One look at the shocking images on its movie posters tells us that Hammer intended to cash in on the success of MGM's Village of the Damned. The Damned (aka These Are the Damned in the U.S.) remains one of Hammer's strangest and most elusive films. These proved so successful that it would be six years before Hammer returned to SF, in a sadly neglected classic. It was Hammer's desire to make horror films that led the company first to Quatermass, then to Gothics. This is no accident: Quatermass' adventures featured strong doses of horror, something nearly unprecedented in SF film at the time they appeared on TV. For Hammer, 1957 marked both the end of its initial burst of Quatermass films and the beginning of its horror cycle. But no matter how dark or absurd they can be, they remain eminently watchable, thanks to the care and professionalism that Hammer brought to all its films.Īccording to Bill Warren's massive Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, it was the rise of Gothic horror that drove SF out of the theaters at the end of the '50s. They reflect the rapidly changing times and Hammer's own struggles to stay afloat in an uncertain market. They are a curious lot, ranging from true classics to classy exploitation films, from the deadly serious to the just plain goofy, from daring astronauts to topless cavegirls. While many critics have discussed the Quatermass films and their numerous copies, few have paid much attention to the SF films Hammer made in the decade that followed. Not only did their success encourage Hammer to make its first Gothics, but they played a pivotal role in the development of British SF cinema over the next decade. Hammer's SF films of the '50s-inspired by the legendary Quatermass serials-were the company's first venture into horror. So far, however, Hammer has announced no plans to explore another important part of its legacy (although one unfamiliar to many of their fans): science fiction. After a 43-year absence, The Woman in Black recently hit American theaters, with the promise of further films to come. Like some monstrous creature in one of its own films, Hammer has returned from the dead.
Hammer Films: The name conjures images of sinister images in garish color, of Frankenstein, Dracula, and a thousand other terrors of the night.
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