{"id":2649,"date":"2020-10-05T17:48:55","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T17:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/?p=2649"},"modified":"2023-02-09T19:21:52","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T19:21:52","slug":"the-vampire-lovers-fiftieth-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/film\/the-vampire-lovers-fiftieth-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vampire Lovers: A Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Vampire Lovers<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In an in-depth feature, cultural historian John J Johnston looks back at the inception of Hammer\u2019s most important productions of the 1970s, and endeavours to reassesses the film\u2019s reputation, over fifty years after its release…<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Fifty years ago, on 4 October 1970, just in time for the impending Halloween market, Hammer unleashed its latest production, via the ABC cinema circuit, onto a largely unsuspecting British public.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

While many of the traditional and anticipated Gothic elements of Hammer horror were present, The Vampire Lovers <\/i><\/strong>(Roy Ward Baker)\u00a0was specifically intended to exploit the newly expanded freedoms offered by the British Board of Film Censors\u2019 revised \u2018X\u2019 Certificate. It was an important moment for Hammer as they tested largely uncharted waters and the film performed well at the box office, garnering some degree of praise from critics and public, alike. However, during the last half-century, the film has undergone a number of reappraisals; most recently, The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> seems to be generally regarded as a slice of early Seventies\u2019, somewhat camp, prurience, often, unfairly, discussed in similar terms to the plethora of unappealing and unfunny British sex-comedies, which filled cinemas during that decade.<\/p>

The circumstances around The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i>\u2019 inception were somewhat unusual in that James Carreras, the Chairman of Hammer Films had been casting around for suitable properties, following the departure of long-standing collaborator Anthony Hinds, responsible for producing many of Hammer\u2019s major horror films from The Quatermass Xperiment<\/b><\/i> (Val Guest, 1955) onwards, when he was approached, in September 1969 by Harry Fine and Michael Style. Dublin-born Fine was enthused by the 1872 vampire novella, Carmilla<\/b><\/i> written by fellow countryman Joseph Le Fanu (1814-1873). This early vampire tale had long been in the public domain and the producers, aided by scriptwriter, Tudor Gates, thought it an ideal subject for Hammer.\u00a0<\/p>

Their intention was to emphasise the novella\u2019s lesbian elements in a manner, which might exploit the imminent changes to the British Board of Film Censors\u2019 \u2018X\u2019 Certificate. The rating had remained unchanged since 1951, but in light of societal and artistic moves, plans were afoot to raise the minimum age restriction from sixteen to eighteen years, allowing filmmakers greater freedom in the range of adult themes they could present onscreen. The change did not, ultimately, occur until 1 July 1970 and\u00a0The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i>\u2019 release date was delayed to prevent difficulties with the censor, although there was, as might have been expected, considerable correspondence between Hammer and the BBFC, in light of the film\u2019s horrific and sexual themes.<\/p>

The idea of presenting Carmilla<\/b><\/i> on screen was not, however, a new one. The Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer had written and directed a loose adaptation, Vampyr<\/b><\/i>, in 1932, while Roger Vadim directed Et Mourir de Plaisir<\/i> <\/b>in 1960, with his then wife, Annette Stroyberg as Carmilla. Christopher Lee starred in a1964 Italian adaptation, as Count Ludwig Karnstein in Camillo Mastrocinque\u2019s La Cripta e l\u2019Incubo<\/b><\/i>, while most fascinatingly, Jane Merrow portrayed Carmilla in a now, sadly, lost television adaptation for the ITV anthology series, Mystery and Imagination<\/b><\/i> (ABC Television, Bill Bain, 1966).<\/p>

Given Hammer\u2019s continuing fascination with both the fangs and plunging d\u00e9colletage of its female vampires, ever since Valerie Gaunt\u2019s appearance in Dracula<\/b><\/i><\/a> (Terence Fisher, 1958), the prospect evidently appealed to Carreras, and, although there was, at that point, no finalised script, he immediately booked sound stages at Elstree Studios from 19 January\u2014only four months distant\u2014and began seeking an American distributor to provide necessary funding.<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

Precise dating for these preproduction meetings is difficult to determine but in her autobiography, Life\u2019s A Scream<\/b><\/i>, the film\u2019s star, Ingrid Pitt, recalls meeting Carreras for the first time at a party following the premiere of Alfred the Great<\/b><\/i> (UK, Clive Donner). However, the premiere\u2014an appropriately royal event in Leicester Square\u2014had taken place on 14 July 1969. It is more likely, therefore, that their meeting took place following a screening on 1 October, the date when The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> went on general release, given that Pitt recalled visiting Hammer House on Wardour Street the next day, dressed appropriately for the heavily falling snow.<\/p>

In any event, Polish-born Ingrid Pitt, at that point an American citizen, was offered the most important film role of her career, with Carreras, subsequently, entering into necessary discussions with the Home Office, in order to convince them that no British actress was capable of effectively portraying Mircalla Karnstein.<\/p>

By 25 November, an agreement had been successfully negotiated between Hammer and American International Pictures, under the stewardship of James H Nicholson and Samuel Z Arkoff, renowned not only for a series of elegant adaptations of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, produced between 1960 and 1969 but also some lurid and cheaply produced exploitation features.<\/p>

The artistic direction of The Vampire Lovers<\/b> <\/i>lay in the balance\u2026<\/p>

In fact, the film\u2019s notorious nudity is remarkably tame by modern standards and is, gratifyingly, matter of fact. In a world away from the tittering voyeurism infecting so much British cinema of the period, Baker handled all scenes of a sexual nature with absolute seriousness and, in an interview, prior to a screening of the film at London\u2019s Barbican Cinema in 1996, Ingrid Pitt was remarkably sanguine about her nude scenes, commenting that she was glad to have been captured on film for posterity, while she was \u2018young and juicy.\u2019 Overall, The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> feels considerably less exploitative than its sequel, Lust for a Vampire<\/b><\/i> (Jimmy Sangster, 1971), which had completed filming, sans Pitt, even before The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i>\u2019 premiere on 3 September, such was Hammer\u2019s belief in the Karnstein franchise.<\/p>

It is also worth noting that Hammer was not, in any event, unused to presenting nudity in its films. Both The Man Who Could Cheat Death<\/b><\/i> (Terence Fisher, 1959) and The Mummy<\/i> <\/b>(Terence Fisher, 1959), contained scenes, specifically reshot for the European market, requiring both Hazel Court and the handmaidens of Ananka, respectively, to disrobe.<\/p>

Tudor Gates submitted his finalised screenplay on 15 December 1969 and a lavish press launch, in advance of filming, was held at London\u2019s Savoy Hotel on Tuesday, 6 January 1970. Peter Cushing<\/a> and Dawn Addams were present along with Ingrid Pitt, who was introduced as the new face of Hammer for the new decade.<\/p>

With Pitt at its centre and Peter Cushing in a guest-starring role, specifically requested by AIP, The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i>, arguably, boasts one of the largest and strongest casts of any Hammer Film. While only Cushing, at this point, could have been described as a \u2018star,\u2019 it is a solid ensemble cast of recognisable faces.<\/p>

Douglas Wilmer (Baron Hartog) was known as the star of the BBC\u2019s Sherlock Holmes<\/b><\/i> series, appearing in twelve adaptations of Doyle\u2019s tales between 1964 and 1965, in addition to bringing considerable gravitas to a number of substantially budgeted, international epics, including Cleopatra<\/b><\/i> (Joseph L Mankiewicz, 1963), Jason and the Argonauts<\/b><\/i> (Don Chaffey, 1963), and The Fall of the Roman Empire<\/b><\/i> (Anthony Mann, 1964).<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

George Cole (Roger Morton) had been working in films since 1941, steadily building his reputation as an adept comic actor, under the patronage of Alistair Sim, before achieving a degree of stardom as Flash Harry in Launder and Gilliat\u2019s St Trinian\u2019s<\/b><\/i> series between 1954 and 1966. The character was an obvious precursor to that of Minder<\/i><\/b>‘s slippery Arthur Daley, the role which cemented Cole in the affections of the British public (ITV, 1979-1994).<\/p>

Despite hailing from Felixstowe in Suffolk, Dawn Addams\u2019 (The Countess) glamorous life encompassed Hollywood, including an uncredited appearance in Stanley Donen\u2019s classic, Singin\u2019 in the Rain<\/b><\/i> (1952) and marriage to Don Vittorio Emanuele Massimo, Prince of Roccasecca, which featured on the cover of Life magazine in May 1954.<\/p>

Ferdy Mayne (The Doctor) had a substantial film career in Britain before portraying the chief vampire, Count von Krolock in Roman Polanski\u2019s Hammer parody, Dance of the Vampires<\/b><\/i> (1967). He had also appeared with Ingrid Pitt in the iconic WWII action film, Where Eagles Dare<\/b><\/i>\u00a0(Brian G Hutton, 1968).<\/p>

In the small but important role of the Landlord, Charles Farrell was cast. This Dublin-born actor had been appearing in films since 1921 and, as a regular performer in London\u2019s West End, had been a founding member of the British actors\u2019 union Equity, in 1930. Sadly, he delivers a peculiarly stilted performance, which is certainly is not aided by his largely expository dialogue.<\/p>

In addition to these recognisable faces, The Vampire Lovers<\/i><\/b> showcased a number of younger actors, who would go on to become substantial players in British film and television. Both Madeline Smith (Emma Morton) and Kate O\u2019Mara (Mlle Perrodot) became, through their later roles, bona fide icons of British horror and fantasy, while Jon Finch<\/a> (Carl Ebhardt), shortly thereafter, took starring roles in major feature films for Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski<\/a>.<\/p>

Peter Cushing (General Spielsdorf), Hammer\u2019s major star, delivers a typically polished performance as the distraught and grieving uncle in a relatively brief role.<\/p>

Scott MacGregor\u2019s production design is a joy to behold with carefully delineated looks being created for each of the three main settings. The grandeur of Spielsdorf\u2019s glittering home, complete with ballroom, is fully befitting an officer of the imperial Hapsburg army and contrasts well with the rather chintzier d\u00e9cor of Morton\u2019s abode, which is a riot of busy wallpapers and Neoclassical allusions, evidenced by the statuary and Piranesi prints, adorning the sets.\u00a0<\/p>

Castle Karnstein is a suitably foreboding environment, composed of lofty but crumbling architecture and dark corners, beneath a heavy covering of cobwebs, much of it repurposed from MacGregor\u2019s church set, created for Taste the Blood of Dracula<\/b><\/i> (Peter Sasdy, 1969). The chapel where Mircalla is ultimately dispatched is a glorious confection of painted plaster and stained glass, evoking the Eastern Orthodox influences of Medieval Styria. We know from the inscription on Mircalla\u2019s sarcophagus, \u20181522-1546,\u2019 that she lived during the Protestant Reformation of Styria, however, the chapel clearly predates this and is unlikely, in any event, to have been in regular use by the malevolent Karnsteins.<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

The painted flats, which form the background to the exterior of Castle Karnstein are effectively realised, although, perhaps a little too obvious in certain scenes, particularly when viewing the film on the big screen or on Blu-ray. The majority of the film, it must be admitted, is somewhat over-lit, both in the day for night exterior shots, and on the studio sets. It is a common problem in Gothic horror films of this nature, where artistic decisions must constantly be made between atmospheric reality and elegant splendour. Thankfully, Hammer always favoured the latter.<\/p>

The three main locations of Moor Park Mansion in Rickmansworth, completed in 1720, and Wall Hall Mansion, built in1802, are well-chosen, perfectly fitting both the time period of the film and the nature of their respective inhabitants, while Moat Mount open space, near Edgware, makes for an agreeable change from Hammer\u2019s somewhat overused Black Park.<\/p>

Harry Robinson\u2019s score for The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> is a work of delicate complexity, combining various themes, at certain points, lush and erotically charged, while at others, discordantly emphasising the horrific impact of the visuals. Although the film lasts only ninety-one minutes, it contains a substantial seventy-five minutes of music, which was written in only ten days, as such the score is a fundamental aspect of the overall production. It is worth noting that the gentle, somewhat playful theme, played as Mircalla and Emma descend the stairs for dinner, was reworked by Robinson three years later as the unsettling \u2018Dance of the Dolls<\/i>\u2019 for Peter Sykes\u2019 magnificent horror comedy, The House in Nightmare Park<\/b><\/i><\/a> (1973).<\/p>

Ingrid Pitt\u2019s performance as Mircalla Karnstein is central, not only to the narrative thrust of The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i>, but also to its commercial and critical success. It is understood that Shirley Eaton, famed for her appearance as \u2018golden girl,\u2019 Jill Masterson, in Goldfinger<\/b><\/i> (Guy Hamilton, 1964) had been interested in the role and that Peter Cushing had, initially, actively supported her casting, not least as both performers shared the same agent, John Redway.\u00a0<\/p>

Eaton had recently appeared in two Harry Alan Towers\u2019 films as Sax Rohmer\u2019s villainous Sumuru and evidently believed that she might corner the market in exotic villainy. James Carreras opined that she was \u2018too old\u2019 for the role, although in truth, the two women were born at either end of the same year. Consequently, Pitt\u2019s age was adjusted downwards for publicity purposes, where she was described as having been born in 1945, rather than 1937.<\/p>

In preparation for the role, Pitt met with director, Roy Ward Baker, to read through the screenplay and discuss how they might best approach the material. It was apparent to both that there were expectations to play up the exploitative, sexual elements but, having read Le Fanu\u2019s original, neither was inclined to take this route.\u00a0<\/p>

They, instead, emphasised the character\u2019s desperate isolation from life, love, and humanity. Pitt\u2019s Mircalla, although undead for centuries, remains a very human protagonist; she is fully aware of those aspects of life in which she can no participate. Pitt\u2019s scene with Emma in the gazebo, pavilion, captures this perfectly: she sits, determinedly, in the shade and scoffs at Emma\u2019s suggestion that the sun is \u2018like life<\/i>,\u2019 before being confronted by the passing funeral cort\u00e8ge of one of her most recent victims, at which point the audience realises how tenuous is Mircalla\u2019s control of her situation. She is happy in her human pretence but aware that every day spent in Emma\u2019s company wears the veneer ever thinner. In snapping at Emma, \u2018You must die! Everybody must die!<\/i>\u2019 she is clearly troubled by the memories of her own demise and the distress that Emma\u2019s death will shortly cause but she simply cannot help herself.<\/p>

An earlier scene in the film has Mircalla pronounce that the romantic novel she has been reading aloud to Emma is \u2018a silly book<\/i>.\u2019 In so doing she scoffs, not only at the heterosexuality of the text but also the idea of courtly romance. Pitt\u2019s Mircalla is a creature of enormous passions, aching with some three hundred years of frustrated yearning. She fully understands the realities of life and death in a manner, which Emma cannot begin to comprehend.<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

In Le Fanu\u2019s novella, there is a speech, which sadly, doesn\u2019t transfer across to Gates\u2019 screenplay, although it perfectly describes Pitt\u2019s approach to the inherent complexities of Mircalla\u2019s character. The vampire says to Laura:<\/p>

\u2018Dearest, your little heart is wounded; think me not cruel because I obey the irresistible law of my strength and weakness. If your dear heart is wounded, my wild heart bleeds with yours. In the rapture of my enormous humiliation, I live in your warm life and you shall die\u2014die, sweetly, die\u2014into mine. I cannot help it; as I draw near to you, you, in your turn will draw near to others, and learn the rapture of that cruelty, which yet is love; so, for a while, seek to know no more of me and mine, but trust me with all your loving spirit.\u2019<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>

This is a ravenous beast, pretending to all around her that she is simply a beautiful young woman but, although she basks in the pretence, she finds it difficult to maintain for herself. The brief moments of Mircalla\u2019s fearful loneliness are clear and effective. In her final battle with John Finch\u2019s Carl, we sense her complete frustration, as her plans go horribly awry in a house filled with garlic flowers and corpses of her own making.<\/p>

Some years ago, before a screening of The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> at Riverside Studios, Madeline Smith told me that Ingrid had hated wearing the fangs during filming. She had tried to avoid wearing them but the producers were adamant that their vampire should be fanged at certain points in the action; it was the Hammer tradition. Smith recalled her crying a great deal and saying that she looked hideous.\u00a0<\/p>

Although, subsequently, as Britain\u2019s much-vaunted \u2018Queen of Horror,\u2019 Pitt would come to embrace these dental prosthetics, here she, brilliantly, utilises her reaction onscreen, as she wrestles with Carl. The tears coursing down her face are real and one senses the distress of the actress, conflated with that of the character. It is a brave choice and Baker rightly trusts Pitt\u2019s instincts in a manner reminiscent of Terence Fisher\u2019s handling of Martita Hunt\u2019s distraught response to her own dental prosthetics, for Hammer\u2019s The Brides of Dracula<\/b><\/i> (1960), with Hunt\u2019s Baroness Meinster embarrassedly hiding her elongated teeth behind a makeshift veil.<\/p>

Baker has said that, as a director, he had always found actresses far more fascinating than actors and, throughout his career, he succeeded in eliciting some fine performances from his female stars, including Margaret Lockwood, Highly Dangerous<\/i><\/b> (1950), Marilyn Monroe, Don\u2019t Bother to Knock<\/b><\/i> (1952), Sylvia Syms, Flame in the Streets<\/b><\/i> (1961), and, for Hammer, Bette Davis, The Anniversary<\/b><\/i> (1968). Whilst these were all experienced film actresses, The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> was Ingrid Pitt\u2019s first starring role and it is a credit to both director and performer that Mircalla is such a rounded and finely nuanced character, when in other hands, she might, so easily, have become a stereotypical fanged vamp.<\/p>

That is not to say that Tudor Gates\u2019 rapidly drafted screenplay for The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i> is faultless. In addition to several slightly tortuous and repetitive flashbacks, there are certain peculiar lapses of logic: in the pre-title sequence, lifted from an incident in Le Fanu\u2019s novella, Baron Hartog steals the shroud of the first Karnstein (Kirsten Betts) the audience encounters, although until her ultimate reveal, she wears, throughout, an all-encompassing grey shroud. The problem is further compounded by Wilmer\u2019s voice-over, which rather overemphasises the shroud\u2019s importance, stating that without its shroud, \u2018there could be no night of rest for any vampire.<\/i>\u2019 It\u2019s not only a curious addition to vampire lore but also somewhat confused, given that vampires are, primarily, nocturnal creatures.<\/p>

There is rather too much toing and froing, regarding the garlic flowers in Emma\u2019s bedroom with Mircalla\u2019s decision to seduce and murder Renton (Harvey Hall) a somewhat less obvious decision than simply adding Janet Key\u2019s maid, Gretchin to her growing retinue. In many respects this feels like a deliberate effort to shoehorn a heterosexual seduction scene into the film, meaning that, bizarrely, Gretchin is the only young woman in The Vampire Lovers <\/i>cast who does not attract Mircalla\u2019s attentions. Peculiarly, Key would, similarly, be the only young woman in the cast of Dracula A.D. 1972<\/b><\/i><\/a> (Alan Gibson, 1972) to avoid the vampiric attention of Christopher Lee\u2019s Count.<\/p>

The fanged Man in Black, who would later be identified by Gates in interviews as \u2018Count Karnstein\u2019 is a problematic character, whose involvement, rather than deepening the mystery, actually serves to lessen Mircalla\u2019s agency, by appearing to guide her actions and watch over her from a distance. His inclusion seems as pointless as that of the shadowy \u2018Latour,\u2019 played by Michael Mulcaster, and never, actually named onscreen in The Brides of Dracula<\/b><\/i>.<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

In a scene edited from the print of the finished film, we would have enjoyed an appearance by the legendary dancer and choreographer, Lindsay Kemp, as a mute pedlar, wearing a medieval jester\u2019s costume\u2014he is described in the script, throughout as \u2018Jester\u2019\u2014 attempts to sell Emma charms to repel vampires before he realises Mircalla\u2019s true nature. A similar scene appears in the original novella, and the reason for its ultimate removal is unclear, certainly, it would have added further colour and incident and supported Baker\u2019s desire to invest the film with an overall aura of supernatural fantasy, being keen to include inexplicable elements such as doors opening and closing of their own volition for Mircalla, her ability to dematerialise at will, and the deterioration of the vampire\u2019s portrait at the film\u2019s conclusion. Kemp and Pitt would finally appear onscreen together in The Wicker Man<\/b><\/i> (Robin Hardy, 1973), a film which was, itself, subject to fairly savage editing.<\/p>

The film\u2019s d\u00e9nouement, given the preceding drama, feels like something of an anti-climax with Mircalla being staked and then beheaded, as she lies, supine, in her coffin. Although handled with considerable skill by all concerned, there is something peculiarly unsettling about this group of ageing patriarchs banding together to destroy the sleeping Mircalla. Pitt\u2019s performance, particularly after she has been ineffectually staked, suggests that though sleeping, she remains sentient but unable to protect herself and Mircalla\u2019s ultimate passivity feels both uncharacteristic and, sadly, distinctly uncinematic. The film, and Pitt\u2019s thrilling creation, would have been better served by a final, bloody battle.<\/p>

As may be apparent, I feel a great deal of affection for The Vampire Lovers<\/b><\/i>. I had read about the film long before finally having the opportunity of viewing it and it did not disappoint. It still doesn\u2019t, to this day, and I\u2019ve seen it many times over the years. It remains the most faithful and effective adaptation of Le Fanu\u2019s tale, and stands as an effective supernatural thriller in its own right, with a host of fascinating societal and psychological elements bubbling beneath the surface.\u00a0<\/p>

The Vampire Lovers<\/b> <\/i>is Ingrid Pitt\u2019s magnum opus, neither camp nor prurient, and, under Baker\u2019s skilled directorial control, considerably less exploitative than originally intended. It appears today as a serious and considered attempt by Hammer to restate its position in a rapidly changing world. As Terence Fisher had laid out his precise and opulent vision for British Gothic horror in the late 1950s with The Curse of Frankenstein<\/b><\/i><\/a> (1957) and Dracula<\/b><\/i>, here Roy Ward Baker sets out his manifesto for Hammer at the dawn of a new, more permissive, decade.\u00a0<\/p>

Sadly, Hammer had misjudged the degree to which cinema had changed since their earlier major successes. The appetite for Gothic horror was dwindling and, as more contemporary European and American horror films appeared in cinemas, it was evident that Hammer required more than nudity, however tasteful, to maintain their previously unassailable position. While Hammer produced many films of quality until 1973, it was evident that the portrait on the wall had already begun to deteriorate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn J Johnston\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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John J Johnston is a freelance Egyptologist, Classicist, and cultural historian. He has lectured extensively at institutions such as the British Museum, the British Film Institute, the National Museum of Scotland, the Royal College of Surgeons, and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. In addition to contributing numerous articles to both academic and general publications, including \u2018Doctor Who Magazine,\u2019 John has co-edited the books, Narratives of Egypt and the Ancient Near East: Literary Linguistic Approaches (Peeters, 2011), A Good Scribe and an Exceedingly Wise Man (Golden House, 2014), and a collection of classic mummy fiction, Unearthed (Jurassic London, 2013). His introductory essay for the anthology was shortlisted for a British Science Fiction Association Award in 2014. John has also made onscreen contributions to a number of recent Egyptological television documentaries, and to the documentary extras on more than twenty Blu-Ray releases of gloriously restored Hammer Films. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"Inseminoid<\/a><\/div>
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\n\t\t\tThe Natal Terror of Inseminoid (1981)\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16\/10\/2020\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tAndy Roberts dives head-first into the schlock-and-gore of Norman J. Warren's alleged 'Alien knock-off', 1981's Inseminoid...\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"british<\/a><\/div>
\t\t\t

\n\t\t\tDon’t you know how to drink tea? The Five British Video Nasties\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t26\/09\/2020\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThe infamous 'video nasties' list of the early-80s was in fact two separate lists containing five British films. Graham Williamson inspects them for Horrified...\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an in-depth feature, cultural historian John J Johnston looks back at the inception of Hammer\u2019s most important productions of the 1970s, and endeavours to reassesses the film\u2019s reputation, fifty years after its release… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[333,119,54,328,330,263,331,332,271,151,329],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-Vampire-Lovers-1970.png?fit=1500%2C1001&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2649"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125640,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions\/125640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}