Hammer Unleashes Dracula Uncut

September 2, 2026 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Christopher Lee, David Huckvale, Dick Klemensen, Doug Bradley, Dracula, Hammer Films, Horror of Dracula, James Bernard, Janina Faye, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Michael Gough, Peter Cushing, Stephen Laws, Terence Fisher, Tony Dalton, Wayne Kinsey | Leave a comment

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.

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Van Helsing and His Kin

July 21, 2026 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Daniel O'Brien, Dracula, Horror of Dracula, Hugh Jackman, Peter Cushing, Telos Publishing, Van Helsing and His Kin | Leave a comment

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.

Horror of Dracula in 4K and UNCUT!

May 29, 2026 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Bram Stoker, Christopher Lee, Dracula, Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Horror of Dracula, Jimmy Sangster, Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher, The Curse of Frankenstein | Leave a comment

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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Know Your Hammer?

August 13, 2024 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Horror of Dracula, Peveril Publishing, Studio That Dripped Blood, The House that Hammer Built, Wayne Kinsey | Leave a comment

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.

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FAB Press Releases Fisher Biography

May 6, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Curse of Frankenstein, FAB Press, Hammer Films, Horror of Dracula, Terence Fisher, Terence Fisher Master of Gothic Cinema, Tony Dalton | 2 Comments

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.

Little Shoppe of Horrors Takes on Dracula

May 5, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Barbara Shelley, Christopher Lee, Dick Klemensen, Hammer, Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Horror of Dracula, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Peter Cushing | 2 Comments

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.

Horrors at the Skyline Drive-in!

September 23, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged A Bay of Blood, Curse of Frankenstein, Friday the 13th Part 2, Hammer Fest, Horror of Dracula, Hound of the Baskervilles, Last House on the Left, Poltergeist, Quatermass and the Pit, Scream, Scream of Fear, Sleepaway Camp, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Devil Rides Out, The Exorcist, The Prowler, The Skyline Drive-In, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Vampire Lovers | 1 Comment

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!

Scariest Movies of All Time Part 1
Oct. 2nd & 3rd
Poltergeist (1982)
The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Exorcist (1973) Continue reading →

Halloween Favorites

July 15, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Beetlejuice, Black Sunday, Cat People, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Curse of Frankenstein, David J. Skal, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, Fright Favorites, Get Out, Halloween, Hocus Pocus, Horror of Dracula, House on Haunted Hill, Invasion of the Body Snatcher, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Night of the Living Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera, Pit and the Pendulum, Rosemary's Baby, Scream, The Birds, The Exorcist, The Haunting, The Mummy, The Shining, Them!, Turner Classic Movies, Wolf Man, Young Frankenstein | 2 Comments

Horror scholar David J. Skal has a new book coming out this fall, just in time for Halloween, entitled Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond. Presented by Turner Classic Movies, Skal takes on 31 films ranging from the silent era, hitting a few titles from each decade through the ’80s, and a few beyond that. Most of these everyone will agree are classics, with a few comedies listed in the later day titles. The description in Amazon says they are “family-friendly” but not sure The Exorcist (1973) and The Thing (1982) are ones I would be screening for 8-year old Timmy! Continue reading →

Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema

July 8, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Curse of Frankenstein, FAB Press, Hammer Films, Hammer Horror, Hammer Studios, Horror of Dracula, Terence Fisher, Tony Dalton | Leave a comment

Terence Fisher Master of Gothic Cinema While there are a few books previously on Terence Fisher, from authors like Peter Hutchings, Paul Leggett, and Wheeler Winston Dixon, I think it is still not enough coverage on this director, who’s name should be right up there with the likes of Romero, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Bava, Argento, and the rest of the horror elite. Now hopefully with this new book by Tony Dalton, Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema, that will make the change.

Dalton has had full cooperation from Fisher’s family, making this a fully authorized biography of Mr. Fisher. Long before he started cranking out tales of Frankenstein and Dracula (and so much more) for Hammer Films, he had been working in film for quite some time, starting as a clapper boy and eventually moving into the editing department. Maybe now we can learn even more about this talented man and how he help change the face of horror.

FAB Press is taking pre-orders for a special signed hardcover edition of this book, for only £29.99 (approx. $37.50). The regular price is £39.99. Plus, by pre-ordering it is the only way to get the signed hardcover edition. A paperback edition will be released at a later day. This 480 page book, filled with 250 illustrations, won’t be published until next year, but I’m sure this limited edition hardcover edition won’t last long.

For more information, just click HERE.

Hammer Horror Music!

September 14, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings, Reviews: Soundtrack and tagged City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Curse of Frankenstein, David Huckvale, Hammer Films, Hammer Horror, Horror of Dracula, James Bernard, Nick Raine, Screen Archives | Leave a comment

Last October we reported that the complete scores that James Bernard created for Hammer’s The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula would be coming out on CD, in their complete form, for the first time ever. And now, they are here! Continue reading →