Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)

"We who created that world add a touch of immortality to them. And you who share that world over the years can revisit it as you recall a favorite fairy tale, secure that, in the end, good will always triumph over evil!" "That is, until the next sequel!" -Peter Cushing, OBE & Sir Christopher Lee.

This delightful documentary discusses how Hammer Films rose to become one of the U.K.'s finest studios throughout the 1950s-70s. Narrated by Hammer's 2 most famous associates, Sir Christpher Lee & Peter Cushing, Flesh and Blood nicely illustrates how this legendary duo were just two of the many talented individuals who assured Hammer's place in the history books. From the company's begninings to its great heights putting out its historic Frankenstein, Dracula, and Mummy films, this documentary has is very informative. This is also, significantly, the last project Lee and Cushing worked on together, as Cushing died mere months after its completion. But both are clearly enjoying reminiscing about this time in their lives. Lee's voice was always commanding and Cushing, despite his weakening voice, is also clearly having fun. I especially liked when he referred to his swan song performance as Victor in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974) as 'the Baron's last hurrah, so far!"

Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)

"I only know I have this power. I have always had it. I can feel it burning within me, driving me on. It is here inside me. It is in my hands. And I warn you, I warn you all, that I, Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, intend to use it. The power is mine and I will use it as I please."
-Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin.


The title character of this movie is one of the most fascinating in history. He began as a monk who was later expelled from his monastery because of his excessive drinking and womanizing as well as his volatile temper (one could call Rasputin an inspiration for Sonny Corleone). By 1915, with Russia deep in World War I and on the brink of revolution, he managed to become the close confidante of Tsarina Alexandra. The reason she allowed him into the inner circle of the Romanov family was because of how Rasputin managed to heal her son, Alexis, who was hemophiliac. His healing ability remained a mystery to doctors. The influence Rasputin had over her, especially with Tsar Nicholas personally at the battlefront, led to others close to the royal family to plot his demise.

This attempt was successful in December 1916. However, even details of Rasputin's assassination are mysterious. Felix Usupov, who married the Tsar's niece, Irina, first attempted to poison Rasputin with cyanide-laced pastries. When those had no effect, Usupov resorted to shooting Rasputin. Usupov and his fellow conspirators then deposed of the body in the nearby Malaya Nevka River. However, an autopsy later revealed that the cause of Rasputin's death of drowning.

Prior to his death, Rasputin wrote to Alexandra that, should anyone take his own life, then the Romanov family would soon follow. As it turns out, Nicholas was overthrown shortly afterward and, along with Alexandra and their children, were imprisoned in Yekaterinburg, where they were executed on July 17, 1918.

Not surprisingly, there have been numerous movies about Rasputin. Of the ones I've seen, my favorite is probably Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny(1996), which deservedly won Emmys for Alan Rickman's performance in the title role and Greta Scacchi's performance as Alexandra.

This film, which Hammer made back to back with Dracula-Prince of Darkness using some of the same sets and cast members, takes some liberties with the historical account of Rasputin, but is still entertaining.

Lee's Rasputin is first seen coming at an inn for something to drink. The innkeeper (Derek Francis) agrees to throw a party after Rasputin heals his ill wife. During the party, his romp in the hay with a girl is interrupted by a man who resents his luck with the ladies. The ensuing fight leads to Rasputin being disciplined by an Orthodox bishop. After the innkeeper defends him, Rasputin, despite accusations from the bishop that his power is from the devil, announces that his power is his and he will continue to use it.

After arriving in St. Petersburg, Rasputin engages in a drinking contest with Dr. Boris Zargo (Richard Pasco) in another inn. That same night, Rasputin encounters Sonia (Barbara Shelley), Vanessa (Suzan Farmer) and her brother Ivan (Francis Matthews), who are all associates of the royal family. Rasputin is angered when Sonia laughs after burping, interrupting his dancing.

The next morning, Rasputin takes a passed out Zargo to his home, where he then hypnotically calls Sonia. When she arrives, Rasputin slaps her but his anger with her lessens when she reveals her link to the Tsarina. After sending Zargo off, the two make love. Afterward, Rasputin hypnotizes her into injuring Alexandra's son Alexei, so Rasputin can be sent for to heal him. Before Zargo can object, Rasputin also instructs Sonia to make him the family's doctor.

Not surprisingly, Rasputin's subsequent influence with the Tsarina leads to even more womanizing. He renounces an anguished Sonia and hypnotizes her into committing suicide.

