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Top Tens
Darrell Buxton -
Hammer Films so dominate the landscape of Brit horror that I've elected to produce two lists, my favourite Hammer chillers plus the best of the rest.
Hammer Top Ten
1. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
2. QUATERMASS 2
3. THE BRIDES OF DRACULA
4. PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES
5. THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN
6. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
7. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
8. DRACULA (1958)
9. DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS
10. THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH
Other Top Ten
1. THE WICKER MAN
2. THEATRE OF BLOOD
3. REPULSION
4. WITCHFINDER GENERAL
5. THE MAN IN THE BACK SEAT
6. FRIGHTMARE
7. HOUSE OF WHIPCORD
8. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
9. HOUSE OF MYSTERY (1961)
10. THE TALES OF HOFFMAN
Chris Barfield - (exploitation movie enthusiast and familiar face on the U.K. festival circuit. Another claim to fame is that Chris once kissed Chow Yun Fat on stage at the Scala Cinema, Kings Cross, and came away with Mr.Chow's bandana to prove it! Mr.Barfield's video archives have proved to be of great help during the creation and development of this project)
1. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
2. ISLAND OF TERROR
3. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
4. LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
5. THE FIEND
6. THE DAMNED
7. PEEPING TOM
8. THE WICKER MAN
9. REPULSION
10. THE LODGER (1926)
David Prothero - (Special Projects Officer at Chapter Cinema, Cardiff. Columnist for 'Shivers' magazine in its early days;
David also contributed to 'Sight And Sound', 'Eyeball', and 'The BFI Companion To
Horror'. David, tragically, died in the summer of 2001). The films are listed in chronological order.
THE FACE AT THE WINDOW
NIGHT OF THE DEMON
THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN
PEEPING TOM
THE INNOCENTS
CARRY ON SCREAMING
FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
THE WICKER MAN
HELLRAISER
David Gold - (he won't like me saying this, but in a way Dave is almost Britain's answer to Forrest Gump - if it happened in the 60s, Dave was there or thereabouts, including encounters with Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate, The Rolling Stones, and The Bonzo Dog Band! Mr.Gold has spent almost forty years working in cinemas and theatres up and down the U.K.; he can also be glimpsed in the opening scenes of O LUCKY MAN! and FATHER DEAR FATHER, to name but two on-screen appearances from his days as a movie extra! Dave would like to point out that he considers the number 10 film on his list to be "one of the best back garden movies ever"…)
1. THE BRIDES OF DRACULA
2. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
3. PEEPING TOM
4. NIGHT OF THE EAGLE
5. THE WICKER MAN
6. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
7. QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
8. HOUSE OF MYSTERY (1961)
9. HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM
10. FIRE MAIDENS FROM OUTER SPACE
Dave Simpson - (a genre buff for over 30 years, Dave has travelled far and wide to seek out all manner of horror obscurities. A long-standing member of the Gothique Film Society, not to mention his keen involvement with the Cinema Theatre Association and the Laurel and Hardy organisation 'Sons Of The Desert', Dave also assisted with research on Kim Newman's book 'Nightmare Movies')
"The films are listed in top ten order. I should add that I have chosen as my personal top ten films that I can sit through time and time again; films that I am more than happy to grow old with! This list is not intended to represent films that have 'pushed back the boundaries of film art' although some of them were, coincidentally, seminal in their day. Also, on any other day the list would certainly be slightly different. I must give an honourable mention to FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED; how that missed the list, even I don't know. But just try doing this yourself, dear reader!"
1. WITCHFINDER GENERAL
2. THE WICKER MAN
3. TWINS OF EVIL
4. NIGHT OF THE DEMON
5. PEEPING TOM
6. PSYCHOMANIA
7. SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN
8. HORROR HOSPITAL
9. DRACULA (1958)
10. NIGHT OF THE EAGLE
John Gullidge - (editor of 'Samhain', Britain's longest-running horror film magazine, founded in 1986). The films are listed in alphabetical order.
