Post by slayrrr666 on Nov 25, 2005 12:33:42 GMT -5
Here's three more of my "Never-ending Shame" series that I need, and I'll do the review like Q does, a quickshot collection of three movies:
“The Mummy” is one of the better Hammer from their early years.
**SPOILERS**
In 1895 Egypt, Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer) discovers a sacred badge in a dig site of an old tomb. His son John (Peter Cushing) is excited about the find, as it means they are closer to finding the long lost burial site of the ancient Princess Ananka. Descending into the tomb, they find the body of the Princess, guarded by a mummy (Christopher Lee) in another chamber. As they remove treasures from the tomb, disturbing her from her sleep, the mummy comes to life and begins to track down the members of the search party.
The Good News: With this one, Hammer had the freedom to go all out with the Universal creatures, and that allows for one important factor: giving us recognizable characters in a different setting, allowing us to use this new situation to draw the horror from. It does use the old style of horror of having normal characters in an extraordinary situation become the focus of the horror. Several of the deaths inside are very well done for the time. The first one is perhaps the best. The other deaths aren’t so spectacular, but they do provide for some interesting viewing. The film’s set design is perhaps the best part of the film, as is the case with so many of their films. I always thought of the mummy films as being the most striking of the films, simply because of what has to be done to the set to make it believable. You would have to create artifacts, sculptures, tools, paintings, and other sort of details in the tomb. Each one of those is in such bright and beautiful color that they seem to stick out from the other films in color from that time. Among the many highlights of this film is the lengthy scene that depicts how the whole ordeal transpired, which is the very entertaining mummification scene. It is a bit more detailed in here than in the original. I really think it is the standard for all mummy mummification scenes, and it hasn’t been toped yet. The dramatic score and Lee’s intense presence in the scene all play out in a great scene that often sends chills down your spine. The mummy itself is a wonderful sight, as Lee gives a marvelous performance, caked in layers of muddy bandages, which his frame and body language combine into one perfect image.
The Bad News: For modern day viewers are accustomed to seeing deaths were everything is shown, this can be a pretty dull experience. We see nothing in the film, just mere drops of blood, so this isn’t anything that gorehounds won’t be too thrilled about. It is also a little slow for more modern tastes since it isn’t an action-packed film.
The Final Verdict: This is one of the best Hammer films of its time, and should definitely please all fans of this type of film. It features a lot of new twists on the mummy legend, and while it isn’t as action-packed as many would’ve wanted it to be, it’s strong performances and creativity lift it up above into the upper echelon of mummy films. Recommended to Hammer films and fans of films that don’t have to rely on blood and gore to get along.
Today’s Rating: PG: Mostly off-screen Violence and implied Nudity
“Curse of Frankenstein” is a pretty tame early Hammer affair.
**SPOILERS**
In an insane asylum, Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) sentenced to die, calls for priest to confess his last rites. He tells the story of how he came to be incarcerated: performing medical experiments with his friend Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) to reanimate tissue. After having initial success, Paul wants to make the experiment work, where Victor proposes something even more shocking: create the body of a perfect human being from scratch dead parts and reanimate it. Paul grows weary of such work, leaving Victor to carry on by himself. He ultimately succeeds in bringing the creation (Christopher Lee) to life, where it murders several people before finally being put down.
The Good News: As is the case with most Frankenstein films, the best part of the film is the make-up used to create the creature. The scarred tissue, the stitches across the face and that overall look of different parts come together to make one complete whole is a usual hallmark of these films, and this one is no exception. It still looks like Lee in the make-up, and while the make-up isn’t anything close to the original, this one is still a pretty nice and shocking design. We get a few murders here, and the favorite one is easily the first one. Even though we never see it happen, we can hear the sounds, and they are enough to give you chills. Also worth mentioning is the great awakening scene. These kinds of scenes are always effective in creating some real mood and tension. Here, we get another classic revival to add to the list. The ending has just enough of a downbeat edge to it that it hammers home the full meaning with great ease.
The Bad News: To me, this films biggest fallacy is it’s simply dreadful opening act. It’s played out as more drama than horror, with the occasional musical sting to prod us into believing it’s scary when it’s not. The plot really doesn’t really need anything extra spelled out for us along the way, and it doesn’t really do anything other than prolong the film needlessly. Also, far too much time is spent on the surgery and acquisition of body parts that it takes time away from the real meat of the story, the monster’s rampage. Even that wasn’t really a rampage, but just too much time is used to focus on the humans, and once we know that the creature is alive, we don’t really care about them anymore and we want to see the creature take some people out. Here, sadly, that isn’t what we get, and leaves a lot to be desired.
The Final Verdict: Far too much time is taken up with inconsequential details to make it’s opening much interest, but once it gets going, this is a much better film. See it if you’re a Hammer Completists or for those that like the Victorian setting in these films.
