The Plague of the Zombies
00:36:38
About
We’re sticking with under-appreciated Hammer films this episode, and another from 1966 - “The Plague of the Zombies”. A film in which André Morell is such a badass, he stabs a man who is already on fire; the local constabulary are so obliging that they don’t just turn a blind eye to grave robbing: they also help fill in the hole; and Servalan is feeling really rather tired. This was originally released as a double bill with “Dracula: Prince of Darkness”, and while the Count brought the box office clout, “The Plague of the Zombies” is definitely the more exciting and interesting film. Hammer’s only foray into zombie territory wisely transplants the myth’s Haitian origins to Cornwall, thus bringing in an element of British colonialism, which is then married to a comment on capitalist exploitation of the workers, making for a remarkably modern subtext. But the gothic visceral chills are there too, both supernatural and all too horribly human, with a standout dream sequence that really gives these zombies some evocative menace, that may have played into George A Romero’s take on the monsters a mere two years later. Watch (or re-watch) to avoid spoilers and join us.
I, I find all kinds of witchcraft slightly nauseating and this I find absolutely disgusting.
Famous lines
- "Only The Lord Of The Dead Could Unleash Them!"
- "Someone in this village is practicing witchcraft. That corpse wandering on the moors is an undead, a zombie."— Sir James Forbes
Quotes verified against Wikiquote.
Transcript
Show full transcript
UnknownGood evening and welcome to Horror.
LeeI'm Lee.
ChrisI'm Chris.
AdamI'm Adam.
LeeAnd we are here as promised for 1966's The Plague of the Zombies, brought to you by Hammer, there will be spoilers, there may be swearing, I mean, there's definitely going to be zombies.
LeeSo let's get stuck in.
LeeChris.
LeeI'm assuming this is not something you would have seen before.
ChrisIt's not.
ChrisI'm going to call you out on that little preamble just a little bit and highlight the worst thing about this film.
ChrisI wasn't totally sure for a long time that there was a plague appearing.
ChrisHowever, I completely forgave it as we got towards the end I was like, I don't care, you could have called this anything, this is a very good film.
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah, and I kind of think either I'm getting used to some of these older style films or you have really hidden a few gems and are showing me some of the best Hammer.
AdamIt's all.
ChrisSurprisingly good and seems extremely modern.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
ChrisAhead of its time, so yeah.
LeeI've got to say, that's the thing, although Hammer is, you know, as we always say, is known for its franchises and its multiple Draculas and its multiple Frankenstein movies.
LeeIt's the side ones that I really enjoy, you know, this, The Reptile, I love.
LeeWhat's the circus one?
AdamCircus of, no, Vampire Circus.
LeeVampire Circus, yeah.
ChrisSo it sounds like we've got a few more still to go.
LeeYeah, there's loads of these sideliners that are just fantastic.
LeeEspecially these super early ones when I, I feel it's before they kind of got their tread game, which is why it's lots of people.
ChrisOnce, once they started to get, I suppose, those iconic films, then they, it was hard not to stick with them.
AdamOh.
AdamThey knew they were money spinners.
AdamI mean, the weird thing was, this, when this originally came out, this was a double bill with Dracula Prince of Darkness.
Chris
AdamAnd Dracula is definitely better than Dracula Prince of Darkness.
LeeYeah.
AdamEven though it's, like, because it is the second Christopher Lee Dracula film.
AdamBut this is much more interesting, much more, I, to be honest, I think weirdly, the, it's when Hammer go off-piste that they come up with some really interesting stuff.
AdamBecause a lot of it is obviously, even though they make like the first Dracula or Horror of Dracula is just, is their retelling of the Bram Stoker story.
Chris
AdamThey still kind of dip into those elements.
AdamSo they're always kind of constrained from an adaption or they've, you know, they've got, whereas these things seem to freewheel a lot better.
Lee
AdamYou know, because I mean, let's face it, Andre Morel's character is basically a Van Helsing.
AdamOr a Sherlock Holmes.
ChrisRight.
ChrisSo, yeah, I totally, especially when you mentioned Columbo earlier, I was like, yeah, I actually thought of that.
ChrisI was like, a bit of Columbo in him starting to come out, a bit of Sherlock Holmes.
LeeHe's.
LeeYeah, he was in the Hammer Sherlock Holmes as well, he was in The Hound of the Baskervilles with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, he played Watson.
