REVIEWS

We're currently in the process of moving and upgrading the site, most of the review links below will connect to the old webspace. The pages and links will be updated on an ongoing basis..

last reviews added: 23 October 2007

 

From here you can access a range of detailed reviews of Hammer film related titles. Including Anchor Bay's Hammer dvds, and a wide range of subject books.
The reviews are not limited to Hammer films, and we present a collection of other books and dvds which may be of interest. Please note that there is also a new more in-depth format of dvd review adopted for pieces written recently. You should find links on each page for purchasing the titles, otherwise for Hammer dvd and videos we recommend visiting the store area of this site.

NOTE ON REVIEWS: Some of the oldest reviews are not available at present, as the old geocities site where they used to be held, has now been pulled. We are currently moving to a new domain and reformatting every review, apologies for any temporarily broken links. We include a list of all reviews, whether currently linked or not.

email: hammer@avalard.com

 

 

AUDIO BOOKS * Aliens in the Mind * The Quatermass Memoirs MODELS * Hammer Films Classic Dracula Figure (Product Enterprise, UK 2004) FILM FESTIVALS | EVENTS * Fantastic Films Weekend, May 2005, Bradford UK * Fantastic Films Weekend, 22-23 May 2004, Bradford UK BOOKS GRAPHIC NOVEL * Terry Sharp: The Faceless FILM CRITICISM * Hitchcock And 20th Century Cinema * Lure of the Vampire: Gender, Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy FILM HISTORY The Hammer Story 2nd edition Hammer Films: The Elstree Studios Years A Thing of Unspeakable Horror Cinema Classics Collection: Witchcraft Through The Ages * BFI Film Classics: Vampyr * BFI TV Classics: Doctor Who   * Beating the Devil : The Making of Night of the Demon * Jack The Ripper : The Murders and the Movies * The Hammer Story * Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood * Greasepaint and Gore * Inside the Wicker Man * A Vault of Horror A book of 80 great (and not so great) British horror movies from 1956-1974 * The Pocket Essential Hammer Horror * British Film Makers: Terence Fisher * British Film Makers: Lance Comfort * English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema (2nd edition) * The Complete Terry-Thomas * Terence Fisher : Horror, Myth and Religion BIOGRAPHICAL * Into the Unknown : The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale * Inside Hammer * An Actor and a Rare One: Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes * Fantasy Females * The Cult Films of Christopher Lee NOVELS * Cowboys For Christ * Rastus Reilly * Parish Damned * Labyrinth of Chaos At the Cinema * Land of the Dead (George A Romero, Sept 2005) * Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride (Mike Johnson & Tim Burton, Oct 2005)