Today’s Rating: PG: Violence and mature themes about death
“Horror of Dracula” is one of Hammer’s finest hours.
**SPOILERS**
Librarian Jonathan Harker, (John Van Eyssen) arrives in a small town in Eastern Europe for an appointment with a mysterious Count Dracula, (Christopher Lee) who has terrified the villagers living below. When Dracula shows up late, he takes Jonathan into his working area and eventually becomes infected with some strange sort of curse. After disappearing trying to find Dracula’s resting spot, his friend, Doctor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) comes looking for him. After finding him, he reports back to Jonathan’s fiancee Lucy’s (Carol Marsh) parents, Arthur (Michael Gough) and Mina Holmwood (Melissa Stribling). When Lucy is struck with a strange sort of disease, Arthur and Mina bequest Dr. Van Helsing to check on her, and he finds that Dracula is out to unleash a deadly reign of terror.
The Good News: The one thing that really impressed me with this one is how different it is from other Hammer films. Normally with these films, we get a pretty slow beginning, duller middle, and some semblance of action at the end. Here, we have a surprisingly interesting beginning, a slow middle, with a pretty rousing ending, with only the middle part being similar to the others. The ending is the best, including a showdown with Van Helsing and Dracula that includes Dracula’s demise. The way of going about it is cleverly done and executed, resulting in one of the best death scenes in the series. Having Dracula meltdown into a pile of ashes in front of the sun shining into the room is incredibly original, and the effects used to make it happen, while primitive, are as effective now as they were back then. The best part of this film is the presence of Christopher Lee, who has a perfect role here as that of a mysterious figure who is involved with some shady dealings. He is very great in this role, he adds much to the suspense the film has. It’s all about the suspense of knowing such a creature exists. The few deaths we get here are pretty graphic for the time, and the blood shown is nice and realistic.
The Bad News: As with most of these kinds of films, the film has far more talking than action in it. The middle, strangely, is the place with the most talking, as we get a pretty good opening and a nice conclusion. Some of it may be useless to the plot, and it just seems like scenes put in just to give the actors and actresses lines to say.
The Final Verdict: This is one of Hammer’s greatest films, and perhaps the ultimate vampire movie. Christopher Lee is evil personified, and his air of menace is so perfect that he is the perfect person for the role. This is the perfect film for both vampire and Hammer fans.
Today’s Rating: PG-13: Violence and sexual themes
“The Mummy” is one of the better Hammer from their early years.
**SPOILERS**
In 1895 Egypt, Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer) discovers a sacred badge in a dig site of an old tomb. His son John (Peter Cushing) is excited about the find, as it means they are closer to finding the long lost burial site of the ancient Princess Ananka. Descending into the tomb, they find the body of the Princess, guarded by a mummy (Christopher Lee) in another chamber. As they remove treasures from the tomb, disturbing her from her sleep, the mummy comes to life and begins to track down the members of the search party.
The Good News: With this one, Hammer had the freedom to go all out with the Universal creatures, and that allows for one important factor: giving us recognizable characters in a different setting, allowing us to use this new situation to draw the horror from. It does use the old style of horror of having normal characters in an extraordinary situation become the focus of the horror. Several of the deaths inside are very well done for the time. The first one is perhaps the best. The other deaths aren’t so spectacular, but they do provide for some interesting viewing. The film’s set design is perhaps the best part of the film, as is the case with so many of their films. I always thought of the mummy films as being the most striking of the films, simply because of what has to be done to the set to make it believable. You would have to create artifacts, sculptures, tools, paintings, and other sort of details in the tomb. Each one of those is in such bright and beautiful color that they seem to stick out from the other films in color from that time. Among the many highlights of this film is the lengthy scene that depicts how the whole ordeal transpired, which is the very entertaining mummification scene. It is a bit more detailed in here than in the original. I really think it is the standard for all mummy mummification scenes, and it hasn’t been toped yet. The dramatic score and Lee’s intense presence in the scene all play out in a great scene that often sends chills down your spine. The mummy itself is a wonderful sight, as Lee gives a marvelous performance, caked in layers of muddy bandages, which his frame and body language combine into one perfect image.
The Bad News: For modern day viewers are accustomed to seeing deaths were everything is shown, this can be a pretty dull experience. We see nothing in the film, just mere drops of blood, so this isn’t anything that gorehounds won’t be too thrilled about. It is also a little slow for more modern tastes since it isn’t an action-packed film.
The Final Verdict: This is one of the best Hammer films of its time, and should definitely please all fans of this type of film. It features a lot of new twists on the mummy legend, and while it isn’t as action-packed as many would’ve wanted it to be, it’s strong performances and creativity lift it up above into the upper echelon of mummy films. Recommended to Hammer films and fans of films that don’t have to rely on blood and gore to get along.