AdamYeah, he's Watson to Cushing's Holmes.
AdamAnd he's also, he's also the third Quatermass.
ChrisAll right.
AdamHe did Quatermass and the Pit, which is the TV version of Quatermass and the Pit, which is.
AdamI think the pinnacle of, which incidentally also has Michael Ripper in it.
AdamMichael Ripper, who's in this, nice big role for him.
AdamHe was the police sergeant, Chris.
Chris
AdamBut Michael Ripper is the, he's the, the actor who's appeared in the most Hammer films.
ChrisRight.
AdamIt's something like 35 or 36, I was kind of trying to work it out.
AdamBut there's one, there was one I was a bit, is that a Hammer film or is that not?
AdamIt was like a Peter Sellers comedy.
Chris
AdamAnd I was trying to work out whether it was Hammer by another name or something like that, but anyway.
AdamBut regardless of that, yeah, like Michael Ripper, who plays the police sergeant.
AdamHe's just once, once you're aware of him, you will see him in a number of Hammer films.
ChrisYeah.
LeeHe's always an innkeeper or a bartender, he's always got a very small role.
LeeBut whenever you go into a, yeah, whenever you go into a village, he is there somewhere running stuff.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisAnd I thought it's funny, I was going to say, this is another film where almost the horror element it's like the icing on the cake.
ChrisYou've got a really good film and you almost don't even fully need the horror aspect.
ChrisYou know, they've, whereas, you can imagine some films where it's like take the horror out and it's a pretty rubbish film.
LeeYeah.
ChrisBut really, they have got an absolute, you know, the character's fascinating, the dialogue's great, it's, it all works really well together.
LeeIt's a lovely looking film, it feels polished and.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah, just beautiful and the zombie make up is terrifying.
ChrisYeah.
AdamIt's, it's weird, isn't it, because it's the first, I think it's the first time because the, the zombie was usually just someone who was.
AdamLike, previously when Universal doing stuff like I Walk with a Zombie, they would just be essentially, they'd just be sleepwalking almost.
AdamThis is the one of the original, oh it's here's a rotting corpse.
ChrisOh, yeah, okay.
ChrisAnd, and this has got to be fairly early in the zombie industry.
AdamIt's two years prior to Night of the Living Dead.
ChrisIs it?
AdamSo this is the sort of, this is the last of the original, not original run, sorry, but this is the last of zombie films before Romero is.
ChrisYeah.
AdamBasically becomes the over of the genre.
ChrisYeah.
Chris
AdamAnd interestingly enough.
AdamIt is oddly, because they're going, they've obviously with this, they're still going with the zombie tradition as like associated to Voodoo.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd stuff like that, but what I think is great because again, you know, like we said with The Witches where it has that opening sequence in Africa.
ChrisYeah.
AdamThis also you could be, you know, if they'd have just done a Hatian Voodoo film, yeah, I don't think that would be, that would come over particularly well nowadays.
AdamWhereas actually.
ChrisGets away with.
AdamWell.
AdamWeirdly enough, not only does it get away with it, it's a lovely explanation of, or sort of exploration rather, of.
AdamIt's like a colonial thing because it's basically this posh English arsehole has gone over to, has gone over to Haiti.
AdamNicked their tech or nicked their magic and brought it back home.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYeah, in order to also have a completely compliant workforce that you don't have to give a shit about.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisWell that's, I think that.
ChrisI think that adds to the modern feel of it, it's, it is like a, a almost satirical take on, yeah, exploiting the working class.
AdamYeah.
AdamBut zombies.
ChrisYeah.
AdamIt's basically, what's the ideal way to run this tin mine now that people actually expect a living wage?
ChrisYeah.
AdamWell, I'll employ the living dead.
LeeYeah.
ChrisSo yeah, it is a big, big social commentary film again, which I didn't realise Hammer did this as much as they clearly do.
AdamI'm not sure, because that's the thing is, I think it's individuals within it.
AdamI think it's script writers, I think it's directors and stuff like that.
AdamIt wasn't necessarily Hammer had the vision.
ChrisRight.
AdamIt was just, yeah, just how it sort of went.
AdamI'm.
ChrisSorry, Lee, I, I.
LeeThat's all right.
LeeI'm sorry.