DVD all reviews refer to dvd releases unless otherwise indicated country of dvd origin noted in grey HAMMER FILMS * The Hammer Noir Collection Vol 1-3 (Bad Blonde/Man Bait/A Stolen Face/Blackout/The Gambler and the Lady/Heat Wave) us * On the Buses trilogy (Optimum) uk * Countess Dracula (special edition) uk * Hell Is A City uk * Devil-Ship Pirates uk * Taste the Blood of Dracula uk * Dracula Has Risen From the Grave uk * I Only Arsked! uk * The Quatermass Xperiment uk * Quatermass 2 uk * X : The Unknown uk * Hammer Horror Originals (Curse of Frankenstein / Horror of Dracula / The Mummy) uk dvd box * Hammer Horror Selection (Blood From the Mummy's Tomb / The Devil Rides Out / Lust for a Vampire / Scars of Dracula / Horror of Frankenstein) uk dvd box * The Vampire Collection (Countess Dracula / Twins of Evil / Vampire Circus) uk dvd box * Classic Horror Collection (Hands of the Ripper / The Monster / The Uncanny) uk dvd box * The Revenge of Frankenstein us * One Million Years BC uk * Hammer House of Horror Vol 1 & 2 (UK VHS) * X -The Unknown us * The Abominable Snowman us * The Witches us * Quatermass 2 us * The Mummy's Shroud us * The Devil Rides Out us * Frankenstein Created Woman us * Four Sided Triangle us * The Horror of Hammer us * Tales of Frankenstein us Non-HAMMER FILMS (in alphabetical order) details in brackets refer to year of 1st cinema (or video) release (or 1st broadcast date for tv), followed by country of production BOLD print details most recent reviews. * Aileen : Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003 UK/US) us * Ali (2001 US) us * Amityville II : The Possesion (collector's edition) (1982 US) uk * The Asphyx (1973 UK) us * Astro Boy (2003 Jap/US) us * The Bat (1959 US) us * Batman and Robin (1949 US) us * Best of the Muppet Show : Elton John / Julie Andrews / Gene Kelly (UK/US) us * Best of the Muppet Show : Mark Hamill / Paul Simon / Raquel Welch (UK/US) us * The Beyond (1980 US/IT) us * Black Hawk Down (2001 US) us * The Blood Beast Terror (1967 UK)uk * Bon Voyage (2003 FR) us * Brighton Rock (1947 UK) uk * Broken Wings (2002 Israel) us * Candyman (special edition) (1992 US) us * Candyman : Farewell to the Flesh (1995 US) uk * The Card Player (2003 IT) uk * Christine (special edition) (1983 US) us * The Collector (1965 UK) us * Curse of the Demon / Night of the Demon (1957 UK) us * Curse of the Voodoo (1965 UK) (US VHS) * Dawson's Creek : The Complete Third Series (2000 US) us * The Day the World Ended (2001 US) us * Decoys (2003 Canada) us * The Devil's Backbone (2002 SP) us * The Devil's Men (1976 UK/Greece) uk * Don't Look Now (1973 UK) uk * Don't Torture A Duckling (1972 IT) us * The Dr Who Movie Collection (1965/66 UK) uk * Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers (1956 US) us * The Exorcist Trilogy : The Exorcist / Exorcist II: The Heretic / The Exorcist III (US) uk * The Evil Dead (1982 US) us * Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1996 US) us * The Flipside of Dominick Hide & Another Flip for Dominick (1981 BBCtv UK) uk * The Fog (special edition) (1980 US) uk * Giulietta Degli Spiriti (1967 It) uk * Godzilla Vs The Sea-Monster (1966 Jap) us * Halloween 5 (1989 US) us * Hanky Panky (1982 US) us * Horror Hospital (1973 UK) us vhs * Horrors of the Black Musuem (1959 UK) uk * The House By the Cemetery (1981 IT/US) us * The Howling (special edition) (1981 US) uk * "How I Won the War" (1967 UK) uk * How to Make A Monster (2001 US) us * Inferno (1980 IT/US) us * Inseminoid (1981 UK) (US VHS) * Inspector Clouseau (1968 UK/US) us * The Invisible Man (1984 BBCtv UK) uk * Island of Terror (1966 UK) uk * Ju-On : The Grudge (2004 Japan) uk * Kermit's Swamp Years (2002 US) us * The Lady and the Duke (2001 Fr) us * Last Orders (2001 UK) us * Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974 SP/IT/UK) us * The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2004 US) us * The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976 UK) uk * Manhattan Baby (1982 IT/US) us * Maniac (1980 US) uk * Metropolis - 2005 Special Edition (1927 Ger) uk * Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987 Nor) us * Monsieur Ibrahim (2003 FR) us * Monster (2003 US) us * Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974 UK) uk * Mr Deeds (special edition) (2002 US) us * The Nightmare Man (1981 BBCtv UK) uk * Panic Room (superbit dvd) (2002 US) us * The Passion of Anna (1969 Sweeden) uk * Piranha (1978 US) uk * The Quatermass Collection (BBC): The Quatermass Experiment | Quatermass II | Quatermass and the Pit (1953-1959 UK) uk * Raising Victor Vargas (special edition) (2002 US) us * Resident Evil (2002 UK/Ger) us * The Return of the Living Dead (1984 US) uk * The Return of the Vampire (1943 US) us * Ring of Bright Water (1969 UK) us * Robin and Marian (1976 UK) us * 1776 (1972 US) us * Shamus (1972 US) us * The Sherlock Holmes Collection - BBC (1968 UK) uk * Sleuth (1972 UK) uk * Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels (2002 US) us * The Stendhal Syndrome (1996 It) uk * The Survivors (1983 US) us * Tartuffe (1926 Ger) uk * Theatre of Blood (1973 UK) uk * The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960 US/UK/SP) us * Thriller - Series 1 (1973 UK) uk * Tower of Evil (1972 UK) (US VHS) (2001 review) * Tower of Evil (1972 UK) uk dvd (2006 review) * Trail of the Pink Panther (1982 US) us * 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957 US/IT) us * The Vampire Happening (1974 GER) us * Vengeance Is Mine (1979 Jap) uk * Vincent Price - The Sinister Image (2002 US) us * The Wicker Man Ltd Ed (1974 UK) us * Wholly Moses (1980 US) uk

 

RELEASE SCHEDULE

Count the Cash
UK Lottery Scratchcard
Camelot
£1 (16 years and over only)
13 September 2007

The Brides of Dracula
UK R2 dvd 
Showbox Entertainment RRP: £12.99
15 October 2007

The Evil of Frankenstein
UK R2 dvd 
Showbox Entertainment RRP: £12.99
22 October 2007

The Hammer Story : revised edition
by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes
Hardback Book, Titan Books
RRP: £24.99
26 October 2007

Dracula
cinemas, BFI re-release
previews: 28/31 October
national release: 2nd November 2007

A New Heritage of Horror : The English Gothic Cinema
by David Pirie
Book, I B Tauris & Co
RRP: £14.99
14 December 2007

Hammer Horror box set
R1 dvd box set - details unconfirmed
Anchor Bay Entertainment
SRP: $??
TBC - late 2007

