Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Great news for horror fans


I like it when I get home from work and accidentally find some piece of news that puts me in a good mood before bed.

Hammer Films, the British company that gave me some of my favorite scary movies as a kid, is shooting a new horror film for the first time in 30 years! For those of you unfamiliar with Hammer, they produced a fantastic string of horror movies in the late 50's and 60's.

They remade the Universal classics (The Curse of Frankenstein and The Horror of Dracula) and went on to give us one of the greatest gifts in the entire history of popular culture, the lesbian vampire movie. And they introduced us to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

The new movie is titled The Wake Wood, and it's shooting in Donegal, Ireland, with some backing from the Irish Film Board.

I will sleep well tonight.

14 comments:

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Hammer horror films were a staple of the afternoon movie shows in Detroit when I was a kid. I loved watching them.

SkylersDad said...

Ooooh, I love a good horror film!

DivaJood said...

Um, I'm torn. I love Irish films. Horror films keep me up at night.

Dr Zibbs said...

I'm a horror fan and will see that.

Wren said...

While I'm no longer a horror film fan (they turned, over the years, into dark, moronic slasher flicks, more interested in depicting gore and making hork our half-digested Peanut M&Ms than telling a good, scary story) I used to LOVE the Saturday matinees when I was a kid. There were the Hammer films, the wonderful Vincent Price scarefests (The Mask of the Red Death, the Pit and the Pendulum, The House of Wax). Double features, one and all, and a great cartoon in between.

I'll keep an eye out for this latest from Hammer. And thanks for the memory jog, Bubs!

Anonymous said...

Can a bring a blankie to cover my head during the scary parts?

P.S. I tagged you with something goofy.

Becca said...

I cannot wait to see this! I wonder if they will throw in any of the old Hammer stars for kicks and giggles. Sooooo cool!

Barbara Bruederlin said...

I'm not familiar with these films, but a good horror b movie is always welcome.

Cup said...

I am such a wuss about horror films. It's embarrassing, really. But I wouldn't mind seeing the lesbian vampire flick.

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

I dunno-- I'm more into vamps than walking dead. I saw parts of some remake of either "Dawn of the Dead" or "Night o' the Livin' Dead"-- can't remember which-- and it was profoundly sad AS WELL as disturbing. Which, of course, means they did a good job.

Still, it'll be hard to beat "The Hunger" with Bowie and that blonde French chick, the one who's last name I can never spell or pronounce.

Johnny Yen said...

That's awesome! Those old "Hammer Horrors" were staples of my tv watching as a kid-- especially the many with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. One of the television stations here in Chicago, channel 7, the ABC affiliate, used to show them on Saturday nights under the monicker "Freaky Films." Later, at 10:30, after the news, WGN would show another old horror movie with it's "Creature Features." They would ususually show The Wolfman, Frankenstein or one of the other horror classics.

Gifted Typist said...

A lesbian vampire - talk about alienation.

jin said...

Ohhh.... LOVED those as a kid!
They showed them here every Sat. night and I'd get up after my parents were asleep & watch them with the volume on super low.

I still think it is so effing awesome that you encourage horror-ness upon the young-uns!

So COOL!

Maybe if my parents would have been more like you I'd be making bloody slit throats jinstead of Red Velvet Cakes, eh?!

;-D

Katie Schwartz said...

I love vintage horror movies. Can you believe I don't watch modern horror movies? I do love thrillers, though. I might have to check this one out. If it makes you have sweet dreams, this could be the ticket to mine.