LeeThat's all right, I was just going to say, yeah, because it did leave me with a bit of a question mark, I've seen this film a few times, but again, it's when you're looking at it critically like to do this.
LeeBecause I had made a note, I was like, there's definitely more so his turning them to have them working in the tin mine.
LeeThat makes perfect sense, there's still lots of men around that town.
LeeWhy is he starting turning women, and then I was like, oh, there aren't any women working in the mine, but they don't ever actually touch on why he is converting these two women.
LeeI think it's probably just best, they decided it's probably just best not said really.
LeeBut I can't imagine them swinging a pickaxe.
AdamYeah.
AdamI mean, it's also that sequence where like his, they're referred to as the young bloods in the credits.
LeeYeah, that's right.
AdamWhich, which immediately nowadays I'm just thinking, well, where are the Crips, but obviously it's the, it's the older use of that ridiculous term of basically, you know.
AdamOh, they're bully boy arseholes have come off the fox hunt to be pricks to people.
AdamBut you know, they're just young bloods, aren't they, you know.
AdamIt's, it's.
AdamI mean, still a lovely example of what you can get away with when you're posh, insomuch as the police find you grave robbing.
Chris
AdamYou know, they don't know you, but basically you flash your sort of, your your business card, tell him you're an eminent doctor, then next thing they're going is, no, don't, don't you worry about filling in that hole, sir.
LeeWe'll do that.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd you're like, fucking hell, that's that.
AdamThat, that's posh in action, do you know what I mean, Andre is such a smooth bastard.
ChrisYeah.
AdamSo.
AdamActually, and also stabbing a man who is already on fire.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah, you know, that's, yeah, that's pretty sort of like, fucking hell, he ain't shitting about, you know, quite.
ChrisThat's it, there's even decent action in it.
AdamAnd actually, actually, I think that's the other thing as well, is I think that when with the adaptations and stuff, maybe they just got too sort of rolled up in is that what that character would do?
LeeYeah.
AdamDo you know what I mean, like, well, if the man's on fire, would Sherlock Holmes stab him?
AdamIt doesn't matter, this is, this is Sir James and it's so it's.
AdamYou know, it's a lot sort of, it's a lot simpler, that's what he does.
LeeI think you're right, they do have a lot more, a lot more freedom when they do their own stuff and it comes across.
LeeAnd it's, it is a shame that they got so wrapped up in, you know, in doing the franchise stuff.
LeeBecause as much as, as much as I love all of the vampire movie, all the Dracula movies and stuff.
LeeYeah, like it's these side ones that I really enjoy, and I think if they'd put more time and effort into those that they had more control over, as you say, where they didn't have to worry about.
LeeSticking to guidelines and upsetting the fans of the books and all that kind of stuff, and you've got a character who you, you've got him 15 movies so you can't really change who he is or what he does.
LeeYeah, I, I honestly think they could have done so much better stuff if they'd, you know, done more of their own content really, but.
Chris
LeeCan't complain, there's enough of it out there.
AdamAnd but it's really weird.
AdamBecause obviously, 66 is quite, it's obviously quite a good vein for this.
AdamBecause obviously, The Witches, I hadn't, when we planned this, I hadn't realised that The Witches and Plague of the Zombies were both 66, which also means, because you mentioned it earlier, like The Reptile.
AdamAnd The Reptile is another one of these films where.
AdamYou know, it's their own thing, so they can, it's really great.
AdamBut they filmed it back to back with this, so if you watch it, if you watch them together, it's the same sets.
Chris
AdamMichael Ripper's in that one as well.
AdamSo Jacqueline Pearce, who plays Alice in this.
LeeYeah.
Adamwho.
AdamI don't, I assume neither of you have ever seen Blake's 7.
ChrisNo.
AdamBut she is the main baddy of Blake's 7.
AdamShe is the Emperor of Blake's 7, she's the Palpatine.
AdamAnd she is fucking amazing in it.
AdamAnd yeah, so this is, this is, this is a far different role to that is.
Adambut yeah.
AdamAs like this sort of like space dominatrix villain that she sort of plays in Blake's 7, but.
Adamso, but yeah, they're both in The Reptile.
Chris
AdamAnd you'll see that they're all the same sets.
AdamAnd then.
LeeSo this was release they used Oakley Court in both as well, they use Oakley Court in both.