This leads Zargo plotting Rasputin's demise with Ivan and Sonia's brother Peter (Dinsdale Landen). Upon hearing of his sister's death, Peter confronts Rasputin, who kills him by throwing acid in his face.

Zargo and Ivan lure Rasputin to a meeting, offering poisoned wine and candies. Although the poison ravages his body, Rasputin still has enough strength to fight Ivan before Zargo takes a knife the monk meant for Ivan. This sacrifice allows Ivan to toss Rasputin out a window to his death.

I must confess, this film skips over some historical aspects that would have been nice to see. For instance, I would have like the climatic struggle between Rasputin, Ivan and Zargo to be even longer. For once, we would actually have a real-life monster getting up over and over again. As silly as this sounds, I also think those Esther Price candies Zargo poisons aren't as appealing as the Krispy Kreme doughnuts Usupov used.

But as nice as the supporting cast is, Lee is the one who makes the movie work. He was known for being as historically accurate as possible when it came to playing real-life figures. Sir Christopher was also known for being quite tall, while Rasputin, like Hitler and Charles Manson, was physically small. Despite the height difference, Lee's work was praised by none other than Maria, Rasputin's daughter, whom he met shortly after the film's release. She noted that Lee captured her father's expression, which is simply another testament to how great Sir Christopher was.

100 Years of Horror (1996)

"I'm Christopher Lee. Join me for 100 Years of Horror!."
-Christopher Lee.

Anyone who went to the movies in 1996 may recall a promo which had a guy taking on various guises and giving patrons the usual rules of being in the theater (such as no smoking or no talking during the film), while pointing out that the cinema was a century old. That same year also saw the release of a documentary which is appropriate viewing for this time of year, and which, yes, is hosted by this site's favorite actor. This multi-part opus discusses many types of stories within the horror genre, going from the silent era to the present day.

Sir Christopher even brings wit at various points of his hosting, such as when he seemingly vanishes in the segment on sorcerers. I also enjoyed his thoughts on playing the title role in The Mummy (1959). He even mentions his role in The Man With the Golden Gun. Among the other segments are ones devoted entirely to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. But other actors, including Lee's peers Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, are also referenced.

One segment is, naturally, devoted to the slasher genre, which is often credited (or blamed on, depending on your point of view), Halloween (1978) and which was declared dead by some at the start of the 1990s. Interestingly, the end of 1996 would see the release of Scream, which basically brought the slasher genre back to theaters, with, sadly, the same results.

Some may be disappointed that classics such as Jaws (1975) and Phantasm (1979) are not mentioned (missing out on one or two things is a risk whenever trying to cover any topic, I suppose), but there is no denying that research and devotion went into this production.

Interestingly, this documentary is available in an abridged 1 hour, 40 minute version, and in its multi-part format. Happily, both are available on DVD, although I personally recommend the latter for the simple reason that it's longer and, thus, has more info.

In Search of Dracula (1975)

"Just a word, ladies and gentlemen. A word of reassurance. When you go to bed tonight and the lights have all been turned out and you look behind the curtain and you dread to see a face appearing at the window, just remember: There are such things!"
-Christopher Lee.

It is the month of Halloween, and one film which is ideal viewing is this wonderful documentary on Dracula. Directed by Swedish filmmaker Calvin Floyd and based on the book by Raymond McNally, this film examines not only the 1897 Bram Stoker book which started it all, but also vampire lore from long before its publication.

It also points out how Dracula was inspired by Vlad Tepes, the 15th Century Prince of Wallachia, who became infamous for the manner of which he disposed of his enemies such as the Turks.

It also looks at other notorious killers, such as Peter Kürten, who became known as the "Vampire of Düsseldorf" due to his drinking the blood of his victims and who, some say, became the basis for Fritz Lang's great movie M (1931), although Lang himself would claim this was not the case.

Naturally, the film looks at the famous screen depictions of the Count, including Nosferatu (1922), Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi, and Horror of Dracula (1958) with Christopher Lee, who, appropriately, narrates this documentary as well as appears as Vlad and the Count. Curiously, the scenes with Lee in the cape are from Scars of Dracula (1970).

Although The Satanic Rites of Dracula was released two years earlier, one could call this Sir Christopher's true swan song as the Count because it reveals the Count's origins and why the character has endured for over a century.

Hannie Caulder (1971)

"Like the man said, there aren't any hard women, only soft men."
-Hannie Caulder.



This may sound ironic, but, in some ways, the western, a genre indigenous to the U.S., has become the most problematic for American filmmakers over the decades.

As someone whose father grew up with westerns on TV and the big screen, I certainly have an idea of how they thrived during the 1930s-1960s.

