THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (THE DEVIL'S BRIDE): A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

Hammer Films-Seven Arts/20th Century Fox's The Devil Rides Out, aka The Devil's Bride (for U.S. distribution) is a wicked, 1968 masterpiece, based on Dennis Wheatley's 1934 novel, adapted for the screen by the prolific Richard Matheson and directed by terror maestro Terence Fisher. Thanks to writers/historians Nige Burton & Jamie Jones, Classic Monsters of the Movies now celebrates this cinematic, (oc)cult classic in a meaty, 36-page volume.

The plot centers on Lee's investigator/adventurer Duc de Richleau (Wheatley's popular, Black Magic-series protagonist), who tangles with Charles Gray's mind-bending warlock, Mocata, who intends to baptize Nike Arrighi's Tanith Carlisle and torment Leon Greene's Rex Van Ryn, all in the blasphemous name of Baphomet, i.e. Satan. Duc de Richleau will have none of it, despite Mocata's daunting array of apparitions, which include a humongous spider, a sneering, hypnotic-eyed entity and an unearthly horse with a Templar-implied rider. (BTW: Lee and Gray would go on to play Bond villains, making this confrontation a pre-Scaramanga-vs Blofeld-allusion of sorts.)

Burton & Jones do an outstanding job detailing the adaptation's development, placing keen attention on Wheatley, Matheson and Fisher, as well as producer Anthony Nelson Keyes, composer James Bernard, special-effects wizard Les Bowie, cinematographer Arthur Grant and of course, the movie's sophisticated cast, which in addition to Lee, Gray, Arrighi and Greene, features Patrick Mower, Sara Lawson, Paul Eddington, Gwen Ffragcon-Davis, Rosalyn Landor, Russell Waters and stuntman Eddie Powell.  

Adorning Burton & Jones' text are "Quotable Quotes," delightful trivia and archival, publicity materials, which possess extra vibrancy, thanks to the volume's high-quality, paper stock.

The Devil Rides Out is one of the best of its kind, holding a status comparable to such contemporary examples as Night (Curse) of the Demon, The City of the Dead (Horror Hotel), The Innocents, The Haunting, Rosemary's Baby, The Legend of Hell House and The House of Seven Corpses. Burton & Jones' meticulous work also ensures this Classic Monsters submission as one of the best in their grand, encyclopedic succession. 

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TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

Nige Burton & Jamie Jones, through Classic Monsters of the Movies, honors one of Hammer Studios' most interesting sequels: Taste the Blood of Dracula.

Directed by newcomer Peter (Countess Dracula/Hands of the Ripper/The Devil Within Her) Sasdy and written by Hammer veteran John Elder (aka Tony/Anthony Hinds), Taste bleeds with style (thanks in substantial part to cinematographer Arthur Grant), so much so that some Hammerheads rank the 1970 chapter right alongside the studio's vampiric breakthrough, (Horror of) Dracula. 

As Burton and Jones explain, Christopher Lee was reluctant to revive his Count, and early on, the script catered to a surrogate to replace him (rather in the vein of Brides of Dracula's Baron Meinster), that being Ralph (Horror of Frankenstein/Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde/Lust for a Vampire/The Devil Within Her) Bates' Lord Courtley. Bates' character does, in fact, dominate the first phase of the dark exploit, but he's later made a vessel from which the Dracula manifests. 

The authors detail how Elder's script switched antagonists, while maintaining its Faustian theme, centering on a Hellfire Club knockoff. The setup, therefore, is different than other Hammer/Dracula movies. Taste's club-of-debauchery twist is unexpected, and though Lee may have been wary (and weary) of Hammer's tried-and-true formula (reinstated by Warner Bros-Seven Arts' insistence), this submission established a memorable, guilt-ridden parable. 

The cast helps, of course (its members detailed by pleasing, pictorial bios), headlined by the always regal Lee (who donned, for a portion of this movie, consuming-red contacts to emphasis his ravenous resurrection), and Bates enacts Courtley's immoralist with chilling condescension. They are accompanied by Linda (Blood on Satan's Claw/Madhouse/House on Straw Hill) Hayden; Martin (Titanic 1997/Eragon/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Jarvis; Anthony (Vampire Circus/Young Sherlock Holmes/Sherlock Holmes Returns/Raiders of the Lost Ark) Corlan; Ilsa (A Hard Day's Night/Dr. Terror's House of Horrors/Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) Blair; Geoffrey (The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh/Cromwell/Doomwatch) Keen; Michael (The Brides of Dracula/Dracula Has Risen from the Grave/Scars of Dracula) Ripper; Peter (Wallis & Gromit/Last of the Summer Wine/A Night to Remember) Sallis; John (Captain Kronos/Plague of the Zombies/Doomsday) Carson; Roy (Scrooge 1970/The Three/Four Musketeers) Kinnear; Madeline (The Vampire Lovers/Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell/Live and Let Die) Smith; Russell (The Brave Don't Cry/Doctor Who: "The Robots of Death") Hunter; ... and Gwen (Never Take Sweets from a Stranger/Fall of the House of Usher 1950) Watford: indeed, as classy an ensemble as any Hammer production could deliver. 

