Your Best and Worst Hammer movies...

[MDG]

I've never been a big fan of Hammer, especially the Dracula films--they just don't connect with me and always feel like "just people playacting" That is, the sets always seem like sets, not real places. (And I never got over that in Horror of Dracula, he was hiding in the basement and they didn't know it.)

Now I'll contradict myself and say that I like Brides of Dracula--but Drac's not really in it. And I can enjoy the Karstein movies, though I find those and Vampire Circus more than a bit of an attempt to connect with the (70s era) "hip" audience.

I don't like Hammer's take on Frankenstein, but think Cushing gives a great performance in them (and in most things he's in).
The Hammer's I really like are the Quatermass flicks (esp. ... and the pit) and some of the oddball things (Stranglers of Bombay, Hysteria, etc.) I really liked the Snorkel, too.

[Haunted hearse]

Back in May, we talked about the 1963 Hammer production The Old Dark House on 1951 Down Place (http://1951downplace.com/?p=92), and it was tough.  I'm a big fan of William Castle, but mixing William Castle with Hammer just didn't work . . .

As for best Hammer, I'm a HUGE fan of some of their sequels - Brides of Dracula and The Revenge of Frankenstein.  In fact, these are both on my list of Top Five Hammer films (http://1951downplace.com/?page_id=2) along with The Plague of the Zombies, Fear in the Night and Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter.

The Old Dark House (1962) has two things going for it.  Charles Addams designed the titles, and Oakley Court (The old dark house in the film) was later used in Rocky Horror as the castle.
My favorite?  "Horror of Dracula".  The worst?  Since Hammer had nothing to do with the Twilight movies, and Keannu Reeves didn't appear in any of them,I can't think of any.

[Hepcat]

In 1975, I was eight years old.  That year, one of the local TV stations showed "Horror of Dracula" at 8pm on Halloween night.  It was the first time I saw it.  I was handing out candy to trick or treaters and rushing back to the TV to see this Technicolor Dracula...what a memory!

But why were you not trick or treating yourself at the age of eight?

[neonnoodle]

I should have been, I suppose!  But I remember that that year, I wanted to scare the trick or treaters, and had taped scary drawings to the windows--drawings of Universal monsters, actually.  I believe "Sounds to Make You Shiver" was being spun on the record player.  And that evening, the film that made the night memorable turned out to be a Hammer film.

[mjaycox]

Here is my list.

The Best: ( I always define "best" as the titles which I could not bear the possibility of never seeing again)

1) The Curse of Frankenstein
2) The Brides of Dracula
3) The Horror of Dracula
4) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
5) The Scars of Dracula
6) The Mummy
7) The Hound of the Baskervilles
8 ) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
9) The Devil Rides Out
10) The Vampire Lovers
11) Quatermass I and II

The Worst (about which, the less said the better. Not surprisingy, the incredibly dull Ralph Bates features prominently)

1) Lust for a Vampire
2) Taste the Blood of Dracula
3) Horror of Frankenstein
4) Twins of Evil
5) Dracula AD 1972
6) Vampire Circus
7) She
8 ) Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
9) To the Devil a Daughter
10) Blood from the Mummy's Tomb

Guilty Pleasures: (Movies which, if I am honest, are probably not all that good, but which I love anyway)

1) Evil of Frankenstein
2) Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell
3) The Satanic Rites of Dracula
4) Capt. Kronos Vampire Hunter
5) The Reptile

Oddly enough, "The Curse of the Werewolf" winds up nowhere on any of my lists. What the hell is wrong with me.?! oh well...

Matt

[neonnoodle]

I also really love "The Abominable Snowman"--that one is a very different kind of treat, so much less dependent on special effects and more of a two-character play.  Really intense philosophical sci-fi drama.  And it has a few moments that are very frightening, too...although the scariest thing in the movie is Forrest Tucker!

[zombiehorror]

I guess I'm lucky since I haven't seen every Hammer film, I've yet to see one I didn't like!

[LP_Quagmire]

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HORROR OF DRACULA are great, but my all-time favourite Hammer horror is DR. JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE!

[marsattacks666]

Any Hammer film that Terence Fisher directed. Those are my faves. He directed so many
Hammer classics.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I can't believe I left out "The Vampire Lovers". I have to put at the top of my favorites...and not just for the obvious red-blooded male reasons, either. Even without the overdose of T&A, it's just a very well done-story, well-acted story, and a pretty faithful adaptation of Carmilla to boot.

Chris

[RedKing]

I hate to admit it but until I was about 16 I did not care for Hammer-the movies were ponderously slow and the monsters took forever to show up, the only exceptions before that time I liked were The Mummy,Lost Continent and of courtse One Million years BC, but that is more in the Harryhausen style even though it was made by hammer. Eventually I came around, but I still think many of the most beloved Hammers are terribly slow-Curse of the Werewolf comes to mind as the biggest example-it takes FOREVER to finally see Oliver Reed as the werewolf! Gimme Lon or Paul Naschy anyday! I am also not really fond of Peter Cushinbg's Dr Frankenstein. I like Colin Clive's manic, nuerotic and vunerable portrayal alot better than Cushing's cold ruthless and unlikable Dr. My favorite Frankensteins are the ones were Cushing is more sympathetic like Evil of Frank and Frank created woman. Anyhoo, I love most of the vampire movies and the Dennis Wheatley adaptations. I dunno, I still like the 60s AIP movies alot better than Hammer. Its too bad Vinnie never a movie at hammer-I would have liked to see that.
Faves (in no particular order):
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave
Dracula Prince of darkness
Devil Rides Out
To the Devil a Daughter (Christopher Lee is great and saves the movie IMO)
Vampire Lovers
Horror of Dracula
Evil of Frankenstein
Captain Kronos
Dracula AD 1972
Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Mummy

Least Faves:
Curse of the Werewolf
Satanic Rites of Dracula
Old Dark House

[Haunted hearse]

My favorite Sherlock Holmes movie is Hammers "Hound of the Baskervilles"

[marsattacks666]

My favorite Sherlock Holmes movie is Hammers "Hound of the Baskervilles"

Great flick.

[BrotherD]

The Old Dark House (1962) has two things going for it.  Charles Addams designed the titles, and Oakley Court (The old dark house in the film) was later used in Rocky Horror as the castle.

If only Addams had more to do with the movie than just the opening credits . . . !

Any Hammer film that Terence Fisher directed. Those are my faves. He directed so many
Hammer classics.

You can definitely tell the difference between a Fisher-directed Hammer film and a Hammer film directed by someone else.  I definitely enjoy the work of folks like Guest, etc., but when it comes to Hammer, Fisher was a master . . . !

I guess I'm lucky since I haven't seen every Hammer film, I've yet to see one I didn't like!

I try real hard to find something I like in all the Hammer films we've covered on our podcast . . . but sometimes it's REALLY hard!  (Like the aforementioned The Old Dark House!)

[LP_Quagmire]

I also really love "The Abominable Snowman"--that one is a very different kind of treat, so much less dependent on special effects and more of a two-character play.

That one would be high on my list as well.