DEAD OF NIGHT
DEATH LINE
DOCTOR BLOOD'S COFFIN
FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL
FUNNY MAN
THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR
THE HAUNTING
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
THE WICKER MAN
WITCHFINDER GENERAL
Andy Boot - (author of Creation Books' 'Fragments Of Fear - an illustrated history of British Horror Films')
1. QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
2. NIGHT OF THE EAGLE
3. CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR
4. NIGHT OF THE DEMON
5. HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM
6. I ZOMBIE - THE CHRONICLES OF PAIN
7. SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
8. NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT
9. THE SORCERERS
10. SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN
Steve Langton - (former editor of late lamented fanzines ‘From Beyond’ and ‘Anything Goes’, Steve is currently a regular contributor to Darren Jones' cult movie review website 'The Spinning Image' www.thespinningimage.co.uk )
1. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
2. THE HAUNTING
3. THE INNOCENTS
4. PEEPING TOM
5. QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
6. THE WICKER MAN
7. THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE
8. THE GORGON
9. DON’T LOOK NOW
10. DUST DEVIL
Maurizio Bertino - (based in Biella, Northern Italy, Maurizio is a long-time cult/trash film expert and connoisseur of music weird and wonderful, with a particular penchant for 1960s beat and psychedelia. Maurizio has provided the Italian release titles of his top ten, and English translations of those titles, where appropriate)
| 1. THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS |
(LE IENE DI EDIMBURGO/EDINBURGH HYENAS) |
| 2. PEEPING TOM | (L’OCCHIO CHE UCCIDE/THE EYE THAT KILLS) |
| 3. HORROR HOSPITAL | (DIARIO PROIBITO DI UN COLLEGIO FEMMINILE/THE SECRET DIARY OF A FEMALE COLLEGE) |
| 4. VAMPYRES | (OSSESSIONE CARNALE/CARNAL OBSESSION) |
| 5. WITCHFINDER GENERAL | (IL GRANDE INQUISITORE/THE GREAT INQUISITOR) |
| 6. SATAN’S SLAVE | |
| 7. THE DAMNED | (HALLUCINATION) |
| 8. QUATERMASS AND THE PIT | (L’ASTRONAVE DEGLI ESSERI PERDUTI/STARSHIP OF THE LOST BEINGS) |
| 9. THE WICKER MAN | |
| 10. NIGHT OF THE DEMON | (LA NOTTE DEL DEMONIO) |
| also listed: | |
| BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW | (LA PELLE DI SATANA/SATAN’S SKIN) |
| CIRCUS OF HORRORS | (IL CIRCO DEGLI ORRORI) |
| CITY OF THE DEAD | (LA CITTA’ DEI MORTI) |
| HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM | (GLI ORRORI DEL MUSEO NERO) |
| A TASTE OF FEAR | (LA CASA DEL TERRORE/HOUSE OF TERROR) |
M.J.Simpson - (Freelance writer, editor and publicist. Mike Simpson is one
of the U.K.'s leading genre journalists: his work will be familiar to readers of
'SFX' and 'Fangoria', amongst others. Mike is also a keen supporter of
independant film production, and can regularly be encountered at movie festivals
and conventions.)
1. DEATH LINE
2. THE WICKER MAN
3. WITCHFINDER GENERAL
4. CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF
5. FIEND WITHOUT A FACE
6. TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER
7. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
8. DEAD OF NIGHT
9. THEATRE OF BLOOD
10. THE PROJECTED MAN
“The top three were all very close, but I decided that DEATH LINE just pipped the others because it was more quintessentially British, whereas the other two are more European (in the sense of being non-American). CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF remains for me Hammer’s finest hour (provided you avoid the dreadful BBFC version), while TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER was pretty much the only time they got it right in the 1970s. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN of course has to be there because of its influence (although I actually slightly prefer FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED on a personal level). FIEND WITHOUT A FACE is absolutely marvellous, a British b-movie that’s the equal of anything the Americans were doing at that time, while DEAD OF NIGHT hasn’t lost any power in over half a century. THEATRE OF BLOOD is probably more fun than any other British horror flick, and THE PROJECTED MAN is a purely personal whim. It’s not an absolute classic, but it strikes a chord with me and I don’t know why.”