Today, though, while we have successes such as the History Channel's Hatfields & McCoys, westerns themselves seem few and far between.

We've certainly had homages, such as many of Quentin Tarantino's movies, including his upcoming one Django Unchained. While we have yet to see how good that film is, for every bonafide success like Unforgiven (1992), we get crap like Bad Girls (1994), which leads to another drought of the genre again.

I've heard some say that the western began dying out by the start of the 1970s. Hannie Caulder is one which arrived during that time, although it did not make the same impression as the Clint Eastwood films High Plains Drifter (1973) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) or John Wayne's swan song The Shootist (1976).

The title character (Raquel Welch) is a simple woman whose life is turned upside down after she is raped, her house burned to the ground, and her husband murdered by three brothers (Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, and Jack Elam).

Hannie is left for dead, but encounters bounty hunter Thomas Price (Robert Culp), who reluctantly agrees to help her seek revenge by training her in gun use.

After obtaining weapons from gunsmith Bailey (Christopher Lee, a great actor whom I seem to end up writing about a lot on this site), they confront the murderous trio.

While the rape scene is not as jolting as the ones in Deliverance (1972) and Boys Don't Cry (1999), Borgnine, Martin, and Elam still manage to give us villains we love to hate and are clearly having fun.

Not surprisingly, the posters for this film emphasized Welch's sex appeal. Fortunately, this film is still entertaining because, unlike the four actresses in the aforementioned Bad Girls (Madeline Stowe, Drew Barrymore, Andie MacDowell, and Mary Stuart Masterson), Welch is given an actual character to play and has a great supporting cast to back her up.

Indeed, one could say this film is everything Girls should have been because that movie basically tries to become a revisionist western without bothering to show any grittiness (let alone realism) of that time period. This was quite a shame since the four leading actresses are all charismatic and deserved a better film to share the screen with. For all the crimes Girls commits (check out this review for a list of those crimes) I'd say the four leads deserve the least amount of blame for its failure.

The Oblong Box (1969)

"I might find myself buying your pretty little body one day for a guinea or two." -Dr. Neuhartt. One of Michael Mann's best movies is Heat (1995), an exciting police drama which became noteworthy for its teaming of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino (they both starred in 1974's The Godfather Part II but shared no scenes). But it also has nice work from Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore at a time before their offscreen antics pissed away the goodwill they had established for themselves in the business. However, Pacino and De Niro only have two scenes and roughly 10 minutes of screentime together. That dynamic always reminded me of The Oblong Box, which was promoted as being the first film to team legends Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. But they only have a brief scene together. Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's story of the same name, the film begins in 1865. Julian Markham (Price) returns to England from Africa. His brother, Sir Edward (Alister Williamson), has been disfigured by an African voodoo tribe for a crime he allegedly committed against them. This prompts Julian to lock him in his room. However, Sir Edward attempts to escape by faking his death, thanks to a witchdoctor (Harry Baird) family lawyer Trench (Peter Arne) has contacted. However, Julian puts Sir Edward in the title box before Trench can do anything more. At the viewing of the body, Julian asks Trench to find another body to stand in for Sir Edward's, which leads to Trench and the witchdoctor killing one Tom Hacket (Maxwell Shaw). Sir Edward is buried and Hacket's body is thrown into a river. Julian promptly resumes his life by marrying the beautiful Elizabeth (Hilary Dwyer), but Sir Edward is later exhumed by graverobbers in the employ of Dr. Newhartt (Lee). Sir Edward revives shortly after the not-so-good doctor opens the casket and promptly blackmails Neuhartt into giving him shelter while he concocts his revenge on Trench. To that end, he covers his face with a crimson hood when he goes out. Neuhartt's maid Sally (Sally Geeson) takes pity on Sir Edward, which prompts Neuhartt to fire her. Ironically, she quickly finds employment with Julian, who has become suspicious of Trench's activities after he realizes that a friend found Becket's body in the river. Trench later informs him that Sir Edward was buried alive. Sir Edward's run in with drunks in town, which ends in murder, prompts Neuharrt to find ways to rid himself of him. Eventually, Sir Edward finds the witchdoctor and learns that he was punished becasue Julian killed a child during their time in Africa. The witchdoctor claims he cannot help Sir Edward and, after a fight, the latter returns to Neuharrt, whom he promptly kills after the doctor attempts to give him poison. Sally, upon hearing news of Sir Edward's activities, informs Julian of her knowledge of him, which prompts Julian to go to Neuharrt's where, dying, the doctor informs him that Sir Edward is going to Julian's home. The climax ends with Julian shooting Sir Edward, but being bitten by his brother before he dies. This, naturally, leads to Julian getting the same curse, to Elizabeth's horror. Both stars are great, although it would have been nice if they had more screen time together. Fortunately, they would reteam twice more: Scream and Scream Again (1969), which reunited both with this film's director, Gordon Hessler, and House of the Long Shadows (1983).

