 2 covers 1950 to 1954. And they have just released the cover for the 3rd volume, which will cover the years 1955 to 1959, which is when the studio really exploded all over the world with their remake of Dracula in 1957.
Way back in July of 2020, we posted about FAB Press announcement that they would be publishing Tony Dalton’s authorized biography of the incredibly underrated director Terence Fisher, best known for the work he did for Hammer Films. Well now it is at the printers and should be released next month. But you still have time to pre-order it and get a signed edition! The price is £29.99 (which right now is about $42), but we all know the beautiful work that FAB puts into their books, so it will be worth every penny. Not only that, but this hardcover edition is over 500 pages, almost that many illustrations, and is the first authorized biography of the man who helped start Hammer in their reign of terror that lasted over three decades.
Starting in the business as an editor in the mid-30s, he started directing in 1948 with A Song for Tomorrow. But in 1952, he started his association with Hammer Films, directing the crime drama Man Bait. He would dabble in science fiction with titles like Four Sided Triangle and Spaceways (both 1953), but it was in 1957 when he directed Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in The Curse of Frankenstein that made the world take notice.
I can’t wait to dig into this book and if you’re a serious fan of Hammer Films, this really is a must. To get your pre-order in, just click HERE to get to FAB Press’ website.
Orders are now being taken for the latest issue of the magazine that has been running to close to half a century! Issue # 46 will be covering Hammer’s Dracula (1958), or as known in the states here, The Horror of Dracula, with the making of article by Bruce G. Hallenbeck. There will also be a tribute to Barbara Shelley, the Making of the Men Who Made Hammer series for Shout Factory, and so much more.
If you’re not familiar with this amazing magazine, I couldn’t urge you enough to look into it. If you love Hammer and British horror in general, there is no better magazine than this one. Always filled with amazing articles, incredible artwork, and so much information. Once you start, you’ll be like me and be hooked!
For all the ordering information, just head over to their website HERE.
In the last few days, the Skyline Drive-In in Shelbyville, IN, announced several weekends of horror lineups coming up in October. I’m not sure how many of them I’ll make, but I know I’ll be there for the last one I have listed! For all the information head over to their Facebook page HERE.
Below is the events they have listed and what will be screening. Start making your plans!
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In the last few days, the Skyline Drive-In in Shelbyville, IN, announced several weekends of horror lineups coming up in October. I’m not sure how many of them I’ll make, but I know I’ll be there for the last one I have listed! For all the information head over to their Facebook page 
