HAMMER HORROR
The following reviews are all stubborn
survivors from my first website. They could perhaps use a slight
update, a matter I will eventually look into.
VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972)
directed by Robert Young, starring Adrienne Corri, Laurence Payne, Thorley Walters, John Moulder Brown, Lynn Frederick, Elizabeth Seal, Robert Tayman, Robin Hunter, Dave Prowse, Robin Sachs, Lala Ward
Well, what can I say about VAMPIRE CIRCUS? It has been appraised by many Hammer fans and rightly so. Tight story (reportedly the director ran out of shooting time and had to make something coherent out of the existing footage), erotic scenes which put LUST FOR A VAMPIRE to shame and plenty of gore (throats being slashed, people attacked by wild beasts). The plot has the titular circus preying on a small village, already decimated by some unknown kind of plague, as revenge for their slaying of a vampire lord 15 years earlier. Thorley Walthers stands out as the burgermeister going progressively mad. David Prowse appears as a mute strongman.
Some video and TV prints omit the wild beast attack. The Danish and UK video prints are supposedly uncut, but I'm not quite sure, the beheading of Count Mitterhaus looks trimmed.
TO THE DEVIL... A DAUGHTER (1976)
directed by Peter Sykes, starring Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliot, Nastassja Kinski, Honor Blackman, Anthony Valentine, Derek Francis, Michael Goodliffe
TO THE DEVIL... A DAUGHTER was the last true Hammer film (disregarding THE LADY VANISHES) and the last bow of Christopher Lee as Hammer star too. The story (adapted from a novel by Dennis Wheatley) unfortunately is rather confused. Trying to ride on the success of occult horror movies such as ROSEMARY'S BABY, THE EXORCIST and THE OMEN (a territory already visited by Hammer with THE DEVIL RIDES OUT and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA) the plot has something to do with the rebirth of demon lord Astaroth and the disaster this could mean to the world... I think.
At least the cast can't be blamed. Christopher Lee is fine as the defrocked, demon-worshipping priest, father Michael, with that supremely cool evil look only he can provide. Nastassja Kinski plays the innocent nun Catherine under his wing, who is destined to give birth to the incarnation of Astaroth, having been betrayed by her real father (the always reliable Denham Elliot) who gave her up to Michael and his coven. Richard Widmark does well as the mature hero/surrogate father John Verney, expect in the occult, who must save Catherine and the world, not an easy task when his adversary is played by Lee. Notorious for offering the viewer the brief glimpse of a full frontal nude Kinski (who was underage then) and containing some rather gory scenes as well, TO THE DEVIL... A DAUGHTER is not a bad film, it's just not quite up to it... and sadly there's nothing left of the trademark Hammer atmosphere.
The current video release available in UK/Europe is the badly pan&scanned Warner Terrorvision retail. (only the opening credits sequence is slightly letterboxed). In the eighties TO THE DEVIL... was released to retail video on Thorn EMI in several European countries as well as the UK. All were fullscreen except, curiously enough, the Danish release which was letterboxed 1.66:1. In the US, the Continental rental video, while fullscreen, has excellent picture quality. Also it contains a radically different version of the Nastassja Kinski nude scene. I have no idea wheter this was changed later or on the contrary the European versions have been trimmed, but the scene is considerably longer, with miss Kinski walking past Richard Widmark in slow motion, letting the viewer have a real good look at her beautiful body! According to the sleeve text, "miss Kinski's now famous steamy sensuality is amply apparent in this her first starring role, portraying a 'brainwashed' cult follower who is completely enraptured by love for the Devil." However, the frontsleeve - using a still from that scene - has her decently covered up. Nothing like double standards.
Several additonal scenes were shot, but cut during editing. The duel between Lee and Widmark reportedly is missing a key scene. Wheter some of this material will turn up on a DVD release either as extras or in the form of a restored print only time will tell.