LeeSo obviously they've kind of pruned it and dressed the outside because obviously the inside was a derelict mess at this point.
LeeYeah, so they've obviously done the outside work, so they're like, let's get as many exterior shots of it in different films as we can before we have to get the gardeners back in and it goes to shit again.
AdamAnd I think they.
AdamBut yeah, so The Reptile is another recommend.
Chris
AdamIn this similar vein because again, it's just a weird outlier that and yeah.
AdamI really think that there's a, there's a lot of wealth in the sidelines of Hammer.
Chris
AdamAnd not because it's weird, because the stuff, not so much the stuff they do, they only did one werewolf movie, Curse of the Werewolf, which again is a really great film.
AdamAnd really sort of like more in the sort of Gothic tradition, but yeah, they do a lot of interesting things there.
AdamBut.
Adam
AdamYeah, I think that, so like I say, this was back to back with The Reptile.
AdamAnd then The Reptile was released with Rasputin, the Christopher Lee Rasputin film as a double bill.
LeeRight, yeah.
AdamSo what.
AdamBut Rasputin was also was filmed back to back with Dracula Prince of Darkness, again, same sets, most of the same cast.
ChrisI like, I like efficiency.
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd so, yeah, but so that's why they mixed them up when they released them.
AdamSo that you wouldn't be sitting there going.
ChrisIt's not that, it's like the same set, yeah.
AdamHang on, this is the same building or whatever like that.
AdamYou know, they would make sure that they, but I.
AdamBut definitely, I think, I mean, Rasputin and, The Reptile's hell of a double bill as well.
Adam
AdamBut yeah, so John Gilling, who, directed this, also did, for Hammer, he did The Mummy's Shroud.
AdamShadow of the Cat, The Pirates of Blood River, the Brigand of Kandahar and The Scarlet Blade.
Adambut he also did, The Flesh and the Fiends, the Burke and Hare movie with Peter Cushing.
LeeOh.
LeeWhich again is.
AdamThat's a great little film.
AdamAnd, some others that there's also a film called The Night Caller that I've got to watch at some point.
AdamBecause I keep hearing it come up.
AdamBut yeah, John Gilling was basically like who directed it was, I think he rewrote the script pretty much as well.
AdamAnd similarly with The Reptile.
AdamSo both of them are kind of his end of Hammer as it were.
LeeYeah.
LeeI get this is one of those that I don't, I don't get out and watch very often.
Leebut it just means that when I do, I always go, yeah, it's always, it's always better than I remember it.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAbsolutely.
LeeYeah.
LeeIt's so glorious looking, that's the thing that gets me, is that lovely soft look about it, it's the perfect like Sunday evening relaxing horror movie, which I know sounds daft, but it is, that's how it works.
LeeIt's a, it's just beautiful.
ChrisYeah, great atmosphere.
AdamI think the graveyard set is amazing, frankly.
AdamAnd I really love the, I think the mine works are just the right level of stark, especially because they're doing.
AdamThe the day for night shooting isn't that great, but it almost gives it a nice, it makes it monochrome, it almost makes it like a black and white movie for those bits.
LeeYeah.
LeeI I noticed that as well.
LeeThey were, I was like, I I appreciate that they can't shoot at night, but according to this, the young bloods were still out fox hunting at 11 o'clock at night and I was like, I mean, even in the height of summer, it's still dark by 9:30 surely, I mean.
AdamAnd that's, and that's the thing is, I think, I mean, genuinely, the scene where they run his daughter down and like drag her back to the house and everything is.
ChrisYeah, that got pretty intense.
ChrisI was like, I wonder how far they're going to take this.
AdamIt's fucking horrible.
AdamIt really is.
AdamAnd it's odd because again, it's that thing where you don't think Hammer's going to come up with anything that's going to be too.
AdamAnd then, yeah, that that sort of just plays to almost to the right point.
AdamOf like, this is getting really fucking uncomfortable.
AdamAnd then it's like, thank fuck for that, we're going back to fantasy.
AdamAnd, you know, and.
LeeYou've got the bad guy who has turned up.
LeeLike, yeah.
LeeLike, fuck.
Chris
LeeI mean, I thought he was brilliant in it as well, such a great, he gave a such a good performance.
AdamOh, he's a brilliant shithouse.
AdamHe's brilliant, isn't he?
LeeYeah.
