Hammer movies are my favorite horrors, and yet every one is flawed-- either something went wrong with the script, or the cast, or the budget, or the schedule, or the final release edit-- but in my mind there is a perfect Hammer, with its lurid yet elegant colors and strange Euro-brit geography and customs.
BRIDES OF DRACULA comes closest to capturing the Hammer of Forms-- it is my favorite vampire movie, although its focus is Peter Cushing as the amazing Hammer version of Van Helsing, a sort of action hero with a heart of gold. This was Cushing's second time playing the part. BRIDES OF DRACULA contains a bunch of amazing sequences, but Cushing has two of the best, including leaping onto a windmill's arm to form the giant shadow of a cross against the rising sun.
I won't lift that sequence here because you should see it on DVD. (There's a collection that includes Kiss of the Vampire, a movie I'll blog about later.)
But here's the trailer to give you an idea why BRIDES OF DRACULA is my favorite.
Want a poster? They have them here.
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