FANTASTIC FILMS WEEKEND - BRADFORD
June 13-15 2008
National Museum of Photography Film and Television, Bradford UK

-----

AVAILABLE NOW

Dracula und seine Bräute
(Brides of Dracula)
German R2 dvd 
Koch Media
RRP: €13.95
24 August 2007

Der Fluch von Siniestro
(The Curse of the Werewolf)
German R2 dvd 
Koch Media
RRP: €13.95
24 August 2007

Hammer Noir Vol 6:
Black Glove / Big Deadly Game
Kit Packer Films/ VCI Entertainment
SRP: $14.99
 Summer 2007

Hammer Noir Vol 7:
Unholy Four / Race For Life
Kit Packer Films/ VCI Entertainment
SRP: $14.99
Summer 2007

Hammer Noir Vol 4:
Terror Street / Wings of Danger
Kit Packer Films/ VCI Entertainment
SRP: $14.99
28 November 2006

Hammer Noir Vol 5:
Paid to Kill / Glass Tomb
Kit Packer Films/ VCI Entertainment
SRP: $14.99
28 November 2006

Hammer Films: The Elstree Studios Years by Wayne Kinsey
Book, Tomahawk Press
RRP: £19.99
27 January 2007

Twins of Evil collectable chips
Poker Chip Set, Collectablesmania exclusive
RRP: £44.99
1 March 2007

Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires collectable chips
Poker Chip Set, Collectablesmania exclusive
RRP: £44.99
1 March 2007

Hands of the Ripper collectable chips
Poker Chip Set, Collectablesmania exclusive
RRP: £44.99
1 March 2007

Countess Dracula collectable chips
Poker Chip Set, Collectablesmania exclusive
RRP: £44.99
1 March 2007

A Think of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films
by Sinclair McKay
Paperback book, Aurum Press
RRP: £14.99
25 May 2007

Countess Dracula (special edition)
UK R2 DVD, Network DVD
RRP: £14.99
11th September 2006
- read review -

Manchester Fantastic Films Festival
September 2006
Days Hotel, Sackville St, Manchester, UK

Forbidden Terrortory
Interactive DVD Board Game, Britannia Games
RRP: £34.99
14 September 2006
* possible delay with stock *

On The Buses Box Set:
ON THE BUSES | HOLIDAY ON THE BUSES | MUTINY ON THE BUSES
UK R2 DVD, Optimum Pictures DVD
RRP: £19.99
25th September 2006

Alma Cogan Story: includes
ERIC WINSTONE SHOW BAND &
ERIC WINSTONE'S STAGECOACH
UK R2 DVD, Odeon Entertainment
RRP: £14.99
25th September 2006

Ultimate Hammer Box Set:
BLOOD FROM THE MUMMIES  TOMB | DEMONS OF THE MIND | FEAR IN THE NIGHT | ONE MILLION YEARS  BC | PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES | QUATERMASS AND THE PIT | RASPUTIN, THE MAD  MONK | THE REPTILE | DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS | FRANKENSTEIN CREATED  WOMEN | HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN | SCARS OF DRACULA | SHE | TO THE DEVIL A  DAUGHTER | THE VENGEANCE OF SHE | THE WITCHES | SLAVE GIRLS | THE  NANNY | THE DEVIL RIDES OUT | DEVIL SHIP  PIRATES
UK R2 22 title DVD box set, Optimum Classic DVD
RRP: £149.99
(click above to order for under £110)
2nd October 2006

Twins of Evil
UK R2 DVD, Network DVD
RRP: £12.99
9th October 2006

Hands of the Ripper
(special edition)
UK R2 DVD, Network DVD
RRP: £12.99
9th October 2006

Dracula - Prince of Darkness
UK R2 DVD, Optimum Pictures DVD
RRP: £12.99
16th October 2006

Rasputin - The Mad Monk
UK R2 DVD, Optimum Pictures DVD
RRP: £12.99
16th October 2006

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
UK R2 DVD, Sony Pictures DVD
RRP: £12.99
23rd October 2006

Love Thy Neighbour
UK R2 DVD, Optimum Pictures DVD
RRP: £12.99
23rd October 2006

DATES TO BE CONFIRMED

The Forgotten Noir Series
VCI Entertainment / Kit Packer Films
R1 dvd
mid 2006

Race for Life

*

Future releases
(dates not yet confirmed)

The Camp on Blood Island (1958), Cash on Demand (1963), Creatures the World Forgot (1971), The Damned (1961), Don't Panic Chaps (1959), The Gorgon (1964), Maniac (1963), Never Take Sweets From A Stranger (1960), The Stranglers of Bombay (1959), Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), Taste of Fear (1961), Terror of the Tongs (1960), and Watch It Sailor (1961).

The Quatermass Xperiment
R1 dvd, MGM

Phantom of the Opera
R2 dvd, Universal

Nineteen Eighty-Four (BBC 1954)
R2 dvd, DD Video