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The House of Horror: The Story of Hammer Films
Hammer films remains one of the most successful and legendary of all British film companies. Their name is synonymous with gothic horror throughout the world.
'House of Horror' traces the complete history of Hammer, from its early origins through to its golden era of classic horror movies, and presents a comprehensive overview of Hammer's importance and influences in world cinema.
'House of Horror' includes interviews with Hammer stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, detailed analysis of all Hammer's horror and fantasy films and their key directors, and dozens of rare and exciting photographs and posters. Plus a fully illustrated A-Z of key Hammer personnel from both sides of the camera, a directory of unfilmed projects, a complete filmography, and full film index. Third, expanded edition.
'House of Horror' traces the complete history of Hammer, from its early origins through to its golden era of classic horror movies, and presents a comprehensive overview of Hammer's importance and influences in world cinema.
'House of Horror' includes interviews with Hammer stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, detailed analysis of all Hammer's horror and fantasy films and their key directors, and dozens of rare and exciting photographs and posters. Plus a fully illustrated A-Z of key Hammer personnel from both sides of the camera, a directory of unfilmed projects, a complete filmography, and full film index. Third, expanded edition.
127 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 20, 2023
"Count Dracula : [to Van Helsing] In the days to come, you will pray for death... release..."
My first movie from Hammer was a little one you may all remember starring Christopher Lee. Dracula was my first and I was mesmerized. The shadow appeared at the top of the stairs, it was an intense introduction, and you saw that before even laying your eyes on the gorgeous Count. Once Lee came on the screen, I was smitten. *swoon* That impression stayed with me my entire life and I’ve never looked back.
It’s no secret that I love horror movies and they love me. Reading this book just made me fall deeper in love with a genre that has been my safe space for the life that I have lived so far. Whenever I’m feeling down and out I watch a horror film to make me feel right again.
This book had little biographies of the main men of Hammer Horror and it also contained pages of their films along with photographs that are to die for. For it being a tiny book, it’s packed with information and tidbits of their films. Well worth the read and a must have for horror fans and collectors.
My first movie from Hammer was a little one you may all remember starring Christopher Lee. Dracula was my first and I was mesmerized. The shadow appeared at the top of the stairs, it was an intense introduction, and you saw that before even laying your eyes on the gorgeous Count. Once Lee came on the screen, I was smitten. *swoon* That impression stayed with me my entire life and I’ve never looked back.
It’s no secret that I love horror movies and they love me. Reading this book just made me fall deeper in love with a genre that has been my safe space for the life that I have lived so far. Whenever I’m feeling down and out I watch a horror film to make me feel right again.
This book had little biographies of the main men of Hammer Horror and it also contained pages of their films along with photographs that are to die for. For it being a tiny book, it’s packed with information and tidbits of their films. Well worth the read and a must have for horror fans and collectors.
March 9, 2015
Now I want to go back over my Hammer collection and re-watch. Oh for having the time to do that (I wish). This is a very light history of Hammer. Nothing like what Marcus Hearn produces but still worth a read for us Hammer obsessives. Set into different chapters on Frankenstein, Dracula, thrillers etc, a couple of interviews and an interesting last chapter on non-Hammer films which may have either been influenced by Hammer or an extension.
An OK book to add to my Hammer collection.
An OK book to add to my Hammer collection.
January 1, 2021
Christopher Lee as Dracula. Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein. Oliver Reed as the Werewolf. Hammer Films had all three along with outstanding directors and cinematographers. The little studio managed to produce some of the best horror films of the second half of the twentieth century, becoming a worthy successor to the Universal Pictures' monsters.
The low-budget movies that Hammer produced were usually in blazing colour, although they made some terrific B&W flicks, too. Like, The Quartermass Experiment, in which a lone surviving astronaut returns to earth with...something.
And The Damned, where radioactively-bred children are accidentally discovered by Oliver Reed's gang...all to the sounds of "Black Leather, Black Leather, rock, rock, rock".
Even the Hammer posters were unique.
This book is not very long, but it makes a decent introduction to the Hammer collection. Readers can then progress to Horrors Of Hammer and Greasepaint and Gore.
Book Season = Autumn (Dracula keeps rising from his grave)
The low-budget movies that Hammer produced were usually in blazing colour, although they made some terrific B&W flicks, too. Like, The Quartermass Experiment, in which a lone surviving astronaut returns to earth with...something.
And The Damned, where radioactively-bred children are accidentally discovered by Oliver Reed's gang...all to the sounds of "Black Leather, Black Leather, rock, rock, rock".
Even the Hammer posters were unique.
This book is not very long, but it makes a decent introduction to the Hammer collection. Readers can then progress to Horrors Of Hammer and Greasepaint and Gore.
