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Hammer Horror films are a massive part of British cinema history. They most famously starred Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed, and featured a range of movie monsters. At the height of popularity, Hammer worked with none other than Warner Bros. releasing some of the most renowned in Hammer’s history. This relationship is covered in-depth in new documentary – Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros. Years. Featuring interviews with former stars such as Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, and famous fans including Joe Dante, the film is thorough in its recounting. Essentially, it goes through pretty much every film the partnership made together. Each movie gets a plethora of stories from production, and a mention of how successful it was. It discusses both the good times and the bad, and also sheds some further light on the franchise’s biggest stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Given the breadth of information and the format style – talking head, stock footage, talking head – Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros. Years does get a little repetitive, especially with the amount of films analysed. There’s not a great deal here for novice Hammer Horror viewers, it isn’t a cheat sheet to the series, it’s far too thorough for that. You really have to be familiar with the studio, and their work to fully appreciate the wealth of information available within. Given the amount of films discussed it has too much information for the uninitiated to cope with. A lovely examination of one of Britain’s best film institutions, prepare to learn a whole lot more about the world of Hammer Horror. A must devour for fans of the House.