AdamJohn Carson.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah, so smarmy and nice, but still constantly untrustworthy, yeah, and then you always see the other side of him when he is just an absolute prick.
LeeHe's just brilliant, absolutely great.
AdamYeah, I think I think that's again, it's a great cast, it's not necessarily like a, it's not, it's not an audience draw Hammer cast necessarily.
AdamBut.
ChrisOh, top, top, like, all just works so well, especially what was the, the scene where Forbes confronts.
ChrisWhat's his name?
AdamHamilton.
ChrisClive.
ChrisHamilton, yeah.
AdamYeah.
ChrisThat, you know, that's great seeing them stand off against each other and Forbes is clearly like showing that he is tough even if he's, you know, he's got a bit older, but.
AdamYeah.
ChrisHe does mess around.
ChrisI suppose, I suppose as well, how likable he is, even with his relationship with his daughter from the start.
ChrisWhat does he say?
ChrisHe's like, I don't know why I put up with you at all.
ChrisI should.
ChrisI'm like, that's it.
ChrisI'm, I'm using that tomorrow.
AdamThat's my.
AdamThis thing, is that's, that's one of those ones where you can imagine sort of like that people just not getting it.
AdamAnd you're like, that's a loving, that's a loving family, I know that, you know, that was.
ChrisYeah.
AdamI just, yeah, no, I think they have a.
ChrisIt's, the look she gives him, it's just yeah, it's completely like.
AdamThey have a great relationship.
AdamDiane Clare was also in The Haunting.
AdamObviously we did however many episodes ago, she's like, she's Eleanor's sister in it.
AdamSo she's not in it a lot.
Adam
Lee200 episodes ago now, isn't it? Yeah, something like that.
AdamYeah.
AdamSomething like that.
AdamBut, no, I, I, I think they've got a great relationship, the, the other doctor is a bit of a wet blanket, but then he is a bit of a wet blanket.
AdamThat's the character.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYou know what I mean.
AdamIt's like he's, you know, he's not.
ChrisHe, he's good, you know, apparently he was one of the top students, so he's clearly good at his job, but yeah, he's struggling with what's going on.
AdamHe's out of his depth, he's intimidated and basically given up on it.
AdamAnd,
LeeI love that line.
LeeI laughed out loud when they were doing the washing up after dinner.
LeeAnd, and yeah, he immediately says, you know what we're going to have to do, we're going to have to go and dig one up.
LeeAnd he goes, what?
AdamWhat.
LeeNo.
AdamWhat I also love about that is again, confidence.
LeeYeah.
AdamBecause because you two have just proven to me quite conclusively that you can't wash up without breaking a plate.
AdamBut you're both quite, but you know, certainly Andre Morel is certainly, fuck it, it's just a bit of grave robbing, yeah, we'll do that.
AdamWe'll have it sorted by morning.
AdamYou've just broken two plates, guys, come on.
AdamAnd also according to, according to Claire, lighting a cigarello on a candle is very cool.
AdamShe wanted that noted down.
LeeI think that is worth noting, that definitely is.
AdamYeah.
AdamBut I think, and and there's, I think there's also.
AdamAgain, it feels, you know, like where Sylvia immediately is like, no, the fox went the other way.
AdamAnd it was like, yeah, good for you.
AdamBecause, you know, she was, although, although it did seem a bit like, father, do something.
AdamAnd it's like.
AdamWhat from here.
AdamIn a movie, what am I meant to do?
LeeChase those men who are rushing across the field on a horse.
AdamI'll write a letter to the times.
AdamI don't know.
LeeBut again, it is, it's that thing of, they'll never know, they'll just think they haven't found it.
LeeAnd then when he doesn't find it, he immediately says, it went that way, didn't it, you better hope I don't see you again, I was like, all right, so because you can't find a fox, you immediately go, that woman was lying.
LeeIt couldn't possibly be that it did go that way and you just didn't find it.
AdamYeah.
AdamI think that's the again, a beautiful feeling that because at the start of it.
AdamObviously, Hamilton is wearing the mask.
AdamAnd then the next time you see him, they just show you very close up the ring with the same mark.
AdamSo it's not a mystery for any of us.
AdamIt's not a mystery for the audience at all.
AdamIt's you, again, back to Columbo, you, it's watching someone work it out rather than, you know, what you're going, oh, that's what they're clocking or that's where they're going.