TO THE DEVIL... A DAUGHTER was the (so far!) last horror film from Hammer Studios. It was also the last genuine horror film starring Christopher Lee. Unlike fellow genre stars Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing he had always found it deeply frustating being typecast as super villian, fanged or otherwise, a frustation he didn't hesitate to voice to anyone who bothered listening. With Hammer out of action ca. 1980 he could at last concentrate on straight roles in serious, critically accepted films and leave the sensational horror stuff behind for good. Well, things didn't turn out quite that way. The fact is that Lee may not like playing in horror movies, but he's so damn good at it that his decision to part with the genre must be the most unwise since Basil Rathbone declined to wear the deerstalker anymore. Indeed, looking at the filmography of Christopher Lee from 1976 and onwards, it's a large pile of mostly utter rubbish. JAGUAR LIVES, ROSEBUD BEACH HOTEL, POLICE ACADEMY VII etc. One of the few bright spots is the all-round excellent TNT adaption of TREASURE ISLAND, Lee giving a spirited cameo performance as Blind Pew.
With the renewed interest in Hammer among movie fans Lee seems to have faced the inevitable and no longer sneers in public at his Dracula films. Lately he's even sneaked back into the horror genre with cameos in TALOS THE MUMMY and SLEEPY HOLLOW (watch TALOS for the precredits sequence with Lee, then skip the rest of the film). Most promising is his role as evil wizard Saruman in the upcoming LORD OF THE RINGS adaption by cult director Peter Jackson. Apparently he's also cast as a rebel leader (?) in the upcoming STAR WARS II, but considering the disastrous quality of the first I would regard that as a more dubious honour. Well, at least there's still life in the old boy.
CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER (1973)
It will come to no surprise to those who know me that CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER (1973) is one of my favorite Hammer films. It's a lightheaded, but entertaining mixture of vampire story, spaghetti western and swashbuckler, with the fencing duel at the end straight out of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. Lots of cool dialogue ("You've got guts, Kronos, I've seen them!") and impressive directing by Brian Clemens makes this film an instant winner.
The story, briefly: Blond hero Kronos (Janson), former captain in the Imperial Guards travels along the English countryside with his hunchback, but otherwise very able sidekick, professor Hieronimus Grost (Cater, who is brilliant), in hunt for vampires. They drop in at a friend of Kronos, doctor Marcus ("you old leech lover!"), who is concerned about young girls in his district suddenly dying of what appears to be old age. How to put an end to this horror is a tough one as there are as many species of vampires as there are birds of prey and you can't always depend on the good old stake through the heart. And just who is the vampire? Something's fishy going on by the local nobles, the Durwards - or is it a red herring?
The 1973 film is actually a pilot of sorts. Kronos was to travel through time (by reincarnation?) and a series of films would follow his exploits down through the ages ('Kronos' is the name of the Roman God of Time). Because the pilot flopped, nothing came of the plans and three years later Hammer quit producing horror films anyway. Sadly CAPTAIN KRONOS appears to be a lost masterpiece. Although Warner hold the rights, the title was not included in the Warner Terror Vision series from the early nineties. Today CAPTAIN KRONOS is only available as bootleg or extremely rare exrental/ out of print retail. (There is also a Japanese Laserdisc, but I have no idea of the availability.) According to rumours any rerelease to DVD is unlikely due to poor source material. Although a beautiful print of the film is fairly often run on Sci-Fi Channel this is unfortunately cut by several minutes, omitting the entire precredits scene and the famous semi-nude scene of then pin-up babe Caroline Munro.
LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1970)
directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Michael Johnson, Barbara Jefford, Yutte Stensgaard, Suzanna Leigh, Helen Christie, Mike Raven, Eric Chitty, Christopher Neame, Pippa Steele
Perhaps I'm mellowing with old age. LUST OF A VAMPIRE now doesn't look as bad as it did when I first reviewed it (check the HORROR-WOOD archives for that first review). That is not to say it's a Hammer classic. But the production values are excellent, the trademark Hammer landscape with its vaguely Centraleuropean village, beautiful fields and omnious mountaintop castle is just right. Of course Yutte Stensgaard still can't act, but she... looks nice. And watch out for that stock footage from SCARS OF DRACULA - apparently Mike Raven didn't look evil enough, so Jimmy Sangster inserted the bloodshot eyes of Christopher Lee (as Dracula) whenever necessary.
Funniest moment in the film occurs when the villagers discuss at the local inn what to about the vampire plague and one says that what they need is not a doctor, but a priest. In walks, right on cure, a catholic bishop, no less!