Fear in the Dark (1991)

"From a quiet voice whispering in the dark to a motion picture costing millions of dollars, the effect seems to be the same. We enjoy the electric jolt of sudden shock and revel in the rush of adreneline that goes with prolonged and heightened anxiety."
-Christopher Lee


I suppose I have always loved the horror genre. Every Halloween growing up, I always enjoyed watching classics such as the 1931 gems Dracula and Frankenstein. I remember wanting to see Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) when they were originally released, even though I didn't actually watch the films themselves until I reached high school. But when The Silence of the Lambs (1991) came out, my love for the genre seemed to increase ten-fold (some say Silence isn't a horror film, but the rest of us know better). Maybe it was because I was a teenager, but I started seeking out more and more horror entertainment after seeing that classic. Eventually, I even sat down and, over time (not in one sitting, because I had other priorities), watched all the Friday the 13th entries. Like Star Trek: Voyager, that series is too non-sensical to be classifed as 'good,' but it can be fun to watch. But this documentary on the horror genre, which was televised on the BBC the same year Silence appeared in cinemas, is definitely good, as I found out after purchasing it on VHS (remember those?). It discusses the beginnings of the genre, which, at the time, emphasized vampires and other supernatural figures. The references to McCarthyism in such classics as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) is also referenced, as are the 'nature gone amuck' genre which, in the 1970s, was reinvented by Jaws (1975). There is also reference to Jack the Ripper and how that case eventually led to the influence of Psycho (1960). That film, of course, led to the slasher film genre such as Halloween (1978) and its subsequent ilk. Ed Gein, a farmer from Wisconsin who was imprisoned for killing a number of women in 1957, is also mentioned, as it was his story which would inspire Psycho, Silence, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Other notable highmarks of the genre include The Exorcist (1973) and the EC comics, such as Tales From the Crypt, which would sadly fall victim to McCarthyism. The emphasis on then-recent release Silence is also nice (I wonder how this documentary would have played out if it was televised after its well-deserved Oscar wins). Directors such as Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and William Friedkin, writers like Kim Newman, and Saul Bass (who worked on Psycho's shower sequence) give wonderful insight. Christopher Lee's narration is the icing on the cake.

Horror Express (1972)

"Are you telling me that an ape that lived 2 million years ago got out of that crate, killed the baggage man and put him in there? Then locked everything up neat and tidy and got away?"

"Yes, I am! It's alive! It must be!"

-Doctor Wells and Sir Alexander Saxton

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing did numerous films together. Although their most famous teamings were with Hammer films, they also did a number of non-Hammer movies. Indeed, their first teaming was in Laurence Oliver's Hamlet (1948), although they shared no scenes together.

As Hammer began its slow decline in the 1970s, Lee and Cushing were still in demand, mostly in the horror field. One film which proved memorable was this Spanish production. Interestingly, Lee, Cushing, and their co-star Telly Savalas were the only ones on the production who spoke English.

Lee plays Sir Alexander Saxton, a respected anthropologist who, in 1906 China, heads back to Europe on the Trans-Siberian Express with his latest find: the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature.

He is joined on the train by his nosy colleague/competitor Dr. Wells (Cushing) and his sarcastic aide Miss Jones (Alice Reinhart). Wells attempts to see what Saxton has unearthed by bribing the baggage man into taking a look inside the crate the find is in. Not long afterward, the baggage man is found dead in the crate and the relic is nowhere to be found.

Wells and Saxton put their differences aside in order to locate the creature, which they assume has been thawed out and on a rampage. These suspicions prove correct when it kills several men who work for the train's security officer, Inspector Mirov (Julio Pena).

A unique twist is when Saxton and Wells inspect the baggage man's body and realize that the creature kills people by essentially draining their minds, causing the victims' eyes to become completely white, as if they were boiled and their brains to become "smooth as a baby's bottom," as Miss Jones puts it. This leads the protagonists to theorize that the creature is, in fact, an extraterrestrial who first arrived on our planet in prehistoric times.

The creature eventually takes over the body of Mirov after he seemingly guns it down. This enables the creature to kill the Siberian authorities led by one Captain Kazan (Savalas) when the train makes a stop once news of the murders is wired to them.