AdamAnd,
LeeIt's, those masks, again, like with the zombies, what a horrific design they are, that is nightmare fuel, isn't it?
AdamOh, yeah, when they chase the vicar, though.
AdamI can, I can honestly say.
AdamThat you're sitting there digging up a body, if I was that vicar, I'd have been like, when they say, oh, we're going, you're all right.
LeeAre you sure?
AdamI was only saying, I was staying out of a misguided sense of politeness, but frankly, I'm fucking freezing.
AdamYeah.
AdamI think that's the again, a beautiful feeling that because at the start of it, obviously, Hamilton is wearing the mask.
AdamAnd then the next time you see him, they just show you very close up the ring with the same mark.
AdamSo it's not a mystery for any of us.
AdamIt's not a mystery for the audience at all.
AdamIt's you, again, back to Columbo, you it's watching someone work it out rather than, you know, what you're going, oh, that's what they're clocking or that's where they're going.
AdamAnd,
LeeYeah, I think I'll I do need at some point to go through and make a note of all of these that I haven't seen.
LeeBecause again, like this and The Reptile and stuff, because they don't get mentioned so much, if it wasn't for the Hammer Horror box set having them in, I wouldn't have seen them.
LeeSo there is so much other stuff out there that I clearly need to need to track down.
LeeI mean, there could be gems out there that I still haven't seen like this.
Leethingy was.
AdamYeah.
AdamEven even on telly, I think when they used to show Hammer, when they showed Hammer films on the telly, it would be, again, it was drawers.
AdamYou know, it would be, we've got Dracula in the title, you got Frankenstein, you got, I do remember seeing The Reptile actually on TV, which was a.
AdamFucking revelation.
AdamBut yeah, again, there is that sort of, there is that sort of tendency that you don't get the, the sort of.
AdamI mean, I don't, I would say Plague of the Zombies had a bit of a resurgence because zombies had a resurgence, so people were just watching all of the history of zombie movies.
AdamSo it sort of, you know, it, so it's sort of and started getting a bit of a better appreciation then.
AdamSo I don't think it's as, I don't think it's as sort of unseen as The Witches is.
AdamBut I still think there are plenty of people out there that, you know, this, this, there is a, like you say, there's the, the sort of accepted classic Hammer list versus.
AdamYou know, no, actually, these are great ones that you've got to see that you may not know the name, you may not know, you know, it hasn't got Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee in it, but.
AdamYou know, they are genuinely great films.
LeeI'm currently trying to look up, there was one that came out fairly recently that I'd never seen.
LeeCan't remember the name of it.
LeeIt's not exactly, a horror is the thing.
LeeIt's to Peter Cushing, oh Captain Clegg, that's the one.
ChrisOh.
AdamWhatever happens, watch Captain Clegg.
LeeYeah.
AdamIt's fucking great.
LeeI only saw it about four years ago for the first time.
AdamOh, right.
LeeAnd I was, because I saw a still from it and I was like, look at that, it was a Hammer film.
LeeAnd obviously it was the, the skeletal horses.
AdamOh, yeah.
AdamThe horses.
LeeOh, and it's got Peter Cushing in it.
LeeAnd I've never seen it.
LeeYeah, and although it isn't a horror, it's fantastic and it looks like this and it's just gorgeous.
AdamAnd, and also.
AdamReally good role from Michael Ripper in that because he's basically Peter Cushing's second in command, isn't he, he's like his ship's mate.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd they've also got the guy who sounds like that in it.
LeeYeah.
AdamBut yeah, no, that, that is a,
AdamA really, like you say, it's not horror, because, and actually that is a, that is a, adaptation.
AdamBut it's really well done, Ollie Reed's great in it as well.
LeeYeah.
AdamLike young Ollie Reed in there.
Adam
AdamBut no, I think that they are, yeah, Captain Clegg is, is definitely one.
ChrisI just felt, did you say Clegg?
AdamClegg, yeah.
Adamit's also, I think in America it's called Night Creatures or night something, yeah.
LeeIt is.
LeeOh, it's Night Creatures, yeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamBut again, and actually, weirdly, that was when, when the Horror channel used to exist, that's how they used to show a lot of Hammer films.
AdamThey'd show them under the American titles because they had the American prints.
