Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/mille ... 200002390/

Woo! Finally we'll be getting some of these on blu-ray!

"Dracula - Prince of Darkness," "Frankenstein Created Woman" and "Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" are an interesting trio to group together. The first is one of the last of what could be called the classier first half of Hammer's legacy, the second (released the followjing year) one of the best of the re-invented late-60s version of brand, and the third a part of its bizarre flailing attempts to recapture its audience in the mid-70s...

So, basically, you've seen the first entry in each of their major franchises, plus Curse of the Werewolf.

In none of those three franchises do I consider the first to be the best entry.

The Frankenstein series is by far the most consistent of the lot (Cushing and Fisher staying so closely tied to it certainly contributed, but there's also just so much room to explore with the character). The Curse of Frankenstein is a good entry, but, like Mouth and many, many others, I cite (without hesitation) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed as the best of the lot. Fantastic character work (from both Cushing and his co-stars), great atmosphere and photography, and just a ton of good ideas. The only serious problem I have with it is the tacked-on rape scene, but even that is handled as tastefully as possible, and, being so irrelevant to the rest of the movie, can simply be skipped if one so chooses, without costing the rest of the movie anything.

I like Lee's take on Dracula, but I don't feel like he ever really got to develop it, and my favorite Hammer Dracula flick is one that doesn't even feature Lee (or Dracula, for that matter), The Brides of Dracula. Again, Cushing and Fisher are huge parts of that equation (I am such a gushing Peter Cushing fanboy), but what puts it over the top is the unique take on the vampire and his relationship with his family.

I'm not really a fan of Hammer's Mummy flicks. The first one is alright, but kinda bores me in places, and the next two entries offer the genre next to nothing. However, while it barely qualifies as a Mummy movie in any traditional sense, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is an interesting little oddity.

Basically, KG, while it won't surprise me if Hammer is just never your thing, I think there's a lot you might explore that is very different from the early entries you viewed.

A few of my favorites, not already mentioned in this post, include:

Plague of the Zombies
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Frankenstein Created Woman
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Quatermass and the Pit
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Vampire Circus
Twins of Evil

As the last three selections on this list suggest, Hammer's vampire movies were often at their best when they were breaking away from the Dracula model. Vampire Circus is one I particularly delight in, because when I saw it, I felt like I was watching a movie I'd always wanted to make myself. Like, "Did a future me go back in time and "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" direct this in order to teach the current me what a "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" vampire movie can be like???"

I've seen Quartermass and it's the only film of Hammer's that I like. Granted, I prefer Carpenter's take on it in Prince of Darkness.

shall i throw my hat in the ring with kg and say that i'm decidedly "eh" on Hammer? or have i made enough enemies already with my opinions as of late?

Apparently some people do lol.

I agree though that difference of opinions are what makes this thread, and life as a matter of fact, great.

Watch me take it a few steps closer to greatness.

Paranoiac
The Devil Rides Out
The Lost Continent

Whoops! I accidentally took it two steps forward, one step back! D'oh!

Now The Lost Continent I've seen! Loved it as a kid but even then I knew it was crap!