HAMMER DOUBLE-BILL OF “THE MUMMY” & “FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL” SECOND SIGHT BLU RAY

Seemingly apropos of absolutely nothing whatsoever, SECOND SIGHT are granting the deluxe treatment to two vintage HAMMER horrors…

…but it’s a mixed bag. Sorta…

Let’s start with the good - - 1959’s THE MUMMY, starring PETER CUSHING & CHRISTOPHER LEE, is outstanding. Unsettling, relatively shocking, often genuinely scary, and backed up by a grand, sweeping, and appropriately mournful score by FRANZ REISENSTEIN, this is the last film in a run of three HAMMER “remakes” of popular UNIVERSAL properties which starred LEE as the villain, and CUSHING as the man who conveniently backs himself into a series of corners so he can be strangled.

CUSHING plays John Banning, who is accompanying his father (FELIX AYLMER) and friend, Joseph (RAYMOND HUNTLEY), on an expedition to uncover the tomb of Princess Ananka (in Egypt, natch). True to form, shit goes south when John’s father is frightened close to death by the appearance of Kharis, the Mummy (LEE), and committed to a mental asylum for his trouble. Having been warned of the inherent dangers of disturbing Ananka’s tomb, Egyptian native, and total weirdo, Mehemet (played by Cypriote GEORGE PASTELL) undertakes a campaign of revenge on the Banning’s using the reanimated Kharis…

***When you’re busy stranglin’ some chump and you can’t remember if you shut off the stove before you left the house…***

HAMMER horrors from the late 1950’s were frequently lurid, technicolour affairs, and THE MUMMY is no exception; from the dream-like tomb of Egyptian princess Ananka, bathed in greens and blues which evoke the sense of cold and rot, to the plush, ornate town-houses of the English gentry which always feel distinctly…burgundy, director TERENCE FISHER makes the most of the tools at his disposal. This is a rich, detailed motion picture which doesn’t scrimp on the build-up in favour of Kharis breakin’ necks and cashin’ cheques (that’s how we spell it here; cheques)

LEE cuts an imposing and terrifying figure as the mummified Kharis; a lumbering, unstoppable instrument of death who starts to doubt the instructions of Mehemet once he claps eyes on CUSHING’s fiancé, Isobel (YVONNE FURNEUX), a woman who just happens to be the absolute spit of Ananka herself, and with whom Kharis was hopelessly in love.

Admittedly, it’s probably fair to say that for the scenes showing Kharis pre-mummification, a browned-up LEE isn’t exactly palatable to more modern, culturally sensitive eyes, but I’m not going to be a creamy bitch about that. It was 1959 for Christ’s sake, and this movie was made for £125,000.00. A bit of boot polish and a lot of culturally ingrained racial bias is a lot cheaper than shipping an actual Egyptian to Berkshire. It may not be morally correct, but you can’t deny that it makes financial sense.

By contrast, 1974’s FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL is an indicator of how far HAMMER had fallen within the space of 15 years. Grisly, miserable, and peddling the kind of cheap, unpleasant gore you could find in, say, 1972’s DEATH LINE, most of the decade’s films from Britain’s premier house of horror make you feel less edified and more in need of a chemical scrub and an exorcism. To be absolutely fair, HAMMER were in a disadvantageous position. Dwindling box office returns and less than favourable critical reception of their output, combined with the changing tastes of the time, and competition from sleazy portmanteau peddling, rival horror house AMICUS meant that the subtle, classy, tension-filled horror thrillers of their past just weren’t cuttin’ it anymore. However, all things considered, FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL could very easily have been an altogether more…sweaty and seedy affair than it is. It doesn’t, however, change the fact that “The Monster From Hell” is a cheap, sensationalist misnomer since DAVE PROWSE’s shambling, dome-headed, ape-beast is neither really a “monster” nor “from hell”.

Dr Frankenstein is “dead”, and apparently buried within the grounds of a lunatic asylum. Posing as the asylum’s doctor, and in a startling display of short-sightedness, Frankenstein adopts the moniker “Dr Victor” in order to continue his macabre experimentation on the bodies of the recently deceased; a tactic similar to if Dracula wanted to hide in plain sight by working in a blood bank and calling himself D.R Acula.

***Definitely NOT Dr Victor Frankenstein***

Returning to the role of Victor Frankenstein for something like the twentieth time or whatever, PETER CUSHING is a welcome sight. His often gentle, understated performances provide a sense of continuity to the larger HAMMER history, and an element of sophistication to the individual films themselves even if everything else around him has descended into depravity. Joining him this time in his never ending quest to reanimate the dead is a young surgeon, Simon Helder, as played by SHANE BRIANT, and asylum inmate Sarah, played by former Bond Girl and juicy jug-fest MADELINE SMITH.

To be perfectly blunt, FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL spends an inordinate amount of time getting to the fucking point, as if the writers themselves were trying to subtly intimate that we’ve reached the end of the line with Dr Frankenstein’s story and that his victims are now the far more interesting and nuanced characters with whom we should be spending our precious time. And, just like the abominations which result from Victor’s immoral experiments, we, as the audience, only want to die.

***Out of shot; PETER CUSHING holding a big mixing bowl***

The updated transfers of the existing STUDIO CANAL releases are an uptick in quality, and SECOND SIGHT have been spoiling us with their horror releases since they first dropped THE CHANGELING on us way back in 2018. Despite my reservations about the artistic merit of FRANKENSTEIN, you’d be a pillock for denying yourself the opportunity to own both of these releases when they’re released on August 29th.

Each release comes with an embarrassing amount of special features, the details of which can be found below;

THE MUMMY

Main feature presented in original UK theatrical aspect ratio 1.66:1 and alternative full frame1.37:1

New audio commentary by film academic Kelly Robinson
Archive audio commentary by Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby
An Appreciation of The Mummy by David Huckvale
The Music of The Mummy
Unwrapping The Mummy
The House of Horror: Memories of Bray
The Hammer Rep Company
Original Promo Reel
Stills Gallery

Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Graham Humphreys
Soft cover book with new essays by Kat Ellinger, Lindsay Hallam and Kevin Lyons plus production stills
4 collectors' art cards

FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL

Main feature presented in original UK theatrical aspect ratio 1.66:1 and alternative full frame1.37:1

New audio commentary by film academic Kat Ellinger
Archive audio commentary by Shane Briant, Madeline Smith and Marcus Hearn
An Appreciation of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell by David Huckvale
The Music of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell
Taking Over the Asylum
Charming Evil: Terence Fisher at Hammer
Stills Gallery

Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Graham Humphreys
Soft cover book with new essays by Kevin Lyons, Kelly Robinson and Emma Westwood plus production stills
5 collectors' art cards

Both releases are Region B locked (as is always the case with SECOND SIGHT’s releases).