Lee
AdamSo actually you could sort of catch up with some, as long as you knew what they were.
AdamOtherwise you just go, night creatures, never heard of it, right.
AdamWhat's on?
AdamWhat's on the other side?
ChrisI've also got Come Up Here, The Gorgon.
LeeOh, that should, yeah.
AdamThe Gorgon, again, and some great names, it's both Cushing and Lee.
ChrisIt is, yeah, again.
AdamYeah, and Patrick Troughton's in there.
AdamBarbara Shelley, it's, yeah, no, it's.
AdamAnd and actually, the, I can't remember her name, the old witch from The Witches.
LeeOh, who's also in Devil Rides Out.
AdamYes, I think she is, yeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamYes.
LeeI can't remember her name, but she's amazing.
AdamBut there's, yeah, there's a lot of.
AdamI'll tell you what actually, just it's so Michael Ripper, I wrote I his 35, 36 Hammer films.
AdamSo like we said, we got The Reptile, you got Captain Clegg, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Dracula Has Risen From His Grave, Scars of Dracula, The Brides of Dracula.
AdamVengeance of Frankenstein, Curse of the Werewolf, The Mummy, where was it, The Ugly Duckling, have you ever seen The Ugly Duckling, Lee?
LeeNo.
AdamHammer Horror comedy with Jon Pertwee and Bernard Bresslaw.
LeeWhat?
AdamAnd it's basically a Jekyll and Hyde film, but he, it's Bernard Bresslaw is a nerd who then becomes a head like a teddy boy.
LeeI mean.
AdamAnd Jon Pertwee is his dad.
LeeHow the fucking hell have I never seen it?
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd again, it's those sort of, it's those weirdly, because I mean, Hammer obviously it wasn't just Hammer Horror that they did, they did the On The Buses movies, they did like the adaptations of Rising Damp, yeah, Rising Damp was a Hammer film, I think.
AdamThe adaptation of that.
AdamAnd,
AdamYeah, they were always doing, they weren't never exclusively horror, but that was just the thing that they absolutely had the most success with.
AdamAnd they were going for quite a long time before they, sort of, it was Quatermass experiment that was the thing that was like, oh, horror, so we'll look into that and we'll do more sort of horror.
AdamWell, first they sort of kind of went, oh, sci-fi and then they were like, no, it was definitely the horror bit that was that was what sold it to people.
Adam
AdamBut yeah, they, I mean, they were like releasing films from like the, basically from the 30s, I think.
AdamAnd there's lots of, there's a, I can't remember what they're called, but there's a podcast I've been listening to who do Hammer, doing Hammer films.
LeeOh, god.
AdamAnd, they are literally doing every Hammer film in chronological order.
LeeOh, god.
LeeSee, I don't know if I'd want to do that.
LeeI'd want to do all the the the horror stuff.
LeeI wouldn't want to do all of the, yeah, as you say, the the On The Buses and all of those type of.
AdamWell, they're not even, they're not even at that point yet at the moment, where certainly where I've been listening to, it's a lot of like noir knockoffs and police comedies and things like that.
AdamIt was all sort of, yeah.
LeeI'd like to listen to them talk about it, but I don't know.
LeeBut again, it might be one of those where I'll find gems where that, you know.
AdamThat's the reason I'm listening to him, to be honest, is because I've become so intrigued and it sounds like, and it's, it is, it's a very well-produced show.
Adamand, it's, I think, I think it's House of Hammer.
LeeOkay.
AdamNo, I'll have to, I'll have to check.
AdamAnd.
AdamI don't know.
AdamBut yeah, they, they, no, that's a, it's a very, very good show, but yeah, that is a, that is a task that I.
AdamI kind of envy them.
AdamBut I'm glad they're doing it and I'm not.
LeeI imagine some of those are going to be a nightmare to track down as well.
LeeBecause even some.
AdamWell, they've already had, they've already in the, in the sort of line of stuff, I know they've already had to lose, there's two that they've said, right, we can't do this film because it doesn't exist anymore.
LeeOh.
AdamSo.
LeeThat must be so frustrating.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah, I mean, but that's the thing, you do forget about all the other great stuff they put.
LeeYou know, they put out the the old Dark House, William Castle remakes and stuff, like.
AdamI always forget that's them, yeah.
LeeYeah, there's so much stuff in there that's just brilliant and as soon as you start watching it, you're like, oh, of course this is Hammer.