Today’s Rating: PG: Mostly off-screen Violence and implied Nudity
“Curse of Frankenstein” is a pretty tame early Hammer affair.
**SPOILERS**
In an insane asylum, Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) sentenced to die, calls for priest to confess his last rites. He tells the story of how he came to be incarcerated: performing medical experiments with his friend Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) to reanimate tissue. After having initial success, Paul wants to make the experiment work, where Victor proposes something even more shocking: create the body of a perfect human being from scratch dead parts and reanimate it. Paul grows weary of such work, leaving Victor to carry on by himself. He ultimately succeeds in bringing the creation (Christopher Lee) to life, where it murders several people before finally being put down.
The Good News: As is the case with most Frankenstein films, the best part of the film is the make-up used to create the creature. The scarred tissue, the stitches across the face and that overall look of different parts come together to make one complete whole is a usual hallmark of these films, and this one is no exception. It still looks like Lee in the make-up, and while the make-up isn’t anything close to the original, this one is still a pretty nice and shocking design. We get a few murders here, and the favorite one is easily the first one. Even though we never see it happen, we can hear the sounds, and they are enough to give you chills. Also worth mentioning is the great awakening scene. These kinds of scenes are always effective in creating some real mood and tension. Here, we get another classic revival to add to the list. The ending has just enough of a downbeat edge to it that it hammers home the full meaning with great ease.
The Bad News: To me, this films biggest fallacy is it’s simply dreadful opening act. It’s played out as more drama than horror, with the occasional musical sting to prod us into believing it’s scary when it’s not. The plot really doesn’t really need anything extra spelled out for us along the way, and it doesn’t really do anything other than prolong the film needlessly. Also, far too much time is spent on the surgery and acquisition of body parts that it takes time away from the real meat of the story, the monster’s rampage. Even that wasn’t really a rampage, but just too much time is used to focus on the humans, and once we know that the creature is alive, we don’t really care about them anymore and we want to see the creature take some people out. Here, sadly, that isn’t what we get, and leaves a lot to be desired.
The Final Verdict: Far too much time is taken up with inconsequential details to make it’s opening much interest, but once it gets going, this is a much better film. See it if you’re a Hammer Completists or for those that like the Victorian setting in these films.
Today’s Rating: PG: Violence and mature themes about death
“Horror of Dracula” is one of Hammer’s finest hours.
**SPOILERS**
Librarian Jonathan Harker, (John Van Eyssen) arrives in a small town in Eastern Europe for an appointment with a mysterious Count Dracula, (Christopher Lee) who has terrified the villagers living below. When Dracula shows up late, he takes Jonathan into his working area and eventually becomes infected with some strange sort of curse. After disappearing trying to find Dracula’s resting spot, his friend, Doctor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) comes looking for him. After finding him, he reports back to Jonathan’s fiancee Lucy’s (Carol Marsh) parents, Arthur (Michael Gough) and Mina Holmwood (Melissa Stribling). When Lucy is struck with a strange sort of disease, Arthur and Mina bequest Dr. Van Helsing to check on her, and he finds that Dracula is out to unleash a deadly reign of terror.
The Good News: The one thing that really impressed me with this one is how different it is from other Hammer films. Normally with these films, we get a pretty slow beginning, duller middle, and some semblance of action at the end. Here, we have a surprisingly interesting beginning, a slow middle, with a pretty rousing ending, with only the middle part being similar to the others. The ending is the best, including a showdown with Van Helsing and Dracula that includes Dracula’s demise. The way of going about it is cleverly done and executed, resulting in one of the best death scenes in the series. Having Dracula meltdown into a pile of ashes in front of the sun shining into the room is incredibly original, and the effects used to make it happen, while primitive, are as effective now as they were back then. The best part of this film is the presence of Christopher Lee, who has a perfect role here as that of a mysterious figure who is involved with some shady dealings. He is very great in this role, he adds much to the suspense the film has. It’s all about the suspense of knowing such a creature exists. The few deaths we get here are pretty graphic for the time, and the blood shown is nice and realistic.
The Bad News: As with most of these kinds of films, the film has far more talking than action in it. The middle, strangely, is the place with the most talking, as we get a pretty good opening and a nice conclusion. Some of it may be useless to the plot, and it just seems like scenes put in just to give the actors and actresses lines to say.
The Final Verdict: This is one of Hammer’s greatest films, and perhaps the ultimate vampire movie. Christopher Lee is evil personified, and his air of menace is so perfect that he is the perfect person for the role. This is the perfect film for both vampire and Hammer fans.
Today’s Rating: PG-13: Violence and sexual themes
