Santonix

My favorite British horrors are Night of the Demon and The Devil Rides Out.

ChristineCB

I never quite thought of it like that. This is one of those "scent of the herd" kind of statements that I'll steal and use forever.

DB7

A publication that might interest fans of Hammer.
Little Shoppe of Horrors

BruIrn

The very same. It was originally on BBC2 but you can now get it on DVD. Very depressing stuff but a great film. There's more info on these very pages:

http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/wa...raphy/031.html


I've just realised that there was nearly a 2 year gap between the previous post on the thread and yours. Well done for resurrecting it!

ChristineCB

Thanks, DB, for that great little shoppe website. Another good addition to my continuing search for movie graphics! And a few interesting reads, as well.

("I do NOT only look at the pictures!! Stop thinking that!!" - gee, where have I heard that before?!!)

For a website that indulges in a good love-affair with old films, I should never be surprised that we have old threads that particularly address my interests. Thanks to all who resurrect these. I enjoy poking fun at Fellw's AGUTTER thread(s, including SNOW GOOSE, etc.) but it's more like an amazement that her films I love have such a fervent appeal to so many. And yet aren't available on DVD! Grrrr

Redstar

Tony Blair..ooops sorry!
I love Night of the Demon especially the scene in the dark woods. The biggest scare scene I thought was in the tv production of the "Woman in Black" BBC's seventies ghost series was pretty good as well (The Signalman, The Stone tapes etc)

Jim

Witchfinder wasn't very accurate either - Matthew Hopkins died peacefully in his bed, unfortunately! :

Good morning boys.

Hugo Fitch

Dead of Night every time. I thought Hitchcock's Frenzy was rather disturbing too. As a variation, do people have a funniest moment in a horror film ? Mine is when Peter Cushing smashes his neice's sitar against the wall because he appears irritated by her taste in music in "The Reptile".

joe bloke

Hey. I'm new here. This is my first post. I know it's been mentioned a number of times already in this thread, but my favourite British horror movie has always been Night of the Demon. I love that film. That scene where they go to the Hobart house used to creep the living daylights out of me/ I remember when I was a kid my mum and dad used to let me stay up late on Friday nights to watch the Appointment With Fear films on ITV. I've had a love of classic horror movies ever since. Night of the Demon was shown along with this other crazy sci-fi/horror film about an invasion of these invisible brains on stalks that went around sucking the whatever-it-was-they-lived-on out of people. That was so cool.

Also, can I say that I'm the only person I know who thinks that The Wicker Man is pants.

Cheers.

Boris_G

Absolutely seconded by me: beautiful setting, wonderfully shot (by Dick Bush), acted without a hint of the campness of so many Hammer horror films by a cast of 'unknowns' (though several had successful careers in BBC TV), and utterly haunting and disturbing despite the rather silly end. Highly recommended, especially on the excellent Anchor Bay DVD.

NappieB

"The Skull" with Peter Cushing is a classic (I think it might have been a Hammer production, not sure.)

"Night of the Demon" is Brilliant... ahead of it's time...love the final scene with the steam locomotives...

All the Dracula films (with Christopher Lee) are very special...

christoph404

Night of the Demon.
Yes, definiteley up there as one of the best.
It is interesting to note that Night of The Demon was made in the same year as Hammer's "Curse of Frankenstein" , a very different kind of gory film making. American director Jacques Tourneur never wanted to show the actual Demon, but wanted to suggest its presence with smoking footprints and the spooky clouds of smoke etc. The "Demon" was shown as an afterthought at the insistence of the producer whos argument was, "the audience have paid to see "Night of the Demon" so lets give em a demon!! " Tourneur was more used to scaring his audience with the power of suggestion and more understated effects using lighting and sound and so on,as he had done in previous films in the USA, "Cat People" for example. One wonders how Night of the Demon would have looked if Tourneur had been allowed full artistic control? Would it have been even scarier? Who knows, as it stands it is a brilliant film and very scary indeed!

The Wicker Man.
I like this film.... a lot!! I like the spooky Scottish locations and Woodwards performance is exceptional as is Christopher Lee's. There are a few moments that perhaps have dated but do not detract from the shock and horror of the whole thing. There is a sense of forboding that just builds up in this film so that the shocking ending seems all the more harrowing. I would describe this filmaking style as raw and to the point rather than amateurish, for me it all adds to the strange atmaosphere and edgieness. Funnily enough I prefer the theatrical cut rather than the directors cut, I think people tend to love or hate this film, I know Rod Stewart hates it, he tried to buy the rights to the film in the early eighties to prevent any future showings, his girfriend at the time was Britt Ekland who was apparently outraged that a double with a fatter behind than hers was brought in without her knowledge to perform the wall thumping nude dance!! It shows how much the film had been forgotten and held in such low esteem by the eighties,that a rock star came close to buying the rights in order to destroy it cos his girlfriend didn't like her depiction in it anymore!! what a thought and what a rebirth the film has had in recent years.

Dead of Night
Absolutley terrifying, especially Michael Redgraves unhinged ventriloquist. That sequence is just so brilliantly done, I remember seeing that as a kid and it scared me sensless, watching it now sends shivers down my spine, Redgrave is just superb in that role, to think that was made in 1945ish, it stands up today as iconic filmaking and still very very scary.....whoooooaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

batman

How about Night of the Eagle (1962) with Peter Wyngarde. This is a very atmospheric film with excellent performances all round. The 'special' effects at the end are very good for a low budget British chiller. Also, Mr Wyngarde does wear some incredible trousers (eat your heart out Simon Cowell). Sydney Hayers does a fine directing job and the music is pretty creepy.

This was based on the novel Conjure Wife and there's been 2 US versions ... 1944's Weird Woman with Lon Chaney Jr and 1980's Witches Brew with Richard Benjamin. Neither of these is a patch on the Wyngarde version.


Scaredy Bat.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

smudge

Speaking of haunting, don't forget to mention the beautiful theme music by Marc Wilkinson.

Smudge

Edit : Bats, you're a bat after me own heart - I too love EAGLE !

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Aaryk Noctivagus

There's always 'The Omen' and 'Alien' which were both half British.

'Curse of the Werewolf' holds a special place of affection for me... as does 'Horror Express'. But I wouldn't like to suggest a 'greatest' Brit Horror since there are so many excellent examples.

Judging from the thread, the prize goes to 'Night of the Demon'... but I haven't seen that since I was a young teen... fond memories but vague... to vague for me to vote for it... however I have heard that it is due a nice UK DVD release (IMDb board) though I haven't been able to confirm this.

I've just purchased the book 'Beating the Devil: The Making of 'Night of the Demon' from Amazon UK here... http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/095319261X/202-7246361-5067008