HANDS OF THE RIPPER (1971)
directed by Peter Sasdy, starring Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Dora Bryan, Jane Merrow, Derek Godfrey, Keith Bell, Marjorie Rhodes, Linda Baron, Norman Bird
London, the late Victorian era: The world of Sherlock Holmes - and Jack the Ripper. Anna (brilliantly played by Angharad Rees) is a poor, naive girl under suspicion for murder who wins the sympathy and protection of Dr.Pritchard (Eric Porter), an early specialist in psychiatry. As she happens to be the daughter of The Ripper she shows her gratitude by slaughtering most of his household as well as a Whitechappel prostitute - not to mention what she has in store for him!
Considering the notorious nudie vampire flicks Hammer produced during the seventies this is a surprisingly mature and restrained work. Anna does have a brief bathtub scene, but her character is that of a frightened, hurt child, not a sexually aware woman. There are disturbing suggestions of incest and child abuse and it's quite obvious that the motives of the doctor to help Anna are questionable.
I wonder if director Sasdy had watched any Italian films previous to his work on HANDS OF THE RIPPER. The film has the feel of the Italian 'giallo' or murder mystery genre. There are some particularily gruesome murders done by exotic objects (fire pokers, sewing needles, even a pince-nez!), the killer suffers from a serious childhood trauma and the police is notoriously clueless. Also the film is very talky (but never boring). HANDS OF THE RIPPER is highly recommended. It might prove difficult to track down though. A retail video was released in Denmark some ten years ago, this print is uncut. The old UK video release is cut. In the US the TV version had added unnecessary scenes of a psychiatrist explaining to the viewer what this was all about.
THE SCARS OF DRACULA (1970)
directed by Roy Ward Baker, starring Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Anoushka Hempel, Christopher Matthews, Patrick Troughton, Michael Gwynne, Bob Todd, Michael Ripper
SCARS OF DRACULA has a lot to offer such as scenes actually based on something Bram Stoker wrote, sensual Anoushka Hempel, Michael Ripper as the village innkeeper and an army of deadly rubber bats. Christopher Lee speaks several lines and is playing Dracula more sadistic than usual, even giving Patrick Troughton (of DOCTOR WHO fame) a good whipping!
The story admitedly is rather weak, with a questionable continuity from TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA that took place in England. When blood vomit from a bat revives the slain vampire lord, the scene is suddenly a desolate castle in Central Europe! The plot is the usual 'young man visiting Castle Dracula, looking for lost relative' etc. and I won't bore you with details. Just relax and enjoy the film for what it is... and if you ever get to meet Roy Ward Baker at a convention, try to pretend you didn't spot the wires of those bats.
DEMONS OF THE MIND (1972)
directed by Peter Sykes, starring Paul Jones, Patrick Magee, Yvonne Mitchell, Robert Hardy, Michael Horden, Kenneth J. Warren, Shane Briant, Gillian Hills, Virginia Wetherell, Deidre Costello, Barry Stanton, Sidonie Bond
Incest, sado-masochism, lesbianism, most gruesome murders, people getting drugged and hypnotized, full frontal nudity... that's some of the ingredienses in DEMONS OF THE MIND, the most daring and complex (and sadly overlooked) film Hammer ever made.
And if the above sounds awfully exploitiation style... well, the film has all this and is still very restrained. Admitedly the story is hard to follow, but basic plot goes like this: 19th century Baron Zorn (Robert Hardy) is obsessed by the fear that his teenage children Emil (Shane Briant) and Elizabeth (Gillian Hills) may have inherited the family strain of insanity. Both constantly try to escape from the castle where they are held prisoners, drugged and tortured by the servants - and their father, who himself behaves rather... oddly, suspects them to be behind a series of murders in the nearby village. An equally eccentric hypnotist, Dr.Falkenberg (Patrick Magee) is called to explore the minds of father and children to hopefully come up with some sort of cure. Dr.Falkenberg is both a charlatan and a man ahead of his time, using proto-Freudian theories and hypnotic treatments, eventually reaching a shocking conclusion. By then it's too late... let's just say the ending is really downbeat and gory! Fine performances all round from the cast, in particular Robert Hardy and Patrick Magee. Also noteworthy is Michael Horden as a religious fanatic.
DEMONS OF THE MIND is a rather obscure film and (Dec. 2000) I haven't heard of any upcoming DVD releases. The long deleted UK Warner Home video is cut by 18 seconds. I've compared with the supposedly uncut Danish rental video, but couldn't spot any differences, both prints contained the same scenes of nudity and explicit bloodletting, so what had to go is anyone's guess.