LeeIt's got it written all over it, but yeah.
LeeBut again, until you sort of put two and two together and watch it through that filter.
LeeYou wouldn't necessarily, you just think, oh, it's William Castle.
ChrisI suppose now all films are digital, probably, pretty much all films are recorded digitally, then nothing will be lost from now on.
AdamWell, depends, give it give it long enough, one good EMP.
LeeYeah.
ChrisThat could, yeah, we might not care too much if, if it manages to wipe out.
AdamI, I don't know, I'll still be, I'll still be annoyed.
AdamYou know, this, I mean, there's a number of films I don't care.
AdamIn fact, they, there's a lovely thing that, because obviously there's missing episodes of Doctor Who and there's a lovely game that Doctor Who fans play, which is, right, you can swap out episodes so they're like, right, do you want Evil of the Daleks episode, episode six, but you have to get rid of another episode.
AdamAnd then everyone's like, yeah, Fear Her, obviously, fuck it.
AdamIt's crap.
AdamAnd.
AdamAnd it's a, and it's a really interesting game to play as well, where it's like, okay, so here's all the missing films that you definitely cannot see.
AdamBut here's all the films we've still fucking got, what one are you punting out, so we can have London After Midnight back.
LeeDo you know what, the amount of stuff I would give away to see London After Midnight just once.
AdamOh, yeah.
AdamNo, I think there's, you're.
AdamI'm sure there's an entire franchise I could sacrifice for that, you know.
LeeIt's called Saw.
LeeActually, no, I shouldn't be mean, I love the first Saw movie, so I can't.
ChrisThey, they should have just stuck there.
LeeYeah, but the thing was it was, it was that, it was one of those franchises where it was non-horror fans.
LeeYeah, who were, yeah.
ChrisIt got.
ChrisSo big that it was.
LeeThey were making a killing from it because it had a great twist, so it took off.
LeeBut then the rest of them didn't have a great twist, but they just still kept pumping them out and people kept turning up to him, so.
AdamThey they basically had the same great twist, didn't they.
LeeI I think possibly, yeah.
AdamEvery time.
AdamIt was like.
AdamOh, that was, was it we thought?
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah, I think I checked out after the third one maybe.
Leebut yeah, somehow they're still going.
Lee
LeeYes, so,
LeeAs promised, we are going to be back again in a fortnight's time, we are going to be covering not a movie at all, we are going to be discussing the amazing podcast, Broken Veil.
Chris
Lee
LeeWhich, yeah, I I can't wait to get stuck into really.
AdamI.
AdamYes.
LeeThere's so much to unpack in that.
Leeand it covers so much and it kind of.
LeeSide references so many things.
LeeI think it's going to be a nightmare trying to keep it down to less than two hours, but we'll see how we get on.
AdamWe'll see what we can do.
Adam
AdamBut, yeah, no, I'm looking forward, I'm, even though it was only a few weeks ago.
AdamI'm really looking forward to re-listening to that.
LeeOh, yeah.
ChrisOh, that's good.
LeeAnd me, the same, yeah, probably three weeks ago I listened to it and I'm, I can't wait to sit down and do the whole three hours.
LeeI told my brother about it, Dr. Dean, who's been on this show before.
LeeAnd that's precisely what he did, he sat down and listened to the entire thing from beginning to end.
LeeBut I'll bring you his feedback for the episode.
AdamYeah, good man.
LeeYeah.
LeeExcellent.
LeeRight.
LeeAnyway, thank you ever so much for listening, everybody, go and check out Plague of the Zombies, go and check out all the the side stuff from from Hammer.
LeeThat is just sitting out there relatively untapped.
LeeThere's some real gems out there.
AdamWe'll do more on the show as well.
AdamBecause.
LeeOh, yeah.
Lee100%, I've I've written down another three that we definitely have to cover at some point.
AdamNice.
Lee
LeeYes, so, thanks ever so much for listening, everybody.
LeeGo and check all those out.
LeeGo and check out Broken Veil before we cover it.
LeeGo and check out our friends over at Welcome, no, we are Welcome to Horror, our friends over at Not For Everyone podcast.
LeeAnd we will see you back here at a fortnight's time.
LeeThanks very much for listening.
LeeGood night.
ChrisGood night.
AdamGood night.
