What distinguishes the hammer horror?

I am writing a paper about the hammer horror but I have some trouble finding what differentiates the hammer horror. So I thought why not ask the experts? :)

[Doc Faustus]

Hammer Horror is richer and more visceral than that of most of their contemporaries. Curse of Frankenstein was one of the first horror movies to show real gore and to not shy away from sexual situations. It was closer to the non franchise Universal horrors in its examinations of dark sexuality and aberrant behavior. They take a page from the Black Cat and the Raven, not from the Wolf Man or Son of Frankenstein. They take the gothic nonplace of Universal Horror and made it somewhere colorful, grim and much more perverse. Bela Lugosi's Dracula is a creature that sort of demures casually to his victims. Christopher Lee is a predator. He moves quick, he speaks abruptly, he flashes his fangs and he towers over his prey. It is dead certain what he is going to do with anyone he choses as his victim and it will have components not quite present in Lugosi. Lugosi plays up the Count aspect, Lee plays up the Dracula, the impaler, the barbarian. To learn more about this stuff I recommend the X List (I do not recall the author) and Joe Bob Briggs' Profoundly Disturbing. The X List is sort of trite, but Briggs really casts light on Curse of Frankenstein.

[newb]

in a word

ATMOSPHERE

[Ferox13]

Good points from Doc Faustus

Also, I think visually they were pretty stunning. The cinematogrphy was excellent and in my opinion they were on of the first series of Horror films that made full use of colour.

The colours in their films are so Rich (I know they made a lot of B/W too but I talking about the horror of their Heyday). They look amazing - hyper real. No blood is that red - the Frankensteins Lab is a kaleidoscope of coloured bottles etc.

Also they had a great cast of Regulars not just the Obvious Lee/Cushing but people like Michael Ripper/Ralph Bates and more.

They made great use of thei limited budgets and Locations/sets. The films never looked cheap at all.

My only fault in with the Hammer films is that at the end of the 60's/start of 70's some of the series became a bit formulated - and just adding a bit more nudity/gore to try and compete with the harder hitting films of the 70's.

The something very naive about Satanic Rites/Monster and hell when u compare it to its American Contempories Last House and Texas Chain saw. That being said even the weaker Hammer films are great in my opinion.

They made a lot of comedies/film noir too which don't get much attention..

tx for the input so far. Maybe someone knows if Hammer also uses particular credits?

[Ferox13]

Maybe someone knows if Hammer also uses particular credits?

Hmmmm.....I really don't understand this question at all.

[Zero]

mastercard - normally - though i think american express was used at times

[Robert_Dunbar]

Theatrically trained actors didn't hurt either. (Something we don't really have here.)

www.DunbarAuthor.com

[crabapple]

Originally Posted by Zero

mastercard - normally - though i think american express was used at times

uhhhhhhhhhhhh lol chortle

[DraculaInDallas]

Originally Posted by kellykebab

I am writing a paper about the hammer horror but I have some trouble finding what differentiates the hammer horror. So I thought why not ask the experts? :)

Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt ;)