Customer Reviews

A History of Horrors

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The good news is that for more-than-casual Hammer horror fans, this is a meticulously researched studio history, written from the business perspective, that goes far deeper than the usual rehashes found in horror encyclopedias and video guides. Meikle does a great job of putting the British film industry into a larger 1950s and '60s context, and sheds the light on Hammer's spotty U.S. distribution history for those of us who grew up on this side of the pond as frustrated young monster magazine readers wondering why the movies in our monster magazines (especially in the later years) never came to theaters or only played grindhouses and drive-ins.
The bad news is that the author is so down on Hammer's output in general that you wonder how he ever mustered the enthusiasm to tackle the topic in the first place. It's one thing to flail the usual whipping posts (he calls "Scars of Dracula" "irredeemably tacky"). But the harsh tone extends to even the usually acknowledged classics, such as "The Mummy" and "Curse of Frankenstein." Maybe Meikle feels it goes without saying that Hammer often captured lighting in a bottle in spite of its own scripts and budgets that today wouldn't even measure up to first-run syndication TV such as "Hercules." You appreciate the clear-eyed approach, but Anchor Bay seems to have a better attitude with its "even the cheesy stuff has its charms" approach to the background materials on its DVD releases.
If anything, a Hammer fan goes away from the book feeling it's a miracle these films came out as good as they were, after the author unveils the cynicism and/or studio heads' lack of faith in the source material that U.S. fans always took for granted with our "The British do this stuff best" assumptions.

The history of Hammer Studios is full of ups and downs and when it ends it is so softly and it breaks the heart . If your a fan of Hammer movies read it . I read it some years ago when it first came out .
I have such fond memories of Hammer Horror films . And with dvds I own many . The history of that incredible company and the people who created the movies is apart of film history .
And Hammer Studios is Back ! Let Me In . Is the new Hammer film . You can now call Hammer the studio that wouldn't die .

Denis Meikle is a film critic and graphic designer turned author, and here provides a fine biography of some of the best-known British fantasy and horror films. College-level film studies collection will find this documentary a vivid survey of the changing British film industry, with chapters considering both major productions and industry trends. Film studies collections with a special focus on British film will find it a fine addition.