Book Season = Autumn (Dracula keeps rising from his grave)
July 7, 2023
It's a good book but not a great one. The Complete Hammer Films Story is mainly just very short summaries of every film that Hammer made, covering the basics of the plot and who starred in each. It's really a reference book or a coffee table book, not something you can properly get stuck into. However, the sections at the start are fantastic. They cover the founding of the company and its development, as well as discussing the careers of Hammer's biggest stars (Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Danny Devito) just kidding about the last one. One section is devoted to director Terence Fisher, he's the third. Notice how the Scream Queens don't get their own section, so it's not really the "complete" story.
I wanted to hear more about the process of creating each film, but it was clearly planned as a short book that could be sold cheaply, so I guess that just wasn't what I could reasonably expect. Lastly I should say there are some great pictures in this thing too, but overall it's an okay (but fantastic in places) 3 star read.
I wanted to hear more about the process of creating each film, but it was clearly planned as a short book that could be sold cheaply, so I guess that just wasn't what I could reasonably expect. Lastly I should say there are some great pictures in this thing too, but overall it's an okay (but fantastic in places) 3 star read.
June 7, 2022
The book starts off well enough with mini biogs of key figures such as Terence Fisher, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee that include some interesting insights and quotes, but then becomes more of a mostly chronological catalogue of Hammer’s content than a serious insight into the famous studio. Obviously, the main focus is on their horror output, with sections on their “other worlds” projects (mainly prehistoric!) and TV comedy spinoffs that once again give a bit of info on the films made with no real analysis.
That said, it is interesting to see how the content evolved over time, and there are plenty of stills and posters to enjoy, but, as I said, there’s no real depth to the content and the photos pad out a lot of the book, with the last third of it consisting of a series of glamour shots depicting the “women of Hammer” and an actual filmography!
On the plus side, it did make me want to seek out some films I’d not heard of along with the obvious classics, so there is that!
That said, it is interesting to see how the content evolved over time, and there are plenty of stills and posters to enjoy, but, as I said, there’s no real depth to the content and the photos pad out a lot of the book, with the last third of it consisting of a series of glamour shots depicting the “women of Hammer” and an actual filmography!
On the plus side, it did make me want to seek out some films I’d not heard of along with the obvious classics, so there is that!
July 4, 2017
¿Un libro acerca de la historia de la Hammer en los setentas, cuando la productora aún estaba en pleno auge? ¡Claro! ¿Por qué no?
Se trata de un pequeño compendio con entrevistas con Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Terence Fischer, etcétera. Además tiene un compendio de las películas que la productora había editado hasta entonces. ¡Es toda una pieza histórica! El testamento de una de las productoras de cine de horror más entrañables de la historia.
No tiene desperdicio, aunque a estas altura ya hace falta hablar (y de hecho ya hay libros que lo hacen) del impacto cultural de la productora. ¡La casa del horror cuyos filmes son gemas para los amantes del horror más clásico!
Se trata de un pequeño compendio con entrevistas con Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Terence Fischer, etcétera. Además tiene un compendio de las películas que la productora había editado hasta entonces. ¡Es toda una pieza histórica! El testamento de una de las productoras de cine de horror más entrañables de la historia.
No tiene desperdicio, aunque a estas altura ya hace falta hablar (y de hecho ya hay libros que lo hacen) del impacto cultural de la productora. ¡La casa del horror cuyos filmes son gemas para los amantes del horror más clásico!
May 18, 2023
The book is from 1973 and offers the best entry into the world of Hammer horrors. Starting with portraits of the most influential stars (Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing) you'll see "When The Earth Cracked Open" (title of a film). History of the company, the monster films, beautiful actresses like Victoria Vetri or Julie Ege, creatures the world forgot, Frankenstein, Dracula and the (sexy) vampires... so many great photos, posters and screenshots here (e.g. Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde). Psychos and satanists finish the stroll through Hammer films. The book ends with a filmography and gives you an excellent start into Britain's famous Horror movie company. Highly recommended!
October 27, 2023
A little too brief at times but this is still essential for anyone interested in movie history, particularly the horror genre. Hammer studios still stand as one of the most influential film production teams.
October 14, 2016
This is one of the best nostalgia books about movies that I have ever read. I have been a huge fan of the Hammer Films Company. For me, this studio epitomized the gothic horror film. While, I am a passionate fan of the studio, I did not like all of the films produced by this company. I was turned off by the latter efforts which bordered on soft porn but was a big fan of the studio from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. Overall, Hammer Films' fans will devour this book. It also also a good reference section and tons of glorious pictures.
September 23, 2025
Being a big fan of Hammer Studios, I was very pleased with this work on the history of the iconic studio.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews