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From the late 18th century to
the end of Queen Victoria's reign,
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there was a flowering
of Gothic literature in Britain.
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From these shores
emanated a wave of horror
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that would eventually splash
shockingly onto cinema screens.
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Those first forays into movie horror
took place not in Britain but in America.
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It wasn't until the mid-1950s that
horror returned to its birthplace.
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These new films
were lavish, sensual,
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shocking and drenched in glorious
colour - mostly red, blood red.
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And the dark forests where travellers so often
found themselves abandoned by superstitious coachmen
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were recreated here,
in a park... near Slough.
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In short, the Home Counties
became the heartlands of horror.
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This is my personal journey
through the history of horror films,
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and this programme
is perhaps the most personal of all.
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I grew up with '50s and '60s horror,
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and I want to show you
the films I love
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and introduce you to some of
the people who created them.
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It may seem odd to be discussing
horror on a tranquil stretch of
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the Thames, but this is where the
second part of our story begins -
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Bray Studios, the home of Hammer films, the pioneers
who brought us a very British kind of horror.
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And I'd like, if I may, to take
Hammer rather seriously for a change.
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A very annoying idea has grown up
that Hammer films were always made
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tongue in cheek,
that they almost defined camp.
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In fact, the opposite is the case.
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In the early days at least, Hammer
played their horror very straight indeed.
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Aaaagh!
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Bray studios are
completely different from
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the formidable concrete buildings
that house most film productions.
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This late 18th century house in
the village of Bray near Maidenhead
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looks most unlike a movie studio,
but that's what it is...
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In their early days, Hammer mostly made
films based on popular radio dramas.
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But in 1954, they turned
to television, creating
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the film version of the BBC's hit
series The Quatermass Experiment.
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Science fiction - the very genre that seemed to
have killed off horror - was about to revive it.
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It's Mr Carroon!
Victor, Victor, darling!
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What about the others...?
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Victor Carroon is an astronaut who
crashes to earth alive but infected.
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A fantastic performance by
actor Richard Wordsworth makes
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his transformation into an alien
lifeform both affecting and hideous.
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Is it something to do with your arm?
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Look, I'll just take a look.
I won't hurt it, I promise.
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And it was this added horror that
helped to make the film an X-rated hit.
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the Quatermass Experiment seemed to
point to a horrific new future for Hammer.
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It's hardly surprising then that a new
version of Frankenstein was proposed.
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Hammer, though, weren't interested in a simple
remake, and the Curse Of Frankenstein, as it became,
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was to be a great deal more than
the sum of its dismembered parts.
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Good evening. Do you know any good monsters?
Well, Hammer Films are looking for one.
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They're making
Frankenstein And The Monster.
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It's going to be made in England, in colour,
and CinemaScope, and Hammer Films want a monster.
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Any suggestions?
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Hammer found their monster
in a little-known actor called
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Christopher Lee, who, at 6'4",
was a startling screen presence.
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Did you have any opinions on how you would
differentiate his monster from Karloff's?
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We didn't, but Universal did.
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Had the copyright on the make-up
and everything
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and they were waiting with a writ,
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I think, by the door -
if we'd used anything in their film
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that wasn't in the book but was in
their film, they'd have come at us.
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With Universal threatening legal
action, Hammer were forced to innovate.
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The key difference from the 1931 version was
the emphasis on Baron Frankenstein himself,
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played by Peter Cushing, who emerges as altogether
more villainous than his Hollywood predecessor.
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I would like to show you a
painting just before you retire.
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It's this one at the top
of the staircase here.
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It was purchased by my father, and
illustrates some of the early operations.
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If you step back a little,
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you'll see it better.
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Look out!
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In the hands of director Terence
Fisher, the film became more than
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a re-telling
of the Frankenstein story.
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It was a revolutionary
new approach to horror.
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The most striking innovation
came in the use of colour.
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This was the first British horror film to be
made in colour, and Fisher and his cinematographer
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Jack Asher became almost obsessed with the
possibilities of their Eastmancolor stock.
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However difficult, I'll do it...
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In this scene, they even painted
leaves and berries in the foreground
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to exaggerate the reds and give
a heightened sense of threat.
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But it was a rather
less subtle use of colour
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that made a lasting impression
on director John Carpenter.
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The Hammer film
Curse Of Frankenstein,
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that was mind-blowing to me.
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Because that was one of
the first horror films
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that took a subject -
the Frankenstein idea -
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and brought in, for the time, shocking
violence, shocking gore, shocking things.
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That single gunshot has reverberated
through horror cinema ever since.
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A full-on blast to the eye was
strong enough meat for the times,
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but to follow it up with a gush of bright
red blood, this was groundbreaking gore.
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It wasn't all blood and guts.
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With the shocks came a rather
understated sort of wit,
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courtesy of scriptwriter
Jimmy Sangster.
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I always asked Jimmy, and did myself, to
put a laugh in after something ghastly.
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I remember in Frankenstein,
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when he's left the little maid
up in his lab with the monster...
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Aagh!
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And the next scene was he having breakfast
with his wife, and the first line was...
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Pass the marmalade, would you?
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Thank you.
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So that broke the tension
immediately.
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Frankenstein was a staggering success,
reportedly earning 70 times its production costs.
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So it was almost inevitable
that for their next film,
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Hammer would revisit that other
classic gothic tale, Dracula.
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And Christopher Lee was transformed from
brain-damaged monster to the most urbane of vampires.
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Mr Harker.
I'm glad that you've arrived safely.
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Count Dracula. I am Dracula
and I welcome you to my house.
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The acting, cinematography
and music are all wonderful,
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but what I really love about Dracula is the way
that Jimmy Sangster adapts the novel for the screen.
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In a masterstroke typical of Hammer,
the script jump-starts the narrative
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so that the vampire action
kicks in almost instantly.
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It only remains for me now
to await the daylight hours...
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.. when, with God's help,
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I will for ever
end this man's reign of terror.
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Hammer didn't make us wait
for the horror, either.
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The opening shot, really,
is almost like a mission statement.
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There's a very nice camera move
down onto the coffin,
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and then it is absolutely
spattered with Kensington gore.
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Was that a sort of deliberate...?
Absolutely!
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There's a great danger
with horror films
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that people start laughing,
tittering, early.
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So we thought we'd put a stop
to that.
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First time I saw it, they had
a midnight premiere in New York.
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The titles came up and they were
sort of chattering and cheering.
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And the shot of the coffin, and
suddenly the blood, and there was a...
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HE GASPS
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And it shut them up! With that sort of
reaction, were you out to shock, do you think?
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Out to shock... Oh, yes.
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They are shockers,
aren't they, horror films.
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This was the first mainstream film
to give its vampires proper fangs -
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fangs that were dripping with blood.
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And daringly, Dracula appeared interested
in more than just his victims' necks.
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For the censors, Hammer's apparent
obsession with blood and gore was bad enough
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but the introduction of a strongly sexual
element caused them moral consternation.
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It is important that the women in
the film should be decently clad.
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I would add that anything which cross-emphasises
the sex aspect of a story is likely,
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in a horror subject of this kind, to
involve cuts in the completed film.
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This scene, in which Mina awaits Dracula in
her boudoir, particularly troubled the censor.
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Reel 8- there is still
a strong sex element in this scene.
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This is due to Mina's
anticipating expression in close-up,
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and Dracula's face and expression
as it hovers over Mina's
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before he applies himself
to her neck.
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We are doubtful whether this
sex element can be removed.
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Cut the scene from immediately after Mina
gets on the bed to shot of owl screaming.
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But Hammer didn't make the cut, claiming
that no sexual subtext was intended.
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SHRILL SCREAM
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Christopher Lee's virile Dracula landed
like a rocket in late 1950s Britain.
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His fantastic final confrontation
with Peter Cushing's Van Helsing
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shows the physical commitment that both actors
brought to this new, energetic kind of horror.
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Aaagh! Ugh!
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Dracula was a runaway
international hit.
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It was clear that horror had been
reborn after its post-war lull.
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Hammer's pictures sent shock waves
through the decade that followed.
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They created a horror boom.
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And by the 1970s, when these films
finally made it onto TV,
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they began to influence
a whole new generation.
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Ah!
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This is a Proustian moment for me.
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This brings back a rush of
unbelievable happy memories.
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When I was about 11 or 12, my parents went
to a parent-teacher evening and they were so
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appalled by the fact that all the compositions
I wrote were horror stories, every single week...
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In fact I remember there was one called A Day
At The Beach which involved a decapitation.
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.. that when they came back I was
banned from watching horror films.
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Their own version of the Hayes code.
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And I was banned from getting this magazine,
House of Hammer, with which I was completely
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obsessed, and it was particularly
bad because that Friday night was
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the screening of a very, very rare Hammer movie,
Revenge Of Frankenstein, which was never on.
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And I was beside myself, and I went to
bed crying and lay there in the darkness
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till I heard my parents go to bed,
and then I realised that my sister
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and her boyfriend were staying up late to watch
it so I just went downstairs and watched it anyway.
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And that was the end
of my horror exile.
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My devotion to The Revenge
Of Frankenstein might have
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surprised Jim Carreras, Hammer's
relentlessly pragmatic chairman.
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Jim Carreras came to me one day and
said, "I've sold another Frankenstein. "
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I said, "Oh, well done. " He said,
"We start shooting in ten weeks. "
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I said, "Oh, good, I mean fine,
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"pity you didn't ask me to write it for you. " He
said, "I am. I'm asking you to write it for me!"
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He said, "We're doing
the Return of Frankenstein. "
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I said, "I killed him in the first episode!"
He said, "Oh, you'll think of something. "
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But I have escaped the guillotine, and
I shall avenge the death of my creation.
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The Revenge Of Frankenstein was very
much a showcase for the talents of
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its star, Peter Cushing, appearing
this time with a new monster.
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Who is he?
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Nobody. He isn't born yet.
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This modest, quiet man is perhaps one of
the most underrated of British screen actors.
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I'd like to take a bit of time to
consider what makes him so special.
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This is Whitstable, where Peter
Cushing bought a house in 1958,
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not long after his first
starring role for Hammer.
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We often hear of actors talking
about a fear of being typecast.
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Whether you like it or not, you appear to have been
typecast in this field. How do you feel about it?
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Oh, it's never affected me...
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Well, I don't think any actor
likes to be too typecast, because
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I think as an actor
you should and can do other things.
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But I love doing these pictures,
people get enjoyment from them,
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so I'm very happy to
be asked to do them.
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Cushing's connection to Whitstable
is marked in a small museum display
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where you even can see the actual
cigarettes touched by the great man.
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Peter Cushing was always
my favourite Hammer star,
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I think because of the tremendous sense of
commitment he seemed to bring to every performance.
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His diction, his gestures,
everything about him was immaculate.
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However outrageous the situation, he always
seemed to bring a tremendous sense of authenticity.
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He would carry about the accoutrements of
each character in his jacket pockets even if
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they didn't appear on screen, and
when he played Baron Frankenstein
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he famously consulted his GP as to the
best way of performing a brain transplant.
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'If you've got to do something
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'to do with what a doctor would do,
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'if you've only got one doctor in
the audience, he must be satisfied.
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'Otherwise he wouldn't believe you, and
he won't believe the rest of the film. '
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You must get the audience to
believe what you're doing, because
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if you don't believe it yourself,
they never will.
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Whitstable suited Cushing perfectly.
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That sense of faded gentility.
Quietness.
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Understatement.
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In the last years of his life,
Cushing used to sit here
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in this cafe virtually every day,
discreetly hidden behind a pillar.
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How right that this most unassuming of horror
stars should be found in a quaint tearoom.
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Perhaps what made Peter Cushing the
quintessential Hammer star was his Englishness.
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And that in a very English way,
beneath that perfectly composed mask
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lay obsession, fanaticism
and a deeply suppressed passion.
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Hammer had created a distinctively
English brand of horror.
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But the effects of this
triumphant reinvention of the genre
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would soon be felt far away
from the Home Counties.
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In Italy, Director Mario Bava was
inspired by the success of Dracula
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00:20:38,035 --> 00:20:40,480
to create his own horror film.
222
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,780
Black Sunday mixed the violence
and sensuality of Hammer
223
00:20:44,815 --> 00:20:48,427
with the black-and-white visual
flair of the Universal era.
224
00:20:48,462 --> 00:20:52,040
It was the beginning of a new wave
of Italian horror cinema.
225
00:20:52,075 --> 00:20:55,125
And what an astonishing film it is.
226
00:20:55,160 --> 00:21:00,080
It featured an unforgettable performance
from a young English actress, Barbara Steele,
227
00:21:00,115 --> 00:21:03,160
as the vampire-witch
put to death in the opening scene.
228
00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,840
I guess Italians thought that
horror has to come from England.
229
00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:15,640
But, I mean, you can't
disguise an Italian film.
230
00:21:15,675 --> 00:21:17,565
You can't disguise
Italian cinematography.
231
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:25,120
It is so sumptuous and so appropriate for
the nightmare that he's trying to convey.
232
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:33,200
I shall return to torment and
destroy throughout the night of time.
233
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:48,520
It is very shocking to see
this blood come out of this mask.
234
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,840
Very unsettling
and precise, wasn't it?
235
00:21:54,875 --> 00:21:58,400
It had this kind of timeless,
236
00:21:58,435 --> 00:22:00,160
fatal quality to it.
237
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:08,360
Even the horse and carriage was like the
Neapolitan funerals' horse and carriages, you know.
238
00:22:08,395 --> 00:22:11,720
With that sort of theatrical
beauty, and, er...
239
00:22:11,755 --> 00:22:15,320
all death and sex, sex and death.
240
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:25,360
Hammer had pioneered this heady mix of sex and
death, but Black Sunday made it even stronger.
241
00:22:25,395 --> 00:22:26,880
Kruvajan!
242
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,240
Kruvajan, I've been waiting for you.
243
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:46,480
In America, too, Hammer's success encouraged
film-makers to revisit horror in new ways.
244
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:54,080
Producer and director Roger Corman worked
with even smaller budgets than Hammer,
245
00:22:54,115 --> 00:22:57,760
but created some of the most
spectacular films of the era.
246
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,405
Beginning with The Fall
of the House of Usher,
247
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:08,760
he conceived a cycle of films drawing on the
stories and poems of American author Edgar Allan Poe.
248
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,965
Corman's films are less gory
than Hammer's,
249
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,080
but as a child, I always found
them more genuinely frightening.
250
00:23:21,115 --> 00:23:24,720
More sickly, more unsettling.
251
00:23:24,755 --> 00:23:29,000
Alleluia.
252
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,320
They have a uniquely queasy,
dreamlike quality.
253
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,360
The dream sequences became
a signature of the Poe films.
254
00:23:47,395 --> 00:23:50,485
It started out in Usher
just as a sequence
255
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,840
that I felt portrayed
the situation at that moment.
256
00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:57,125
And the reaction of the audience
was so strong,
257
00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:01,445
I incorporated dream sequences
into almost every film.
258
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:06,880
There was a heavy Freudian element
to it, there was the sense of fear,
259
00:24:06,915 --> 00:24:10,565
and it gave me a chance
simply to work with film.
260
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:15,600
To dispense with dialogue, dispense with
the story, just to use the film medium.
261
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:20,760
Hazel Court's dream
in The Masque Of The Red Death
262
00:24:20,795 --> 00:24:24,080
captures the sense
of a genuine nightmare.
263
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,085
It had a totally phallic
series of symbols with the daggers
264
00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:45,840
and knives slashing at her and
her screaming as they approached.
265
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:56,440
What I tried to do was to shoot everything
interior, make everything artificial.
266
00:24:56,475 --> 00:25:00,840
My whole idea
was to stay away from reality.
267
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:10,560
Effortlessly inhabiting this surreal world was Vincent
Price, the star of all but one of the Poe films.
268
00:25:10,595 --> 00:25:16,160
Somewhere in the human mind, my dear
Francesca, is the key to our existence.
269
00:25:16,195 --> 00:25:19,205
My ancestors tried to find it,
270
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:23,840
to open the door that separates us
from our... creator.
271
00:25:23,875 --> 00:25:27,525
Price's morbid eloquence
has a timeless quality
272
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,280
which makes him convincing
even dressed as a medieval prince.
273
00:25:31,315 --> 00:25:33,885
If you believe... Believe?
274
00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:38,600
If you believe, my dear Francesca,
you are gullible.
275
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:44,920
Can you look around this world and believe
in the goodness of a God who rules it?
276
00:25:44,955 --> 00:25:47,240
Famine! Pestilence! War!
277
00:25:47,275 --> 00:25:49,197
Disease and death!
278
00:25:49,232 --> 00:25:51,120
They rule this world.
279
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,365
Corman's pictures have
dark and complex themes,
280
00:25:55,400 --> 00:26:00,485
giving us a type of horror which
somehow taps into instinctive fears.
281
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:06,040
Of course there are shocking images, but more
than that, these films deal with shocking ideas,
282
00:26:06,075 --> 00:26:11,957
principally the primal terror
of slow, conscious, horrific death.
283
00:26:11,992 --> 00:26:17,840
This has its most powerful
expression in Pit And The Pendulum.
284
00:26:17,875 --> 00:26:20,925
And perhaps one can detect
some genuine fear
285
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:26,520
in actor John Carr's face in the
film's climactic torture sequence.
286
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:35,760
I do remember while shooting that
John was a little bit worried about
287
00:26:35,795 --> 00:26:38,960
the pendulum as it was
swinging closer and closer to him.
288
00:26:38,995 --> 00:26:42,125
I said, "John, let me
get in there myself. "
289
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,885
So I laid down on the platform
and had the pendulum swing back
290
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,600
and forth above me, and John said,
"OK, if you can do it, I can do it. "
291
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,285
Corman's mastery of the shocking
image is at its height
292
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:09,000
in Pit And The Pendulum, and Barbara
Steele was again cast as the victim.
293
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,280
There's a particular moment when
what is supposed to be your corpse
294
00:27:14,315 --> 00:27:20,600
is revealed in the tomb,
which is a proper shock moment,
295
00:27:20,635 --> 00:27:24,285
and it's so hideous that...
I know, I know.
296
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,880
Stephen King said that's one of
the pivotal moments in horror!
297
00:27:27,915 --> 00:27:31,405
When they... Corman... that moment
when my corpse is revealed
298
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:36,000
is the first time when they really
wanted people to be repelled and shocked,
299
00:27:36,035 --> 00:27:38,080
it was on a really visceral level.
300
00:27:38,115 --> 00:27:40,960
And I guess they succeeded.
301
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,720
Even with material as distinctively American as
Edgar Allen Poe's, Corman eventually found himself
302
00:28:12,755 --> 00:28:15,525
drawn to England
and all things English.
303
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:19,200
Even throwing in a fox-hunting
sequence in his last Poe film.
304
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:26,760
And he abandoned all his self-imposed rules
about the need for artificial, interior settings.
305
00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,920
I stayed with that theory until the
last picture, The Tomb Of Ligeia.
306
00:28:32,955 --> 00:28:37,045
Frankly, I got so bored with my own
theory, we were shooting in England,
307
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:42,360
and I said, "We're going out into the English
countryside, it's going to be daylight,
308
00:28:42,395 --> 00:28:47,080
the sun is shining and we're seeing
the beautiful English countryside. "
309
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:53,120
In The Tomb Of Ligeia, Corman worked
with Hammer cinematographer Arthur Grant
310
00:28:53,155 --> 00:28:57,520
to create gorgeous location scenes
at Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk.
311
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:01,620
Ligeia.
312
00:29:01,655 --> 00:29:03,480
CAT YOWLS
313
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:22,600
Now, puss...
314
00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:29,000
Roger Corman wasn't the only
film-maker to be drawn across
315
00:29:29,035 --> 00:29:31,045
the Atlantic to
the new home of horror.
316
00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,520
Britain was also the setting for
a series of intense supernatural
317
00:29:34,555 --> 00:29:36,005
and psychological chillers
318
00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,600
from leading Hollywood directors
and studios.
319
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:46,285
Released in 1957, Night Of The Demon
updates a tale
320
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:50,240
by that most Edwardian of
ghost story authors, MR James.
321
00:29:50,275 --> 00:29:52,200
And it's extremely effective.
322
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,480
Niall MacGinnis delights as
a villainous black magician,
323
00:29:59,515 --> 00:30:02,777
and occasional
children's entertainer.
324
00:30:02,812 --> 00:30:06,040
One particular exchange
with Dana Andrews
325
00:30:06,075 --> 00:30:07,685
stands out for its sly menace.
326
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,165
Aha, snakes and ladders. An
English game, you wouldn't know it.
327
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,680
You see, if you land at the foot of
the ladder, you climb up to the top.
328
00:30:15,715 --> 00:30:18,697
But if you land on the snake,
you slide down again.
329
00:30:18,732 --> 00:30:21,680
Funny thing, I always preferred
sliding down the snakes
330
00:30:21,715 --> 00:30:23,085
to climbing up the ladders.
331
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,760
You're a doctor of psychology, you
ought to know the answer to that.
332
00:30:26,795 --> 00:30:29,237
Maybe you're a good loser.
333
00:30:29,272 --> 00:30:31,680
I'm not, you know, not a bit.
334
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,845
The film's director,
Jacques Tourneur,
335
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,320
was a protege of the great Hollywood
horror producer, Val Lewton.
336
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,600
The climax was criticised for
ignoring Lewton's dictum
337
00:30:44,635 --> 00:30:47,005
that you should never reveal
your monster.
338
00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:51,520
But I find the demon's appearance
on the London to Southampton line
339
00:30:51,555 --> 00:30:53,520
both eerie and spectacular.
340
00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,925
By contrast, the brilliant 1963 film
The Haunting,
341
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,205
shot in Britain by
Tourneur's contemporary Robert Wise,
342
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:24,880
sticks firmly to the principle
that fear comes through suggestion.
343
00:31:24,915 --> 00:31:27,480
This is the film Wise made
between West Side Story
344
00:31:27,515 --> 00:31:28,725
and The Sound Of Music.
345
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,840
It's high-end horror,
with big money behind it.
346
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:39,300
The Haunting is a classic ghost
story, and one of my favourites.
347
00:31:39,335 --> 00:31:43,320
Its power derives from the slow
accumulation of unsettling sounds
348
00:31:43,355 --> 00:31:46,005
and images that suggest
that the house itself
349
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:51,840
is constantly watching the people
inside, that the house is vile.
350
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,205
BANGING
351
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:58,320
Go away! Go away! Go away!
352
00:31:58,355 --> 00:32:00,080
BANGING STOPS
353
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,880
In this celebrated scene,
distorted camera angles and
354
00:32:04,915 --> 00:32:08,080
the careful use of silence
and sudden noise
355
00:32:08,115 --> 00:32:10,320
create an atmosphere of dread.
356
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:16,525
Oh, you big baby.
357
00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:18,880
Whatever it is, it's just a noise.
358
00:32:18,915 --> 00:32:20,397
I'm cold.
359
00:32:20,432 --> 00:32:21,880
So am I.
360
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:26,000
Where's Luke? Where's Markway?
I don't know. Warmer now?
361
00:32:26,035 --> 00:32:27,605
No.
362
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,160
In a minute, I'll go out in the hall
and call them.
363
00:32:30,195 --> 00:32:31,400
Are you all right?
364
00:32:31,435 --> 00:32:33,120
BANGING
365
00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:38,720
It's against the top of the door!
366
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,080
It's difficult to do justice
to a film like The Haunting
367
00:32:45,115 --> 00:32:46,405
in a single clip.
368
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,680
It's all about building
an atmosphere,
369
00:32:48,715 --> 00:32:50,885
and that can be as fragile
as a cobweb.
370
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,360
I can still remember watching it
for the first time with my dad,
371
00:32:54,395 --> 00:32:56,125
and seeing his knuckles whiten
372
00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,325
as he gripped the arms
of his chair in sheer terror.
373
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:03,160
And of course, that was
the most frightening thing of all.
374
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:09,520
Meanwhile, Hammer had maintained
a prolific horror output.
375
00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,360
But they couldn't afford
to be complacent.
376
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,520
And their 1966 film,
Dracula, Prince Of Darkness
377
00:33:19,555 --> 00:33:23,040
was a robust response
to the growing competition.
378
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,560
It saw the return of Christopher Lee
in his first appearance
379
00:33:30,595 --> 00:33:32,320
as Dracula since 1958.
380
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,920
Barbara Shelley,
who played Helen in the film,
381
00:33:47,955 --> 00:33:51,480
has vivid memories
of working with Lee.
382
00:33:51,515 --> 00:33:54,285
He brought dignity and veritas,
383
00:33:54,320 --> 00:34:00,045
which is a difficult thing to bring
to a fantasy like a vampire,
384
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:04,920
and that is just Chris's appearance
and personality that did all that.
385
00:34:04,955 --> 00:34:08,057
He used to walk on the set,
and I said to him
386
00:34:08,092 --> 00:34:11,125
"It's an extraordinary performance,
Christopher,
387
00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:15,560
"because we know each other so well,
and you could hypnotise me. "
388
00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:49,800
But it was brilliant, because
he completely dominated the film
389
00:34:49,835 --> 00:34:52,365
without a word.
Talk about silent movies.
390
00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,685
Barbara Shelley's own performance
was quite superb,
391
00:34:55,720 --> 00:35:00,800
proving that female vampires
needn't be merely decorative.
392
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:06,800
The scene that I'm most proud
of though is when she's staked.
393
00:35:06,835 --> 00:35:11,680
There's absolute evil
when she's struggling.
394
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,400
And then suddenly, she's staked.
395
00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:29,960
And there is tremendous serenity.
396
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:39,120
And I think that that is one of my
best moments on film. OK, cut it.
397
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:49,240
They may have created lavish films,
but Hammer operated on a shoestring.
398
00:35:49,275 --> 00:35:50,685
From their earliest days,
399
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:53,980
the same team of technicians
worked on film after film.
400
00:35:54,015 --> 00:35:57,240
A single editor, James Needs,
cut almost all of them.
401
00:35:57,275 --> 00:36:00,760
And scriptwriters and
directors rarely changed.
402
00:36:00,795 --> 00:36:04,245
Even so, budgets were always tight.
403
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:08,400
Hammer experimented
with re-using sets, and in 1965,
404
00:36:08,435 --> 00:36:12,520
they shot a run of films
that shared casts and crew.
405
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:22,000
The drive to make cheaper commercial
product could have narrowed
406
00:36:22,035 --> 00:36:23,725
Hammer's scope, but far from it.
407
00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,440
Economy measures like shooting
films back-to-back with shared casts
408
00:36:27,475 --> 00:36:31,280
actually led to some remarkable
flights of the imagination.
409
00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,605
This era produced
films like The Reptile
410
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:39,280
and The Plague Of The Zombies,
which is one of my favourites.
411
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,400
It features some incredibly
powerful images, like this one.
412
00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:07,040
Most of the zombie action
takes place in the Bray back-lot.
413
00:37:07,075 --> 00:37:10,417
But this place,
Oakley Court in Windsor,
414
00:37:10,452 --> 00:37:13,760
stands in for the home
of the local squire.
415
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:20,600
This grand house was a frequent
feature in Hammer's films,
416
00:37:20,635 --> 00:37:23,160
mainly because
it was next door to Bray.
417
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:31,445
I used to say "You can
go out on location as far away
418
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:36,360
"as you like, so long as it's within
walking distance of the studio".
419
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:42,440
It's as if all that cost-cutting
actually meant the plot and imagery
420
00:37:42,475 --> 00:37:45,600
in The Plague Of The Zombies
had to be more original.
421
00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:53,000
This classic scene
is a rare Hammer dream sequence.
422
00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:20,120
Hammer were by no means the
only British purveyors of horror.
423
00:38:20,155 --> 00:38:23,085
One competitor was
Amicus Productions,
424
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:26,840
which operated from a shed
at Shepperton Studios.
425
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:34,760
It was a two-man business,
Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky.
426
00:38:34,795 --> 00:38:38,760
In 1964, Amicus produced
Dr Terror's House Of Horrors,
427
00:38:38,795 --> 00:38:41,365
which took a series of
short stories
428
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:45,940
and linked them together
into a full length picture.
429
00:38:45,975 --> 00:38:50,480
It was inspired by the classic
1945 film Dead Of Night.
430
00:38:50,515 --> 00:38:55,160
This portmanteau form
became Amicus's trademark.
431
00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:00,220
When I was a kid, I think I liked
the portmanteaus best of all.
432
00:39:00,255 --> 00:39:03,847
They seemed almost like the ideal
horror movie, a lovely package
433
00:39:03,882 --> 00:39:07,440
of short films, frequently with
a very nasty twist in the tale.
434
00:39:07,475 --> 00:39:09,725
If you didn't like one
particular story,
435
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:12,445
there'd be another one
along ten minutes later.
436
00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:15,680
They were rarely wholly successful,
but I've always thought
437
00:39:15,715 --> 00:39:17,960
what a cracking portmanteau
you could make
438
00:39:17,995 --> 00:39:20,280
out of the best bits
of all of them.
439
00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:26,160
Asylum was written by Robert Bloch,
author of Psycho
440
00:39:26,195 --> 00:39:29,320
and one of horror's
great short story writers.
441
00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:58,680
The asylum setting allows
Bloch to bring together
442
00:39:58,715 --> 00:40:00,525
four quite different tales,
443
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:04,640
as we explore the strange reasons
why each of the inmates is there.
444
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:10,760
The most important part
of making a film is the script.
445
00:40:10,795 --> 00:40:12,880
It's not the actual
shooting the film.
446
00:40:12,915 --> 00:40:14,685
The technicians know their jobs,
447
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:17,960
the cameraman knows his job,
the director knows his job.
448
00:40:17,995 --> 00:40:19,885
It's what he is going to shoot,
449
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,165
and whether or not
a company is successful
450
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:25,680
depends on what they choose to shoot,
and that's all there is to it.
451
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,920
My favourite story in Asylum
concerns a tailor commissioned
452
00:40:31,955 --> 00:40:35,640
to make a magic suit, which
eventually casts its spell
453
00:40:35,675 --> 00:40:36,680
on his dummy.
454
00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:04,885
Amicus also drew on the notorious
American EC horror comics
455
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:09,600
to make its portmanteaus Tales From
The Crypt and Vault Of Horror.
456
00:41:09,635 --> 00:41:12,720
But my favourite portmanteau
was based on the short stories
457
00:41:12,755 --> 00:41:15,720
of an English writer,
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes.
458
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,960
From Beyond The Grave features
Peter Cushing as a shopkeeper
459
00:41:21,995 --> 00:41:24,080
who metes out
horrible punishments
460
00:41:24,115 --> 00:41:25,885
for the mildest of crimes,
461
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:30,920
and it's a rare opportunity to hear
him affecting a Yorkshire accent.
462
00:41:30,955 --> 00:41:33,365
Naughty.
463
00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:34,920
Shouldn't have done that.
464
00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:41,400
Like all the Amicus films, it's
packed with British character actors
465
00:41:41,435 --> 00:41:43,645
such as Diana Dors,
Donald Pleasence
466
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:47,885
and his daughter Angela,
and David Warner.
467
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:53,640
I willingly went in to do Tales
From Beyond The Grave
468
00:41:53,675 --> 00:41:57,885
because I enjoyed the others
of that type.
469
00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:01,440
What do you think the reason was
for the portmanteau attracting
470
00:42:01,475 --> 00:42:02,685
those sorts of casts?
471
00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:07,400
I think most probably because
it was a job, quite honestly.
472
00:42:07,435 --> 00:42:08,965
And also, it was quick.
473
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:15,000
Warner's story effortlessly
brings horror into the present day.
474
00:42:15,035 --> 00:42:18,280
There's a seance scene,
475
00:42:18,315 --> 00:42:19,605
and I said,
476
00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:23,320
"We will not all be touching
hands when we're shooting this.
477
00:42:23,355 --> 00:42:26,245
"We will only pretend. " So I did say.
478
00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:30,400
I do remember, I suppose, being a bit
nervous and a bit scared of
479
00:42:30,435 --> 00:42:32,880
unleashing something, I don't know.
480
00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:40,080
Warner's reward for cheating
the old shopkeeper
481
00:42:40,115 --> 00:42:42,485
is indeed to unleash something
dreadful.
482
00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:46,200
It begins with this vivid nightmare,
showing how slickly Amicus
483
00:42:46,235 --> 00:42:49,160
could move from modern settings
to gothic horror.
484
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:09,920
Hammer, by contrast, were struggling
to keep up with the times.
485
00:43:09,955 --> 00:43:13,677
In 1966, they'd left Bray Studios
and moved to Elstree.
486
00:43:13,712 --> 00:43:17,400
There were a few great films in
the years that followed,
487
00:43:17,435 --> 00:43:19,405
but something seems to
have been lost,
488
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:24,720
a sense of cohesion, of the Hammer
family, the tight-knit factory
489
00:43:24,755 --> 00:43:27,885
that produced quality
on tiny budgets.
490
00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:32,880
Hammer still needed to make regular
Dracula and Frankenstein sequels,
491
00:43:32,915 --> 00:43:36,365
but it all seemed
to be wearing a bit thin.
492
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:39,240
I got a call from Hammer saying
they wanted to do
493
00:43:39,275 --> 00:43:41,960
another Frankenstein,
would I do a rewrite?
494
00:43:41,995 --> 00:43:44,045
I said "No, I don't want
to do that. "
495
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:46,960
They said "Well, you can
produce it as well".
496
00:43:46,995 --> 00:43:49,045
I said "No, it's not worth it".
497
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:52,285
Then I had an idea. I said
"I'll do it if I can direct it".
498
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:56,120
They said "We'll call you back". And
they called me back 20 minutes later
499
00:43:56,155 --> 00:43:57,885
and said I could direct it as well.
500
00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,725
Probably the biggest mistake
I ever made in my life!
501
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:05,360
The Horror Of Frankenstein,
Sangster's first film as director,
502
00:44:05,395 --> 00:44:07,085
is, frankly, dreadful.
503
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:11,600
But Hammer still hired him again,
to direct Lust For A Vampire.
504
00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:16,280
He was a last-minute replacement
for Terence Fisher,
505
00:44:16,315 --> 00:44:18,897
and it showed from
the opening titles onward.
506
00:44:18,932 --> 00:44:22,026
I remember on the first day
of production,
507
00:44:22,061 --> 00:44:25,085
it was this big long shot
in the studio.
508
00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:30,925
This carriage comes driving
into the courtyard of the castle.
509
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:36,040
I set it up, and I shot it. I said
"OK, that's fine, print that... "
510
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:43,925
.. when a voice from the back says
"We can do better than that!"
511
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:47,720
I said "Who said that?" And it was
one of the producers, Michael Style.
512
00:44:47,755 --> 00:44:49,645
I said "You can do better than that?
513
00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:52,840
"You shoot the fucking picture
then", and I walked off.
514
00:44:52,875 --> 00:44:54,765
And they never came on the set again.
515
00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:57,280
Probably would have
been better if they had.
516
00:44:57,315 --> 00:44:59,520
It might have been a better picture!
517
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:04,280
Lust For A Vampire lacked Hammer's
usual production values,
518
00:45:04,315 --> 00:45:06,765
but the producers
didn't seem too worried.
519
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:10,040
A sudden relaxation in censorship
at the beginning of the '70s
520
00:45:10,075 --> 00:45:11,445
meant Hammer could focus on
521
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,440
the one thing they knew would
pull in the crowds...
522
00:45:14,475 --> 00:45:15,680
sex.
523
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:22,000
The sex thing became more
important than the horror film.
524
00:45:22,035 --> 00:45:24,405
It was probably Jim Carreras
who said,
525
00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:29,720
"We've got to show them some tits",
basically.
526
00:45:29,755 --> 00:45:32,457
I did think it
was part of the downfall.
527
00:45:32,492 --> 00:45:35,160
We'll put a couple of pillows
in the bed.
528
00:45:35,195 --> 00:45:38,097
She'll think we're asleep.
529
00:45:38,132 --> 00:45:40,965
Yes, we'll go at midnight.
530
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:45,640
At their worst, Hammer's films
had become worryingly formulaic,
531
00:45:45,675 --> 00:45:48,360
as Michael Style,
Lust For A Vampire's producer,
532
00:45:48,395 --> 00:45:51,085
made abundantly clear.
533
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:54,400
You need a lot of murders...
534
00:45:54,435 --> 00:45:56,925
SHE SCREAMS
535
00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:01,180
.. a lot of blood - we've ordered five
gallons of blood for this picture.
536
00:46:01,215 --> 00:46:05,400
You need a good, strong villain,
a really villainous looking villain.
537
00:46:05,435 --> 00:46:06,925
A good hero.
538
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:10,480
As you're all so terrified of
the castle, I'll go up there.
539
00:46:10,515 --> 00:46:12,045
After lunch.
540
00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:16,040
A certain amount of sex,
lots of action...
541
00:46:16,075 --> 00:46:18,937
Burn down the castle!
542
00:46:18,972 --> 00:46:22,106
And lots of pretty girls.
543
00:46:22,141 --> 00:46:25,205
And, er, that's your story.
544
00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:30,360
All those tits and bums could have been rather
dull if lesbian vampires weren't your thing,
545
00:46:30,395 --> 00:46:34,765
but even in its later years, Hammer was
capable of great flashes of brilliance.
546
00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:39,600
One of my favourites was the brainchild of
Brian Clemens, co-creator of The Avengers.
547
00:46:39,635 --> 00:46:42,920
His was a real back of the envelope
job which came about during
548
00:46:42,955 --> 00:46:45,685
light-hearted discussions
during the staff canteen.
549
00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:51,640
How could Hammer possibly breathe
new life into the tired old story
550
00:46:51,675 --> 00:46:53,725
of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?
551
00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:59,000
Brian, on the other side of the
table, suddenly woke up and said,
552
00:46:59,035 --> 00:47:03,480
"I know! I know exactly what
happens. "
553
00:47:03,515 --> 00:47:07,120
Everybody said, "Yes, what?"
554
00:47:07,155 --> 00:47:09,285
"Well", he said,
555
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:12,340
"Dr Jekyll drinks the potion
556
00:47:12,375 --> 00:47:15,325
"and he turns into a woman".
557
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:19,880
And so was born Dr Jekyll
And Sister Hyde.
558
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:31,440
The transformation scene is a
brilliant spin on the classic
559
00:47:31,475 --> 00:47:35,320
single-shot trick first seen
in the 1931 Jekyll And Hyde.
560
00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:20,840
And then we had the
casting, which was magical.
561
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:26,880
We had our Dr Jekyll, Ralph Bates.
562
00:48:26,915 --> 00:48:30,485
Male.
563
00:48:30,520 --> 00:48:33,965
I must set
this down before it is too late.
564
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:37,960
So that was OK, but
who was going to be the girl?
565
00:48:37,995 --> 00:48:41,885
Former Bond girl Martine Beswick
proved perfect,
566
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:45,320
being remarkably similar
to Bates in looks and height.
567
00:48:45,355 --> 00:48:48,645
So we set sail with high hopes.
568
00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:51,040
And of course actually, it came off.
569
00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:57,160
Of course, there's the
obligatory nudity,
570
00:48:57,195 --> 00:48:59,360
but it's a stylish, witty film.
571
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:09,800
I'm... sorry.
572
00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:15,245
Forgive me.
573
00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:21,000
Hammer had made more than 80 feature
films since The Curse Of Frankenstein.
574
00:49:21,035 --> 00:49:25,365
Having squeezed every last drop
out of 19th century Gothic,
575
00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:29,080
they faced a constant struggle
to bring their horror up to date.
576
00:49:30,880 --> 00:49:35,040
Intriguing experiments included
taking Dracula to swinging London,
577
00:49:35,075 --> 00:49:37,800
after most
of the swinging had stopped...
578
00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:44,640
.. and even kung-fu vampires.
579
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:49,925
But they failed to capture
the audience's imagination,
580
00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:54,920
and horror's greatest stars seemed to have
little enthusiasm for these modern makeovers.
581
00:49:54,955 --> 00:50:00,657
I think keeping to the turn of
the century was a wonderful time.
582
00:50:00,692 --> 00:50:05,206
I've always wondered, though, why
the best setting in the world
583
00:50:05,241 --> 00:50:09,685
for a thriller, a spooky picture,
is always London in the fog.
584
00:50:09,720 --> 00:50:14,005
Yes. I'll tell you what they haven't
used for a long time, an old castle.
585
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:18,640
I mean, London in the fog is wonderful, Sherlock
Holmes and all that, but an old castle...
586
00:50:18,675 --> 00:50:21,160
A really good castle.
587
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:30,520
The coming years saw a decline in British
horror which proved pretty much irreversible.
588
00:50:30,555 --> 00:50:34,885
But there were some
fascinating final flourishes.
589
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:39,365
From the late '60s, a new generation
of British directors avoided
590
00:50:39,400 --> 00:50:43,920
the Gothic cliches by stepping even
further away from the modern world.
591
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:49,925
Amongst these are a loose collection of
films which we might call folk horror.
592
00:50:49,960 --> 00:50:55,360
They shared a common obsession with the British
landscape, its folklore and superstitions.
593
00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:02,885
Witchfinder General,
directed by Michael Reeves,
594
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:06,840
took us back to the witchhunts
of 17th century East Anglia.
595
00:51:16,840 --> 00:51:19,360
SHE SCREAMS
596
00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:24,240
It may have cast horror legend
Vincent Price in the lead role,
597
00:51:24,275 --> 00:51:28,800
but this was new territory,
dark and nihilistic.
598
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:32,380
Lower away.
599
00:51:32,415 --> 00:51:34,160
Keep her slow.
600
00:51:42,720 --> 00:51:47,140
Without a doubt, the best known
of these films is The Wicker Man.
601
00:51:47,175 --> 00:51:51,525
Set on idyllic Summerisle,
it pits the pagan islanders against
602
00:51:51,560 --> 00:51:56,880
the upstanding Christian hero, with its
horrific conclusion played out in daylight.
603
00:51:56,915 --> 00:51:58,685
Oh, God!
604
00:51:58,720 --> 00:52:01,040
Oh, Jesus Christ!
605
00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:06,280
Oh, my God!
606
00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:09,165
Christ!
607
00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:12,000
No, no, dear God!
608
00:52:12,035 --> 00:52:13,240
No, Christ!
609
00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:28,725
HE WHISTLES
610
00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:32,040
The Wicker Man may have become THE
cult film and Witchfinder General
611
00:52:32,075 --> 00:52:34,645
may have grabbed most
of the critical plaudits,
612
00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:38,400
but there's another film which I
think deserves wider appreciation.
613
00:52:38,435 --> 00:52:40,005
What makes it so special?
614
00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:42,485
Well, let's just say
there aren't many films
615
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:48,400
set in the reign of William and Mary in which the Devil
rebuilds his body by harvesting the skin of children.
616
00:52:56,080 --> 00:53:00,560
Give... me... my... skin.
617
00:53:10,520 --> 00:53:14,485
The film is Blood On Satan's Claw,
618
00:53:14,520 --> 00:53:21,000
and its director, Piers Haggard, also drew
inspiration from the Home Counties countryside.
619
00:53:24,400 --> 00:53:29,120
Sometimes on a project, everything clicks. Well,
it clicked because here we have a beautiful valley.
620
00:53:29,155 --> 00:53:32,205
We have a ploughing sequence,
you know, the farmers.
621
00:53:32,240 --> 00:53:40,240
And it's a rural community, and here
in the bowl of the valley is the church.
622
00:53:40,275 --> 00:53:43,680
And we needed a church because it's
got Satan in it,
623
00:53:43,715 --> 00:53:47,117
so we needed a bit of the...
Need the opposite.
624
00:53:47,152 --> 00:53:50,520
You need the opposite.
And it's, amazingly,
625
00:53:50,555 --> 00:53:52,045
as it was, really.
626
00:53:52,080 --> 00:53:57,320
This is the focal point of the
film, really, what happens here.
627
00:53:59,920 --> 00:54:03,960
When the devil rises up and takes
hold of an innocent rural community,
628
00:54:03,995 --> 00:54:08,080
it's here
that they enact their rites.
629
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:19,960
What kind of a horror film
were you setting out to make?
630
00:54:19,995 --> 00:54:23,125
I didn't want to do
something which was
631
00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:29,245
larky and... I wasn't really
interested in Dracula, but
632
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:33,600
I was interested in the dark things
that people feel and the dark things
633
00:54:33,635 --> 00:54:37,285
that happen, and that was
what I wanted to explore.
634
00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:42,520
And I think the other thing that appealed to
me, really, was the setting, the rural setting.
635
00:54:42,555 --> 00:54:46,320
The nooks and crannies of woodland,
the edges of fields, the ploughing,
636
00:54:46,355 --> 00:54:51,880
the labour, the sense of the soil
was something that I tried
637
00:54:51,915 --> 00:54:54,360
to bring into the picture.
638
00:54:56,680 --> 00:54:59,800
So in the opening scene with
the lonely ploughman
639
00:54:59,835 --> 00:55:02,445
and his girl across the valley,
640
00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:09,240
and you gradually become aware that something's
going to happen, but you don't know what it is.
641
00:55:22,240 --> 00:55:27,000
And from the moment that you do
see this eye in the earth,
642
00:55:27,035 --> 00:55:32,120
it was important
for the rest of the film
643
00:55:32,155 --> 00:55:35,200
to have the camera
often very low.
644
00:55:37,800 --> 00:55:41,445
We dug an awful lot of holes
to put the camera in, just
645
00:55:41,480 --> 00:55:46,960
to give you the feeling that we were somehow in the
earth, and what it was that might come out of the earth.
646
00:55:46,995 --> 00:55:49,165
There's this little moment of...
647
00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:52,680
folk horror, I suppose,
which is absolutely distinct.
648
00:55:52,715 --> 00:55:56,160
Do you think that was
something to do with the times?
649
00:55:56,195 --> 00:55:58,925
This is very interesting, this.
650
00:55:58,960 --> 00:56:02,520
I think that I was trying
to make a folk horror film in a way,
651
00:56:02,555 --> 00:56:06,880
because we were
all a bit interested in witchcraft.
652
00:56:06,915 --> 00:56:09,137
We were all a bit
interested in free love.
653
00:56:09,172 --> 00:56:11,325
The rules of the
cinema were changing.
654
00:56:11,360 --> 00:56:18,680
Nudity became possible, and indeed
altogether possibly over-prevalent,
655
00:56:18,715 --> 00:56:20,765
because the lid had
slightly been taken off.
656
00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:28,200
But things go well beyond the '60s fad for nudity
when it comes to the film's most disturbing scene -
657
00:56:28,235 --> 00:56:31,120
a violent and protracted rape.
658
00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:36,925
They've all gone absolutely
stark raving bonkers,
659
00:56:36,960 --> 00:56:41,400
and it is about a breakdown,
a complete breakdown of values.
660
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:51,205
A very beautiful procession,
coming to the church
661
00:56:51,240 --> 00:56:56,140
with chanting and blossom,
turns into something very ugly,
662
00:56:56,175 --> 00:57:01,040
and the beautiful boughs are used
as scourges and whips.
663
00:57:09,640 --> 00:57:12,160
If I look at the rape scene now,
664
00:57:12,195 --> 00:57:14,680
I think it's probably too strong.
665
00:57:17,480 --> 00:57:21,040
And it's interesting that I
wasn't bothered at the time.
666
00:57:21,075 --> 00:57:25,525
I think you will find most directors,
667
00:57:25,560 --> 00:57:28,645
if they get their teeth into
a sequence which they think
668
00:57:28,680 --> 00:57:36,160
is going to be really powerful, they become completely
seduced, and I was seduced by the sheer dramatic power.
669
00:57:42,200 --> 00:57:45,120
WOMAN SCREAMS
670
00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:54,325
Sensation had certainly
overtaken suggestion.
671
00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:59,280
Things had come a long way since those first British
fumblings with sex and horror back in the '50s.
672
00:58:08,080 --> 00:58:11,500
Sadly, these intriguing last
hurrahs were short-lived.
673
00:58:11,535 --> 00:58:14,885
The pendulum was swinging
back across the Atlantic.
674
00:58:14,920 --> 00:58:19,280
American cinema had found a new
voice, one which addressed the fears
675
00:58:19,315 --> 00:58:23,640
and concerns of the present day
in an aggressively modern style.
676
00:58:23,675 --> 00:58:28,137
The next great age of the
horror film was about to begin.
677
00:58:28,172 --> 00:58:32,600
Next time, flesh-eating zombies
and Texans with chainsaws.
678
00:58:32,635 --> 00:58:37,600
It's the new wave
of American horror.
679
00:58:57,920 --> 00:59:00,960
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
680
00:59:00,995 --> 00:59:04,000
E- mail subtitling@bbc. co. uk
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