Here’s EW’s ranking of the 20 best Hammer horror productions of all time.
Hammer veteran Christopher Lee appears briefly as Morgan’s father.
Swank has consistently proven herself an adept elevator of schlock, an unexpected though welcome career path for her.
Christopher Lee in ‘Horror of Dracula’; Chloë Grace Moretz in ‘Let Me In’; Herbert Lom in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.Credit:George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty; Saeed Adyani; FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty
The Quartermass Xperimentis not available to watch or rent.
(The cult-meets-monsters plot plays as if one of the Cult-of-Thorn-obsessedHalloweensequels suddenly included bloodsuckersandbellbottoms.)
(This would be their final appearance together in aDraculafilm.
Hilary Swank in ‘The Resident’.Everett Collection
)Joanna LumleyofAbsolutely Fabulousappears as Van Helsing’s granddaughter, Jessica.
After Gibson’s ownA.D.
The alterations to the original story lend the movie an edge that other, more straightforward adaptations have lacked.
Elliott Gould and Cybill Shepherd in ‘The Lady Vanishes’.Everett Collection
After desecrating a tomb (stopdoing that!
The Mummyis an exceedingly elegant and creepy horror picture that seamlessly blends its action and adventure elements.
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampiresis not available to watch or rent.
Brian Donlevy, David King-Wood, and Richard Wordsworth in ‘The Quatermass Xperiment’.Moviestore/Shutterstock
The Snorkelis not available to watch or rent.
In fact, this looks like it’s a movie entirely unconnected from any reality yet discovered.
It is certainly not scary, but in its zany silliness, it is often quite funny.
Christopher Lee in ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula’.LMPC via Getty
Its rollicking pace is reminiscent ofTremors, quite a different alien-buddy movie, but a relative nonetheless.
Hands of the Ripperis a potboiler in the truest sense of the word.
Indeed, behind-the-scenes problems led to significant alterations to the overall film.
Robert Urquhart and Peter Cushing in ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’.Everett Collection
Yet, Fisher’s adaptation is a worthwhile one.
The Abominable Snowman of the HimalayasisThe Treasure of the Sierra Madreof monster movies.
Kneale’s stories were always subtextually rich, and here he does not disappoint.
Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in ‘The Mummy’.Everett Collection
The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayasis not available to watch or rent.
The shock scenes, too, still hold up all these years later.
The Devil Rides Outis a supremely creepy occult thriller that treats its subjects with documentary-like precision.
John Forbes-Robertson and Chan Shen in ‘The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires’.Everett Collection
The Devil Rides Outis not available to watch or rent.
Chloë Grace Moretz in ‘Let Me In’.Saeed Adyani
Peter van Eyck and Mandy Miller in ‘The Snorkel’.Everett Collection
Susan Strasberg in ‘Taste of Fear’.Everett Collection
Donald Houston in ‘Maniac’.Everett Collection
Tom Poston, Janette Scott, and Fenella Fielding in ‘The Old Dark House’.Columbia Pictures/Getty
Alicia Silverstone in ‘The Lodge’.Everett Collection
Rita Tushingham and James Bolam in ‘Straight on Till Morning’.Moviestore/Shutterstock
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in ‘Horror Express’.Everett Collection
Eric Porter and Angharad Rees in ‘Hands of the Ripper’.ITV/Shutterstock
Herbert Lom in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.Everett Collection
Forrest Tucker in ‘The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas’.Everett Collection
John Van Eyssen in ‘Horror of Dracula’.Universal/Getty
Christopher Lee, Paul Eddington, Sarah Lawson, and Patrick Mower in ‘The Devil Rides Out’.Everett Collection
