The Vampire Lovers ... Did You Know?

The Vampire Lovers (1970)(Hammer)

In Styria, Austria, General von Spielsdorf gives a party and a countess explains to him that she needs to travel immediately to visit a relative that is ill. She leaves her daughter Marcilla under the care of the General. Marcilla befriends his daughter Laura and then the teenager has nightmares, where she is attacked by a dreadful creature. The doctor finds that Laura is anemic and soon she dies. Marcilla leaves the house and the countess fakes a carriage accident to leave Marcilla, now known as Carmilla, with the wealthy Mr. Roger Morton. Camilla befriends Emma Morton and soon she starts having nightmares. Her governess Madame Perrodot is seduced by Carmilla and helps her to be close to Emma. Mr. Morton travels and the butler Renton and the doctor suspect that Madame Perrodot might be a vampire but they do not suspect of Carmilla. Will Emma be saved from Carmilla?

James Carreras rejected a suggestion that Bond girl Shirley Eaton play the lead on the grounds that she was too old. Ingrid Pitt, actually older than Eaton, was eventually cast.

This film was given an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America due to the vampire bites inflicted on the women's bosoms.

The role of the Man in Black was offered to Christopher Lee but he declined the role and John Forbes-Robertson was cast instead. Forbes-Robertson would also later replace Lee in Hammer's The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974).

While filming, Ingrid Pitt and the girls have a great deal of trouble getting through scenes without giggling. In the scene where Ingrid has to drink from Kate O'Mara, her vampire teeth kept falling out and into Kate's cleavage. She eventually had to steal some gum from one of the stagehands to stick the fangs back in.

From IMDB

Iconic UK Horror Landmark Marked for Destruction

From FEARnet

In a shocking turn of events reported by the UK Daily Mail, the owner of Bray Studios – the landmark site of countless horror films, including many from Hammer's classic era of the '50s and '60s, like Horror of Dracula and Curse of Frankenstein – has announced that the Berkshire, UK site will no longer be available to the film industry, and will instead be torn down to make way for luxury housing. As you can imagine, the announcement set off a firestorm of protests, with filmmakers like Terry Gilliam (who filmed some of The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus at Bray) and Rocky Horror's Richard O’Brien joining the ranks of the outraged. The protesters argue that the Bray's financial decline is due to mishandling of the site by its owner, Neville Hendricks. “There is still a place for the smaller studios like Bray,” says Gilliam.

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Classic Horror Every Wednesday In October On TCM

Source: Turner Classic Movies

Once again, in the month culminating with Halloween, TCM offers up a spooktacular scarefest of fright films, showcasing some of the genre's great actors, themes and studios-including Universal, the film company most closely associated with classic horror.

Each Wednesday features a different theme. We begin with a salute to Lionel Atwill, the English actor who was a stalwart of horror movies of the 1930s and '40s, including Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and Doctor X (1932), co-starring Fay Wray, one of the great "scream queens" of Hollywood horror.

Hauntings would be incomplete without The Innocents (1961), with Deborah Kerr in a brilliant turn as a turn-of-the-century governess who is either haunted or deluded--you be the judge! Hammer Horror celebrates the deliciously macabre offerings of the 1950s and '60s from Hammer Films including Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Horror of Dracula (1958) and The Devil's Bride (1968, aka The Devil Rides Out).

Scare specialist Edgar Allen Poe gets his own day of darkness with such signature titles as The Raven (1963), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), and the TCM premiere of the 1949 film The Fall of the House of Usher.

Our fright festival ends with such incomparable classics of Universal Horror as Frankenstein (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941), along with the TCM premiere of The Mummy's Hand (1940), which mixes comedy with its chills.

