'Established in 1934, Hammer Films is one of the most renowned and prolific independent production companies in the world. Hammer’s productions encompass almost every genre, but it remains best known for the ground breaking reinvention of cinematic horror that was a phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1950s. The unique formula that became known as Hammer Horror was perfected in such classics as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959). Over the next 20 years numerous sequels and similarly acclaimed films such as The Devil Rides Out (1968) made Hammer one of the most recognisable filmmaking brands in the world.
'The Hammer Story is the only authorised history of the company and was compiled with unlimited access to its archive. The book is lavishly illustrated with rare promotional material and previously unpublished photographs. Now with an additional 32 pages continuing the story of Hammer as it came back from the dead in 2007 and began producing new horror films for a modern audience'
I'm not old enough to have experienced the heyday of Hammer Horror, though I was aware of it growing up thanks in large part to my mother and grandmother having watched numerous Hammer films together on a Friday night whilst alone in the house; stories they'd tell that would end out with the power going out at a frightening moment that made them scream, or one of my uncles suddenly appearing at a window with fake fangs, or shoving a hand through a window to grab them whilst wearing a monster glove. Honestly, with those stories I think part of why I never sought them out before I did was because it seemed like watching a Hammer Horror came with some kind of frightening event.
Despite this, my first experience with Hammer Horror was in 2012 with the release of The Woman in Black. Being a fan of horror in general, and gothic Victorian horror in particular, I could tell that it was going to be a movie that ticked a lot of my boxes. And it ended up being the scariest film I watched that year. I'd still say that it's probably one of my favourites. My housemate at the time, who I watched the film with, suggested we try out some other Hammer movies, and from there I've now seen a decent number of them (though by no means the entire catalogue).
Thanks to my interest in Hammer, when I saw that Titan Books was bringing out a revised edition of The Hammer Story, I knew that I'd want to read it. Covering every film that Hammer has ever made, in chronological order, the book charts the legacy of one of the most respected horror film production companies there has ever been; now fully up to date to include several films from the revival era of Hammer Horror, including the already mentioned The Woman in Black, and Let Me In, a remake of the Swedish Let The Right One In.
With the US dominating most of movie culture in the Western world, it's sometimes easy to overlook British cinema, but if there's one thing that The Hammer Story really puts into perspective is that whilst the studio didn't always produce amazing movies it certainly helped to shape what modern horror is, and is perhaps one of the most important forces in horror. Thanks to the book going in chronological order readers get to see this happen as you move from film to film, witnessing the increased budget, creativity, and star power that the studio attains as it goes from success to success.
Of course, anyone who knows about Hammer will say that some of this is largely down to two names in particular, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing; both of whom would star in multiple films, both alone and together, and would become the iconic faces of Count Dracula and Victor Frankenstein respectively, with several films in each character's series. It's no surprise then that the two of them share the cover of the book together, as these characters, as well as being the only two people given their own chapters in the book; the other chapters being dedicated to eras of the studio.
As the book progresses through each film we get behind the scenes accounts of the production, from how the films were pitched and written, to stories from the set, and looks at how they were marketed and received by the public. These accounts are accompanied by production stills, promotional artwork featuring some amazing painted posters, as well as documents that were never released to the public, creating a surprisingly detailed account of each film over a handful of pages.
This new Revised and Expanded Edition has an additional thirty pages since the last printing of the book; the previous release being 2007. These new pages include the modern Hammer films, Wake Wood, The Resident, Let Me In, The Woman in Black, The Quiet Ones, The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, The Lodge, and Doctor Jekyll. It's interesting to see that these modern movies don't quite go into as much detail as the older films, perhaps with so much of the behind the scenes stuff being covered by home release extras, online videos, and Internet articles that there's not a whole lot that can be said here that isn't easy to find elsewhere. It could also be that despite the age of the older movies there's just more documentation from the productions that made it to the archive, more internal memos and letters that are now just emails sitting in the cloud somewhere on a modern production.
It's also very striking how Hammer has operated at different points when everything is laid out as it is here in the book, especially in regards to the modern movies. Despite a couple of decent successes, the modern Hammer movies just didn't quite land the same way that they did back in the day, and even attempts to recapture some of that magic, such as having Christopher Lee appear in The Resident, or making movies that tap into the Gothic horror era via The Woman in Black or their new take on Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Hammer just never managed to become the powerhouse that it once was.
As someone who loves the stuff around movies, who'd watch through the making-of documentaries more times than the film, and would listen to audio-commentary tracks whilst working on some hobby or the other, I love these kinds of books. To be able to sit down and just go through the history of an entire production company, or to be able to go to specific movies as and when the urge takes me to read about them again or see the extra documents and artwork included is such a joy. Reading through this book, along with Titan's other recent Hammer release, The Hammer Horror Omnibus, has resulted in me wanting to go through a great deal of the Hammer movies for the first time.
Whether you're a lifelong fan of the franchise, or someone like myself who has a passing interest and wants to learn more, The Hammer Story: Revised and Expanded Edition makes for the perfect book to add to your shelves, no matter if it's joining your collection of Hammer memorabilia, or your gateway into a whole new world of cinema. This lavishly produced and gorgeous coffee table book is well worth the price of admission at a frankly bargain price.
The Hammer Story: Revised and Expanded Edition is available now from Titan Books for £29.99.
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