STACK #204 Oct 2021

FILM FEATURE

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For the Average Joe it’s October, but for a very passionate group of people known as 'Horror-hounds', it’s actually Halloween Month. So, huge props to Studio Canal, who are embracing theWitching Hour by prying open the Hammer Horror vault and serving up a delicious collection of titles to delight the most fevered of horror tragics. Let’s take a look at what’s on the slab (in alphabetical order, to align with your collection). Words Glenn Cochrane NEW FROM HAMMER HORROR CLASSICS

visually spectacular films, Dracula: Prince of Darkness also features a very young Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, who was tearing up the international stage long before most of us fell in love with him in The Castle (1997). Do not let the PG rating of The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) deter you, because this Hammer Horror movie might just be one of

the most disturbing and nightmarish depictions of 'The Mummy' to date. Before Brendan Fraser and Tom Cruise were diggin’ up Egyptian corpses, Shakespearean actor John Phillips was raising the

dead in spectacular fashion, with a genre twist which sees the story exploit a more slasher-driven narrative. This is essential viewing for any horror nut and is worth it alone for the absolutely terrifying imagery of the mummy itself. Like a hideous cross between Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz and Grandpa from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , it is the stuff of nightmares. If you ever wondered what inspired the iconic look of George Romero’s zombie characters, then look no further than Plague of the Zombies (1966). With their flecked, grey skin and milky-white eyes, the walking dead from this gem laid the foundation for the explosion of zombie

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

B ased on the classic novel by celebrated author Dennis Wheatley, The Devil Rides Ou t (1968) was directed by Hammer trailblazer

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) is another Lee/Fisher collaboration and is

Terence Fisher, who clocked up a whopping 29 features for the studio. Widely considered to be amongst Fisher's best films, The Devil Rides Out stars Christopher Lee – whose name you can also expect to see repeated in this article – and Charles Gray ( Diamonds Are Forever, The Rocky Horror Picture Show ). The film has Lee’s character investigating the occult when it appears that a friend’s son has been seduced by a local Satanic cult. Chock-full of sinister markings, devil worship and black magic, the film is a must-have for all self-respecting horror fans, and kicks off a sensational lineup of titles.

perhaps best known as the movie where Dracula has no lines. As in, no lines whatsoever. Arguably Christopher Lee’s most celebrated character, his Dracula is

films to follow, and remains a seminal title of the genre. With the black magic of voodoo as its

crux, the story tells of an epidemic in a small Cornish village in the

resurrected when his ashes are mixed with the blood of an English tourist. Dressed as dapper as ever, he drinks his way through travelling Englishmen faster than a German through beers at Oktoberfest, and occupies the screen bigger and bolder than ever. Held as one of Hammer’s most

late 1800s, which leads to the discovery of a town secret that’s steeped in corporate greed. This clever and intriguing movie pre- dates the famous “braaaains” zombie trope

18 OCTOBER 2021

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