Gentleman of Horror
Tuesday October 19, 2010 in horror |
During the last two weeks I’ve realised I have a lot of common ground with Mark Gatiss, notably in our shared love of the horror genre. His History of Horror series on BBC4 has been a joy to watch, especially as we appear to agree on many of the genre’s best. Gatiss revels in his role as our host, arriving to present the second episode in a horse drawn funeral coach. Fittingly, part two concentrated on Hammer films, their output sitting within my favourite period in horror cinema, the mid 50s to early 70s. Gatiss looked at the well trodden but always fascinating Hammer time line, from the Quatermass films to the hugely successful Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, to the dying days of nudity and increasingly desperate themes.
In addition to examining Hammer’s best films Gatiss also looked at Roger Corman’s Poe adaptations and Hammer’s rivals Amicus who produced the memorable portmanteau horrors. Gatiss even managed to interview Roy Ward Baker, director of Asylum and The Vault of Horror, who died a few weeks ago. Some of my other favourites from the period also received a welcome nod of appreciation, including Jacques Tourneur’s Night of the Demon and Robert Wise’s The Haunting.
What’s less satisfying is the films that accompany the series, and I assume the lack of imagination in scheduling boils down to the small selection that the BBC currently have the rights to show. James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein is a little too weird for me and steers us too far away from the genre, and many of the films that later followed, such as Son of Frankenstein would be more welcome. Similarly, after Gatiss enthused over The Plague of the Zombies the only Hammer film screened was Brides of Dracula, a less accomplished film and a peculiar choice, especially as it’s the only one of Hammer’s Dracula series not to feature Christopher Lee. And whilst Gatiss has a soft spot for Blood on Satan’s Claw, a film he feels is overshadowed by the more celebrated Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man, I doubt if it will receive a screening any time soon.