Here is the line up:

STARRING LIONEL ATWILL

THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM
DOCTOR X
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE
HOUSE OF DRACULA

HAUNTINGS

THE HAUNTING (1963)
THE UNINVITED
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL
DEAD OF NIGHT
THE INNOCENTS
13 GHOSTS (1960)

HAMMER HORROR

HORROR OF DRACULA
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE MUMMY (1959)
THE GORGON
THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES

EDGAR ALLAN POE

THE RAVEN (1963)
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932)
THE BLACK CAT (1934)
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1949)
THE TELL-TALE HEART (1941)
SPIRITS OF THE DEAD

UNIVERSAL HORROR

FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE WOLF MAN
THE MUMMY (1932)
THE MUMMY'S HAND
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS

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Holiday DVD And Blu-ray Gift Ideas For The Monster Movie Fan In Your Home

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Amazon.com

Yes we are well into the holiday gift buying season and as it happens every year we are all running around like fury little idiots trying to find the right gifts for the right people. It can be quite a daunting task, so much so that you may be tempted just to buy everyone a bag of cookies and be done with it. Then again ... who do I give the chocolate chip ones to and who gets the peanut butter? Argh it can be maddening!

Well if you have a monster movie buff or just a movie buff in general on your holiday shopping list, and if your reading MIN that's a safe bet, hopefully I can be of some assistance.

I have taken the time to compile a selection of DVD and Blu-ray titles that will make any monster movie nut pop a yule log come Christmas morning.

TCM Greatest Classic Film Collection: Hammer Horror (Horror of Dracula / Dracula Has Risen from the Grave / The Curse of Frankenstein / Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed)

Hey with this one you get four, count em, four great Hammer horror films in one package. What a value!

Order on DVD From Amazon.com for $9.99

Godzilla Vs Megalon (DVD and Blu-ray)

For about a decade Godzilla fans have been going ape-shit crazy waiting for this title to come to DVD!

Here's the plot:

The undersea kingdom of Seatroplis is threatened when Japan begins atomic testing near Tokyo. The angry Seatopians send their secret weapon, Megalon, to destroy Tokyo and eliminate the human race. But earth gets once last chance when the sleeping Godzilla is rudely awakened! It becomes a titanic tag team of apocalyptic dimensions as Godzilla and robot superhero Jet Jaguar fight Megalon and Gigan in an all-out rubber-suit rumble to determine Earth s fate.

Order this film on Blu-ray from Amazon,com $24.99

Order this film on DVD from Amazon.com $14.99

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Two-Disc Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Speaking of going ape-shit crazy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was this past summers best movie!

Here's the plot:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a revolution; an action-packed epic featuring stunning visual effects and creatures unlike anything ever seen before. At the story's heart is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug. Raised like a child by the drug's creator (James Franco), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned. Seeking justice, Caesar assembles a simian army and escapes -- putting man and primate on a collision course that could change the planet forever.

Order this DVD/Blu-ray combo from Amazon.com $24.99

Green Slime (Remastered Edition)

Another film that sci fi and monster movie fans have been waiting for. This one is so bad that it's good!

The plot:

After a perilous mission to a huge asteroid, a crew returns to its space station, unaware a bit of ooze from the asteroid clings to a crewman's uniform. The green goop grows - into murderous, tentacled monsters. And as station members fight to live, gunk from the monsters' wounds turns into more monsters! That's the story. Now enjoy as our heroes fight to preserve Earth and, unintentionally, our own senses of humor with a movie that Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called "one of the funniest made-in-Japan sci-fi monster movies ever." Kinji Fukasaku, whose later work was championed by Quentin Tarantino, directs. The world would be a far more bleak and joyless place without marvels like The Green Slime.

Order this film on DVD from Amazon.com $15.99

Godzilla (The Criterion Collection)

It's about time this amazing film got the Criterion treatment! This is a must-have item for any movie fan!

The skinny:

Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than twenty sequels and spinoffs. This first thrilling, tactile spectacle continues to be a cult phenomenon; here, we present the original, 1954 Japanese version, along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, the 1956 American reworking starring Raymond Burr (Rear Window).

Order this film on Blu-ray from Amazon.com $27.99

Order this film on DVD from Amazon.com $19.99

Paul (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have done it again! This was another great film that may have slipped under some people's radar. Trust me, you will pee yourself from laughing!

The propaganda:

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite as sci-fi geeks taking a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. There they meet a smart-ass alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), who takes them on an insane road trip. As they struggle to return Paul home, the little green man might just take the outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Order this DVD/Blu-ray combo From Amazon.com $12.99

Order this film on DVD from Amazon.com $10.49

Kingdom Of The Spiders [Special Edition]

William Shatner covered in tarantulas, do I have to say more?

The crawling facts:

William Shatner stars as veterinarian Rack Hansen in this cult classic about an Arizona town infested with a horde of arachnids that turn on the humans whose insecticides have depleted their natural food supply.

After livestock belonging to rancher Walter Colby fall victim to a spider attack, entomologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) arrives and tries to help Rack deal with the crisis: but with the big county fair fast approaching, Mayor Connors refuses to let them quarantine the ranch. Soon the remaining residents of the town must barricade themselves at Emma Washburns lodge in an effort to save themselves from the eight-legged invaders in the ultimate man vs. spider showdown.

Order this movie on DVD from Amazon.com $15.99

Horror Channel To Bring Hammer Classics To The UK In Time For Halloween

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Brutal As Hell / Ben Bussey

The Horror Channel in the UK has just acquired five classic horror films from the famed Hammer Film Productions. These new additions to the channel's library of scary features will not be sitting on the shelf, no indeed the network has queued them up in a series of Saturday features leading up to Halloween.

Is there a better way to spend your Saturday night than watching Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and a parade of sexy British damsels?

I thought not.

Here is a list of the movies with air dates courtesy of our friends at Brutal As Hell:

Scars of Dracula (1970), 1st October, 11.10pm – One of Christopher Lee’s last Dracula films, in which his reluctance to reprise the role is painfully apparent. It’s an incoherent mess, and a poor representation of the usually reliable Lee and his late director Roy Ward Baker. But it does star a young Dennis Waterman, which immediately gives it novelty value for British viewers at least.

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), 8th October, 11.10pm – From one of Hammer’s weakest to one of their absolute best, famously one of Martin Scorcese’s favourite films. Cushing returns as the immoral genius Frankenstein, who revives a vengeful spirit in a female body. In spite of its hammy title it’s actually very smart and sophisticated, and in some respects feels like an early example of a rape revenge film.

Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), 15th October, 11.10pm – Been a while since I’ve seen this one, and must admit it’s not too clear in my memory, but I do vividly recall Valerie Leon’s performance. Can’t think why…

The Plague of the Zombies (1966), 22nd October, 11.10pm - not unlike Frankenstein Created Woman, this is another of Hammer’s most socially conscious horrors, with a heavy class war subtext. It stands apart as something unique within the studio’s filmography, and a reminder of how zombies used to be before that Romero fellow showed up. You can read my full review here.

The Reptile (1966), 29th October, 11.10pm – another one I don’t remember that well, aside from the iconic image of the titular monster. I see from the press release that it was shot back to back with The Plague of the Zombies.

It should also be noted that Horror will also be airing episodes of the TV series "Hammer's House of Horror" before each movie.

Sounds like a bloody good time eh!

Hammer Horror Countess Dracula, Van Helsing And Count Dracula Masterpiece Collection Busts

Source: Entertainment Earth

Hammer Horror Countess Dracula Masterpiece Collection Bust:

The voluptuous Countess Elizabeth Bathory!
Based on Ingrid Pitt's signature role in Countess Dracula.
Classic "Hammer Horror" films monsters brought to life!
Stunningly beautiful!

This beautifully detailed, 8-inch tall maxi bust lovingly recreates every curve of Polish movie siren Ingrid Pitt's signature role as the immortally voluptuous Countess Elizabeth Bathory from Hammer Films' 1971 epic Countess Dracula. Restored to eternal beauty by the blood of her slaughtered virgin handmaidens, every element of the Countess's chest-heaving evil splendor is captured in this astonishing 3/4-length sculpt!

Before he was Grand Moff Tarkin, this actor made his name in a much creepier place! Celebrating Peter Cushing's time in the "Hammer Horror" movies from the UK, Titan Merchandise has started work on this awesome Hammer Horror Van Helsing Masterpiece Collection Bust, coming to you later this year. The detail is amazing, the paint job is superb, and oh yes-- he fights the dead. Does it get any better than this? Probably not.

Hammer Horror Van Helsing Masterpiece Collection Bust:

Count Dracula's mortal enemy!
One of the original vampire hunters: Professor Abraham Van Helsing!
Extremely detailed bust features Hammer Films legend Peter Cushing.
Astonishing 3/4-length sculpt!

This amazingly detailed, 8-inch tall maxi bust painstakingly recreates Hammer Films legend Peter Cushing's driven, star-making performance as Count Dracula's fearless pursuer and mortal enemy, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Every element of Van Helsing's sartorial vampire-hunting precision, from his fur-collared greatcoat to his candelabra-clenching gloves, is captured in this astonishing 3/4-length sculpt.

Hammer Horror Count Dracula Masterpiece Collection Bust:

Titan Merchandise are proud to debut the next item in our limited edition, high-quality Hammer Horror Masterpiece Collection! Fantasy and horror legend Christopher Lee became an international sensation starring as Count Dracula in seven increasingly-horrific vampire classics from Hammer Films. This amazingly-detailed 8-inch maxi-bust painstakingly recreates the savage power of Lee's unrivalled performance, capturing the screen's greatest Lord of the Undead in full pursuit of his prey. Every detail of Dracula's vampiric splendor - from signature ring to jet-black cloak - is captured in this exquisitely-sculpted, intricately-detailed polystone maxi-bust standing 8-inches tall.

Each bust will retail for $79.99 and will be released in November. They can be pre-ordered by following the links below:

Hammer Horror Countess Dracula Masterpiece Collection Bust
Hammer Horror Countess Dracula Masterpiece Collection Bust
Hammer Horror Count Dracula Masterpiece Collection Bust

See Also: The Sexy Side Of UK Horror In Hammer Glamour / Christopher Lee Returns To Hammer / Horror Express (1973) / Peter Cushing – The Good Man Behind Evil Characters / The Royal Mail Pays Tribute To Hammer In Their Latest Stamp Collection / Quatermass And The Pit (1967)

Christopher Lee Returns To Hammer

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: WENN

Horror movie icon, Christopher Lee, is set to return to the studio which launched his career. Yes, indeed, Lee is set to return to Hammer Films, the British movie studio who was literally a horror movie making machine in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The last time that Lee starred in a Hammer production was way back in 1976, in the film "To The Devil A Daughter". The film would prove to be the last horror film produced by the studio. Well, until this decade.

In the 2000s, although the company has seemed to be in hibernation, frequent announcements have been made of new projects. In 2003, for example, the studio announced plans to work with Australian company Pictures in Paradise to develop new horror films for the DVD and cinema market.

On May 10, 2007, it was announced that Dutch producer John De Mol had purchased the Hammer Films rights via his private equity firm Cyrte Investments. In addition to holding the rights to over 300 Hammer Films, De Mol's company plans to restart the studio. According to an article in Variety detailing the transaction, the new Hammer Films will be run by former Liberty Global execs Simon Oakes and Marc Schipper. In addition, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair of L.A.-based Spitfire Pictures are on board to produce two to three horror films or thrillers a year for the U.K.-based studio.

The first output under the new owners is Beyond the Rave, a contemporary vampire story which premiered free online exclusively on Myspace in April 2008 as a 20 x 4 min. serial.

The company began shooting for a new horror/thriller film in Donegal in 2008, backed by the Irish Film Board. The film is titled The Wake Wood and is scheduled for release in the United Kingdom in the Autumn of 2009. Hammer has also recently acquired the rights to remake the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In.

Lee is set to star opposite Hilary Swank in the company's latest movie project, The Resident.

Swank plays a doctor who discovers her landlord is her stalker in the film, which will go before cameras, under the direction of Antti Jokinen, in New Mexico in June.

The Royal Mail Pays Tribute To Hammer In Their Latest Stamp Collection

Source: Norvic Philatelics

On June 10th the Royal Mail (UK) will release a brand new series of stamps that will honor classic British cinema. Included in this set will be several stamps that feature poster art from some of Hammer's famous horror films. The most notable of these is a 50th anniversary tribute to the studios own rendition of "Dracula", which starred Christopher Lee as the vampire and Peter Cushing as his nemesis Van Helsing. Also included in the series are "The Curse of Frankenstein", and "The Mummy", which also starred Lee and Cushing.

The other three stamps will feature artwork from the popular "Carry On" films, "Carry on Cleo", Carry on Sergeant", and "Carry on Screaming." The last of which seems to be a more of a match to go along with Hammer's horror line than the other two.

Collectors in the UK will want to pounce on several special releases that go along with these "Cinema Classic" stamps. The Royal Mail will be releasing a special stamp book, limited edition cards for each stamp, mint sets, and special post marks commemorating the release.