The studio that made Victorian vampires sexy and critics furious — finally gets its due.
The greatness, fall and renaissance of Hammer, the flagship company of British popular cinema, mainly from 1955 to 1968. Tortured women and sadistic monsters populated oppressive scenarios in provocative productions that shocked censorship and disgusted critics but fascinated the public. Movies in which horror was shown in offensive colors: dreadful stories, told without prejudices, that offered fear, blood, sex and stunning performances.
Acting
Dario Argento's unhinged enthusiasm for British gore
Production
Behind-the-scenes tales of censorship battles
Costume
Those iconic heaving bodice budgets explained
Director
Jérôme Korkikian
Marcus Hearn
Self - Hammer Historian
Mick Garris
Self - Filmmaker
Dario Argento
Self - Filmmaker
Horst Janson
Self - Actor
Caroline Munro
Self - Actress / Various Roles
Joann Sfar
Self - Comic Author
John Carpenter
Self - Filmmaker
Simon Oakes
Self - Hammer CEO
Jonathan Rigby
Self - Film Historian / Actor
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Self (archive footage)
Christopher Lee
Self - Actor / Various Roles (archive footage)
Peter Cushing
Self - Actor / Various Roles (archive footage)
Paul McCartney
Self - Musician (archive footage)
John Lennon
Self - Musician (archive footage)
George Harrison
Self - Musician (archive footage)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hammer's 1957 'The Curse of Frankenstein' was so colorfully violent that it created the 'X' certificate in Britain specifically to keep teenagers out.
The documentary barely mentions that Hammer essentially invented the modern horror sequel factory model decades before slashers made it ubiquitous.
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