John Rankin -
(Formerly employed at Derby’s Metro Cinema, where he and the current ICA film
supremo David Sin were responsible for some of the most adventurous programming
on the arthouse circuit; John has been working on his own documentary project in
recent years, focusing on the demolition of an area of King’s Cross which has
served as a popular movie location. An expert on the films of Tarkovsky, John
actually studied briefly in Moscow, and his unproduced script ‘The Red Dead’
could have offered a tantalizing cinematic mixture of Glasnost and George
Romero)
1. DON’T LOOK NOW
2. CUL-DE-SAC
3. FRENZY
4. PEEPING TOM
5. 10 RILLINGTON PLACE
6. QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
7. DRACULA (1958)
8. THE WICKER MAN
9. DEATH LINE
10. WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
Paul
Hart-Wilden - (during the wilderness years of the British
horror scene, the late 80s-early 90s, Paul was one of the few torch-bearers for
the genre in this country. Director of the acclaimed special effects short
HORRORSHOW, he also scripted LIVING DOLL and the American shocker SKINNER.)
1. THE WICKER MAN
2. THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES
3. WITCHFINDER GENERAL
4. HELLRAISER
5. DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN
6. THEATRE OF BLOOD
7. THE COMPANY OF WOLVES
8. TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER
9. RAWHEAD REX
10. THE GHOUL (1974)
James Willis - (though Canadian-based, James is a fanatical Anglophile whose vast video archive is crammed with British horror movies, sex comedies and t.v. sitcoms! James has been most helpful in assisting me to track down many elusive rarities, and filling gaps in my own movie collection). The films are listed in no particular order.
CAPTAIN KRONOS - VAMPIRE HUNTER
HOUSE OF WHIPCORD
INSEMINOID
DRACULA A.D. 1972
PSYCHOMANIA
HORROR HOSPITAL
FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
TWINS OF EVIL
LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
Norman J. Warren - (it's a pleasure to include Norman among the contributors to this section. Truly the nice guy of the British horror scene, Mr. Warren is the legendary director of many 1970s/80s exploitation classics, among them TERROR, SATAN'S SLAVE, OUTER TOUCH, PREY and INSEMINOID. Norman also organised the 'Horror Show' event at Hammersmith Riverside in June 2001, a day-long celebration of the best in 1970s British horror; his future plans include the overseeing of the DVD releases of his own movies, and proposals for a sequel to TERROR and a remake of one of Norman's all-time favourites, FIEND WITHOUT A FACE.) The films are listed in no particular order.
NIGHT OF THE DEMON
THE HAUNTING
WITCHFINDER GENERAL
CITY OF THE DEAD
REPULSION
DEAD OF NIGHT
THE WICKER MAN
FRIGHTMARE
NIGHT OF THE EAGLE
FIEND WITHOUT A FACE
Russell Kearney - (Russ is a British horror movie fan/collector from my home town of Derby; he's also a keen connoisseur of comedy/novelty records, the ghastlier the better; and spends his spare time crafting inventive ambient music remixes using source material such as 'The Two Ronnies' and 'Minder'!). The films are listed in no particular order.
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
THE WICKER MAN
WITCHFINDER GENERAL
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
PEEPING TOM
THE CREEPING FLESH
DRACULA (1958)
DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS
"It covers just about everything, I think - good versus evil, portmanteau stories, Michael Ripper, rampant nihilism, car/carriage chases, psycho
killers, stark originality, repressed libido, brilliant cinematography, disturbing takes on old legends, intelligent sci-fi, dolly birds, Christopher
Lee's likeable villains, a bit of Vincent Price and Roger Corman, Peter Cushing's on the edge heroes/anti
heroes, and a large helping of Terence
Fisher and Freddie Francis.
However it does have Alan Freeman. But no Mike
Raven thankfully".
1.
The Devils
2.
Quatermass 2
3.
The Wicker Man
4. Night
of the Demon
5.
Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue
6.
Village of the Damned
7.
Alien
8.
Dracula, Prince of Darkness
9. THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES
10.
Vampire Circus.