them! (1954)

"We may be witnesses to a Biblical prophecy come true: 'And there shall be destruction and darkness come upon creation and the beast shall reign over the earth'."
Police Sgt. Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) finds a young girl alone in the desert apparently unharmed but in shock. Then they find an abandoned and wrecked trailer. Determined to find out what happened he teams up with FBI Agent Robert Graham (James Arness) and two doctors from the Department of Agriculture, Harold Medford (Edmund Gwenn) and his daughter Pat (Joan Weldon).
Classic example of the post war atomic paranoia picture which cleverly never overplays its hand, drawing you into the mystery before revealing who or rather what is happening.

fear in the night (1972)

aka Dynasty of Fear. Honeymoon of Fear.
"You're safe now."
Peggy Heller (Judy Geeson) is a young woman who joins her husband at the boarding school where he works. They hope that the quiet of the countryside will help her recovering from a nervous breakdown she suffered after being assaulted. Once there she starts to be plagued with the fear that she is being attacked by a one armed man, attacks that she maintains are real but no one else believes. Prefering to put it down to nightmares, symptoms of her reported mental health problems. Problems that are not helped when she meets the headmaster Michael Carmichael (Peter Cushing), who happens to only have one arm!
Another suspenseful thriller from Hammer. This begins slowly and throws in a number of twists to try and out fox the viewer, but for all that the film never really grabs the attention fully.

straight on till morning (1972)

Dressed for Death. The Victim. Til Dawn Do Us Part.
"You're not very beautiful either are you?"
Shy and plain looking Brenda Thompson (Rita Tushingham) leaves Liverpool for London. Things start to look up for her when she finds a job in a trendy boutique and moves in with the outgoing and beautiful Caroline (Katya Wyeth). But its not to be, lonely and miserable, crying out for attention, she resorts to kidnapping a young man's dog in order to get to know him. Peter (Shane Briant), is a beautiful toyboy for rich socialites, and for some reason is taken by Brenda. Possibly because they both live fantasy lives in their heads and are prone to making up children's stories. There is only one problem, he's a psychopath! Do they have a chance, or will his murderous secret get out?
An unusual undertaking for Hammer, being a thriller rather than an out and out horror. Collinson directs with a visual and sonic flare, cutting across scenes, adding a speed to what is a slowly developing story and ramps up the tension as Brenda is drawn into Peter's web.

the vengeance of she (1968)

aka She, the Avenger. Ayesha, Daughter of She. Ayesha, the Return of She.
"I can give you time. I can give you immortality."
Carol (Olinka Berova), a mysterious and beautiful woman intrigues Philip (Edward Judd), who follows her when she takes off into the desert, seemingly driven to venture further into the arid zone. Has she been taken over by the troubled spirit of Queen Ayesha and being drawn to the lost city of Kuma, the eternal flame and Killikrates (John Richardson)?
A sequel to Hammer's She, which basicially just switches the sex of the immortal. Once they arrive at the lost city things pick up and we have an entertaining adventure, but unfortunately we have to endure a slow paced thirty minutes of Carol writhing in agony with visions, before the journey starts. This only serves to bog the film down before it really gets going.

the viking queen (1967)

"Death to the Romans! Come On!"
Salina (Carita), honours her father's dying wish to become Queen of the Iceni, and to share her throne with Justinian (Don Murray), a Roman. This annoys the Druids on one side and some of the hardcore Romans on the other. Soon the couple find themselves in the middle of a war, each on opposite sides despite their growing love for each other.
A film, that can never claim to be an epic, but is enjoyable nonsense in a peplum type way. Mind you don't look too closely, there are no vikings, and the Druids seem to worship Zeus!

the witches (1966)

aka The Devil's Own.
"After the blow be struck, give me the skin for dancing in."
Gwen (Joan Fontaine) an English teacher in Africa who tangles with the local witch doctor, and suffers a nervous breakdown. Back in England she takes a post at a school in a small village, run by Alan Bax (Alec McCowen) and his sister Stephanie (Kay Walsh). But soon she starts witnessing strange events, and begins to suspect she is surrounded by witchcraft and the coven has selected one of her students for sacrifice.
Adapted by Nigel Kneale from a novel The Devil's Own, the film manages to lack the suspence and unease necessary to make this an effective horror. But saying that it still manages to maintain the viewers interest as a solid low key thriller.

this night i'll posess your corpse (1967)

aka Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver. This Night Will Make Your Corpse Incarnate. Tonight I Will Eat Your Corpse. Tonight I Will Enter Your Corpse. Tonight I Will Make Your Corpse Turn Red. Tonight I Will Paint in Flesh Colour. "There's the most perfect creation of nature: children! Pity that they grow up to become idiots. In search of nothing. Lost in a Labyrinth of egoism."
The continuing story of Coffin Joe and his search for the perfect woman with which to continue his bloodline. Zé (José Marins) terrorises the town, having survived the attack in the previous film, aided by Bruno the hunchback (Nivaldo Lima).
More death and mayhem, this time with Joe getting to see hell, in all its saturated colour glory. This is a director pushing his characters, story and the viewers further over the edge, in a good way. The cinema of the bizarre, just got weirder.

prehistoric women (1967)

aka Slave Girls.
"You are my slaves!"
David Marchand (Michael Lattimer), is on safari in Africa when he is captured by a tribe intent on sacrificing him to their god. However before they can do so he is catapulted back in time and finds a land where brunette women rule, using blondes as their slaves. Fortunately for him Queen Kari (Martine Beswick) takes a shine to him, but he rejects her for a blond slave, Saria (Edina Ronay). This doesn't go down well with the queen and leads to the inevitable cat fight. meanwhile can David end the evil reign of the Queen, and also find his way back to his own time?
A bizarre mix of sci-fi and prehistoric adventure that tries to re-capture the success of One Million Years BC. Unfortunatly neither Beswick or Ronay are a match for Raquel Welsh, and this remake of an earlier 1950's film proved to be a dud. But taken as a precursor to the Doug McClure featuring Amicus productions, such as The Land That Time Forgot, it makes much more sense. An entertaining enough boys own romp, as long as you ignore the plot holes in the lackluster script.

the bloodsucker leads the dance (1975)

aka La sanguisuga conduce la danza. Il marchio di satana. The Leaches Lead the Dance. The Mark of Satan. The Passion of Evelyn.
"We aren't the castle type, and besides that Count, he's very peculiar."
A count visits a troop of actors (eight women and a very camp man), and invites them to his island castle. Once there, a madman starts offing the women one by one, but who is behind the killing, and can they be stopped?
A ghastly over-lit and overlong, (everything happens at half speed - it's like watching though treacle), excuse to show a few naked women. It purports to be a vampire film, but quickly turns into a whodunit when the killing starts. At least the period costumes look good!

the devil rides out (1968)

aka The Devil's Bride.
"I won't be back, but something will be..."
On discovering an old friend Simon (Patrick Mower) has become involved with a Satanist cult, the Duc of Richeleau (Christopher Lee) and Rex (Leon Greene) kidnap him and try to protect him from the vengeance of the cult leader Mocata (Charles Gray). Along the way they also try to help Tanith (Nike Arrighi), another rather prettier initiate than Simon.
Thus Hammer takes its first steps into the world of Dennis Wheatley and comes up with this fine adaption. Lee proves to be an athletic hero, countering the marvelously evil Gray, as the film builds to the inevitable final set piece battle. A boys own struggle of good against evil.