Britain's Hammer Films achieved success -- and notoriety -- from the late 1950s through the early 1970s with a series of full-color Gothic horror movies in which sanguinary vampires, stitched-together monsters, resurrected mummies and other eerie revenants stalked, lurched and slaughtered their way across the moors, back alleys and bed chambers of a soundstage Victorian England.
But Hammer wasn't all about horror, especially in its early days. The studio also produced several tightly scripted, skillfully acted, contemporary science-fiction films that were more sophisticated than most of their American counterparts.Now, four of these movies -- all in atmospheric black-and-white -- are available on pristinely mastered videos as Anchor Bay Entertainment continues its excellent "Hammer Collection."
"Quatermass 2" and "The Abominable Snowman," a pair of 1957 films directed by Val Guest and written by Nigel Kneale, are the best of these recent releases. Also available are "X The Unknown" (1956) and "Four Sided Triangle" (1953).
"Quatermass 2," which was called "Enemy from Space" in America, was a sequel to Hammer's first big international hit, "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955), which was shown in the states as "The Creeping Unknown." The films were retitled here because the popular BBC-TV character Professor Quatermass was unknown to American audiences.
In "Quatermass 2," the heroic scientist, played by Brian Donlevy, is working on a moon base project when he uncovers an "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"-style conspiracy in which blob-like aliens drop to Earth in tiny space capsules disguised as meteorites.
Unlike most sci-fi flicks, "Quatermass 2" -- with its paranoiac plotline of government corruption and alien infiltration -- is a true science-fiction film, not a horror movie tricked up with technological paraphernalia and pseudo-scientific jargon. What's more, Quatermass is the rare hero who proves that logic and learning can be as effective as fists and guns in repelling an enemy.
Nevertheless, the film is probably best known for a grisly scene in which a House of Commons member is slimed to death by a black, burning layer of "synthetic food."
"X The Unknown," directed by Leslie Norman, is essentially a Quatermass film without Quatermass. Instead, Dean Jagger plays "Dr. Royston," who discovers that a sort of enormous, intelligent mudpack has emerged from the depths of the Earth in search of its favorite food, radioactive energy.
"How do you kill mud?" somebody asks, as the blob oozes across an army base, where one of the soldiers is played by a young Anthony Newley.
Most of the film's scare sequences aren't explicit, but the movie does contain a spectacular effect that will have viewers hitting the "rewind" button: A doctor who encounters "X" melts down like a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" Nazi.
"Four Sided Triangle," based on a story by William F. Temple, is one of Hammer's earliest fantasy films and one of the first directed by Terence Fisher, who became the company's Gothic horror specialist.
The movie is a sort of science-fiction fairy tale: It opens with a verse from Ecclesiastes and ends with a quote from Emerson -- that uses a mad-scientist premise to explore issues of romantic obsession and unrequited love, as an inventor in a small village "where nothing ever happens" uses his "reproducer" to create a duplicate of the woman (Barbara Payton) who spurned him for his best friend.
In this era of genetic engineering and cloning experiments, the film is more relevant than ever. What must have seemed absurd more than 50 years ago now resonates.
"The Abominable Snowman" is the neglected gem of this bunch, presented here in its original widescreen format. It's a surprisingly subtle, thoughtful chiller that -- like "The Blair Witch Project" -- relies on suggestion rather than monster makeup to frighten moviegoers and video viewers.
The abominable snowman itself is shown only in bits and pieces: a hairy, taloned hand here; a shadowy face there. The eyes suggest "wisdom," says a scientist played by Peter Cushing, who comes to sympathize with the Yeti as a species "waiting in misery and despair for final extinction."
As in "Blair Witch," much of the tension arises from the increasingly unstable group dynamics on display, as an expedition in search of the elusive Yeti is harassed by strange sounds and inexplicable happenings as it travels farther from civilization.
Ultimately, the explorers -- especially an American huckster played by Forrest Tucker (best known for "F-Troop") -- are presented as the invaders and despoilers of this mysterious, snowy sanctuary.
Their hunt for the Yeti is shown to be an extension of their Western intolerance, as they complain of the "stink" and "ignorance" of their Tibetan guides and porters.
Also available from Anchor Bay is a fine, 100-minute documentary about Hammer Films titled "Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror," narrated by the studio's top stars, Cushing and Christopher Lee.
The program, produced for British television, includes interviews with Hammer stars, writers and directors, interspersed with clips from such memorable thrillers as "Brides of Dracula" and "Curse of the Werewolf."
To contact Anchor Bay, call (800) 745-1145.