With more and more victims to its name, the creature is ultimately able to resurrect them all as zombies before Wells, Saxton, and a few others manage to destroy them all by separating themselves from the bulk of the train as it plummets down a cliff.

Lee and Cushing are as charismatic a team as ever here and the 'body taken over' motif and the fact that the creature is not a prehistoric man but an extra-terrestrial who arrived on earth many centuries ago no doubt inspired the direction John Carpenter took his great version of The Thing (1982).

I also liked the theme music by John Cacavas, which is whistled over the main title sequence and by several of the characters during the course of the film.

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

"Rex, do you believe in evil?"

"As an idea."

"Do you believe in the power of darkness?"

"As a superstition."

"Now there you wrong. The power of darkness is more than just a superstition. It is a living force which can be tapped at any given moment of the night!"

-Duc de Richleau and Rex van Ryn

Great Britain's Hammer Film Studios gained fame in the 1950s with its adaptations of Frankenstein and Dracula, specifically by becoming the first to make films of those tales in color. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) was the studio's first hit, becoming to the studio what "Steamboat Willie" became to Disney in that it gave the studio the cachet needed to develop other projects. The next film, Horror of Dracula (1958), was an even bigger hit. Both films starred Peter Cushing (as Dr. Frankenstein in the former and Van Helsing in the latter) and Christopher Lee (who played the Monster and Dracula), both of whom became the most famous of all the talented people associated with Hammer.

The Bloody Judge (1970)

"Justice is a terrible thing, Palofox. But justice must be done!"
-Judge George Jeffreys



The films of Jess Franco aren't exactly regarded as high art, as much as they are exploitation. These films, from 99 Women (1969) to The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), while attaining a cult following, have never propelled him to the same acclaim as other directors such as Alfred Hitchcock or Steven Spielberg. This could be attributed to the fact that Franco's films are notoriously low-budget, along with the emphasis on sexually and even human depravity which runs throughout much of his filmography. Even Franco's well-intended version of Dracula (1970), while more faithful to the Bram Stoker novel than Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), suffers from sloppy editing (that seems to be the problematic issue with film editing: It's either undeniably brilliant-like in 1975's Jaws-or it's unbelievably shoddy).

The Bloody Judge, however, illustrates what Franco can do when given a strong budget. It also has Christopher Lee (who worked with Franco numerous times, including his Fu Manchu and Dracula films) in one of his best roles as the title character. This film's obvious influence was Witchfinder General, with this movie taking place about 40-50 years afterward. Like Vincent Price's Matthew Hopkins in that film, Lee's character was a real-life figure; one George Jeffreys, who served under King James II when England was in the midst of civil war. Also like Hopkins, Jeffreys believes that his horrific acts are for a greater good. Unlike Hopkins, though, Jeffreys doesn't roam the countryside seeking witches or potential traitors to the crown. Rather, he spends much of the film holding court, condemning people to death for treason and/or sorcery. Although Lee is terrifying when pronouncing sentence, his scenes outside the courtroom are also interesting. In numerous scenes, Jeffreys has moments of discomfort brought on by kidney stones, which, in the 17th century, were untreatable. This condition eventually takes his life as he lays in prison once James II is overthrown. Jeffreys's brand of justice is delivered by his executioner Jack Ketch (played by Howard Vernon, who has the same look that Boris Karloff had in 1939's Tower of London), who brutally tortures those convicted before they are publicly executed.

Many of these victims are female, and it is these scenes of violence, nudity, and even lesbianism which have led many to treat this with the same indifference as Franco's other films (shockingly, the film got a PG rating). A friend of mine even called it The Devil's Rejects (2005) done as an historical drama. This indifference was exemplified when it was given the absurd title Night of the Blood Monster for its US release. While The Conqueror Worm gave the false impression that Witchfinder General was an Edgar Allan Poe tale, it still rightfully reflected that movie's emphasis on death. In the case of Franco's film, though, the title change made it sound like a generic monster movie, instead of the period piece it is. Another reason this film stands out in Franco's filmography is that the battle scenes are nicely done. One of Franco's first jobs was filming the second unit for Orson Welles's Chimes of Midnight (1966), which itself had memorable battle scenes, which makes his fine work in this portion of the film particularly fitting. Bruno Nicolai's musical score is another great aspect to the film, as it is appropriately dramatic without being over the top. While DVD has thankfully restored this film to its complete glory in recent years, this film, like Witchfinder General, would certainly have a better reputation had its director been more, shall we say, mainstream.