All purpose Hammer/Amicus thread

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 8:24 pm

Having recently watched the following films in the last few weeks, I'm wondering if I'm missing any really outstanding ones. My free time is getting less and less, and I want to nail the basics, so please tell me if I'm missing anything thats really brilliant. So far I've seen the following....

Dracula (AKA Horror Of Dracula)
The Brides of Dracula
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Scars of Dracula
Countess Dracula
Dracula A.D. 1972
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
The Devil Rides Out
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter
The Kiss of the Vampire
The Vampire Lovers
Lust for a Vampire
Twins of Evil
To the Devil a Daughter
Vampire Circus
Witches

.... so mostly the vampire ones. I've never seen any of the Frankenstein ones, and only the one Mummy one..which has no mummy at all in the actual film. How are those then? Someone give me some advice on what Hammer movies I need to see now...

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:27 pm

The Devil Rides Out and the Quatermass films are great stuff.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:11 pm

The rest of the Mummy films, but especially the first one.

Curse of Frankenstein, though the Frankenstein cycle degenerates much more quickly.

Plague of the Zombies
The Reptile
Hands of the Ripper
Rasputin the Mad Monk
Doctor Jekyll & Ms. Hyde
The Damned
The Quatermass films, especially ...and the Pit, and X the Unknown.
The Devil-Ship Pirates - zero horror content, but 283% awesome.

For stuff of a similar feel, the first three Towers Fu Manchu films are worth seeing too, plus Horror Express.

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:49 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:For stuff of a similar feel, the first three Towers Fu Manchu films are worth seeing too, plus Horror Express.

Are those the Fu Manchu films with Christopher Lee as the title role?

inflatable dalek wrote:The Devil Rides Out and the Quatermass films are great stuff.

The Devil Rides Out is without a doubt my favorite Hammer movie of all time at this point. That movie is really great, I've watched it twice in the past week

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:49 am

Ackula wrote: The Devil Rides Out is without a doubt my favorite Hammer movie of all time at this point. That movie is really great, I've watched it twice in the past week

And I maanged to completely miss seeing it on your list. The devil's work!

rattrap23 · Post by **rattrap23** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:17 pm

You could also try Troma films, with such classic titles as

The Toxic Avenger
The Class of Nuke’em High
Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD
Cannibal! The Musical
Def by Temptation – staring Samuel L Jackson

Most are pretty thong and cheek, but their still fun to watch.

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:52 am

I have unfortunately seen all those Troma films. I'm not a fan of Troma, and would rather burn my eyes out than watch a Troma movie these days to be honest. Nothing is worse than a movie trying to be shitty. A movie that is shitty, but tried to be great, that is different all together.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:45 pm

Yup, basically my view on those shlock-merchant try-hards. I don't really have a lot of time for ironic horror/fantasy full-stop... Hammer's own attempt to turn Frankenstein into a caper franchise being a prime offender.

I'm actually struggling to see anything but the broadest connection ('Made horror films') between Hammer and Troma at all...

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:32 pm

Hammer film:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113999/

rattrap23 wrote:Most are pretty thong and cheek, but their still fun to watch.

Is English your first language? Second? Eighth? Serious question here.

rattrap23 · Post by **rattrap23** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:50 pm

Sue me

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:07 pm

Sue me's not an ordinal number.

Twenty seventh?

Post by **Sades** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:43 pm

"Tongue in Cheek" ?

Sixswitch · Post by **Sixswitch** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:10 pm

Hey. The guy likes eating pants OK? Leave him alone!

-Ss

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:49 am

Cliffjumper wrote:I'm actually struggling to see anything but the broadest connection ('Made horror films') between Hammer and Troma at all...

I'm actually struggling to come up with one Troma movie that was just a straight horror film. I really don't think they have ever produced a serious horror movie, although I could be forgetting something. There really is very little to even compare between Troma and Hammer, unless one was making a study on how company A made films better than company B.

DrSpengler · Post by **DrSpengler** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:03 am

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:33 am

I just watched Curse of Frankenstein about 10 minutes ago actually, it was indeed well worth the time it took to obtain it. Very good take on the Frankenstein story, Cushing's portrayal of a darkly obsessed homicidal maniac was very well played. I actually thought Lee's version of the monster was really cool though, more macabre and gruesome than most I've seen.

I got all the Frankenstein and Mummy movies now, so I'll be watching those for a while, but I'll seek out the Amicus stuff in the meantime. Thanks for the suggestions, I remember the Amicus vs Hammer thread now that you mention it, sure sounds like some good films to check out.

Somehow I missed out on most of the British horror films growing up, having only seen the first few Hammer Dracula films, and the Karnstein trilogy, and Dr. Phibes, to name a few. Just now trying to play catch up as I find myself with no cable TV

DrSpengler · Post by **DrSpengler** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:04 am

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:57 am

DrSpengler wrote:Also, a great performance by Michael Gough as a phenominal prick.

He does that rather well, to be honest - he's at his best playing snide, arrogant bureaucratic/powerful types sneering down at people. It's just a shame much of the world knows him as a piece of Tim Burton's set design... I mean, Alfred probably made him more money than the rest of his career put together, but it's a waste of a good actor, especially when you're using him as comic support to Michael Cocking Keaton...

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:06 am

Mind, I think he's better off being remembered for Batman that either of his Doctor Who performances.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:12 am

He's the best thing in Celestial Toymaker (well, apart from the underrated Peter Purves). Okay, so the rest of it is absolute crap, but he's still alright.