The Classic Monsters "Ultimate Edition" is all the more impactful for its scrumptious stills and publicity imagery, tied by Burton & Jones' "Quotable Quotes" and revealing trivia. 

Please Note: Supplies of Classic Monsters' first-run printing for the Taste the Blood of Dracula are now low, so move fast while they last.

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THE HAMMER DRACULA FILMS: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

For fans of Hammer Film Production's Dracula franchise, Classic Monsters of the Movies, courtesy of writers/researchers Nige Burton, Jamie Jones and John Logan, have a tasty treat for you: The Hammer Dracula Films (1958-1973). 

The 84-page, special edition goes pretty much right down the parasitic line, covering (Horror of) Dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Scars of Dracula, Dracula A.D. 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (aka Dracula and his Vampire Bride), with alas, Brides of Dracula and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (aka The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula) excluded, though that is likely due to Christopher Lee's absence in them. 

Nevertheless, this Hammer Dracula homage is one of Classic Monsters' best, covering the creative likes of James and Michael Carreras, Terence Fisher, Freddy Francis, Jimmy Sangster, Anthony Hinds (aka John Elder), James Bernard, the aforementioned Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Janina Faye, John Van Eyssen, Valerie Gaunt, Francis Matthews, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Kerr, Thorley Walters, Patrick Troughton, Veronica Carlson, Barry Andrews, Linda Hayden, Ralph Bates, Michael Ripper, Jenny Hanley, Michael Gwynne, Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Neame, Caroline Munro and a smorgasbord more. 

All of this comes with punctilious attention to plot constructions, background information and comparisons to Bram Stoker's immortal novel.

The stills and promotional additives (a number being rare) stand as a great treat to behold, particularly printed on Classic Monsters' laudable, high-stock paper. 

Classic Monsters of the Movies: The Hammer Dracula Films is an encyclopedic triumph that will work as a handy, companion piece for whenever one revisits the Lee entries of this historic series. 

Order at 

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HAMMER HORROR CHRONICLES (1934 - 2019): A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

Authors/researchers Nige Burton and Jamie Jones deserve profound praise for their detail-extensive, horror/science-fiction periodicals. An exceptional example of their know-how can be tapped in the Classic Monsters of the Movies, two-volume set, Hammer Horror: An Illustrated Chronicle (1934 - 2019).

Their overviews are most pleasing, covering the studio's top-shelf chapters, The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, Brides of Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Curse of the Werewolf ... The Mummy, but early (too often overlooked) gems like The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (with Bela Lugosi) and Song of Freedom (with Paul Robeson) are also acknowledged, along with such brash, historical experiments as The Terror of the Tongs, The Stranglers of Bombay and The Devil-Ship Pirates, which bolster the studio's wide-range significance even further.  

The Hammer father-and-son founders and influencers are chambered among the comprehensive pages: William and Anthony Hinds and James and Michael Carreras. The studio's supplementing writers and directors share the same, esteemed spotlight: Terence Fisher, Freddie Francis, Jimmy Sangster, Val Guest, John Gilling, Tudor Gates, Roy Ward Baker, Don Sharp, Don Houghton, Peter Sasdy, Seth Holt, Alan Gibson and more.

Of course, Hammer's proficient performers grab attention page upon page, with fulfilling bios, tidbits and respectful nods: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Veronica Carlson, Hazel Court, Anton Diffring, Michael Ripper, Thorley Waters, Oliver Reed, Herbert Lom, Bette Davis, Michael Gwynn, Francis Matthews, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, David Peel, Dave Prowse, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Patrick Troughton, Freddie Jones, Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Raquel Welch, Richard Wordsworth, Horst Janson, Jacqueline Pearce; Caroline Munro, Christopher Neame, Susan Denberg, Shane Briant, the Collinson Twins, et al. 

Indeed, the background on each production, filmmaker and star is exquisite and edifying (embellished by an inclusion of the studio's recent revival and subsequent productions, including The Woman in Black 2012), with each aesthetic period accentuated by crisp, black-and-white and color photos. 

These fine volumes can be purchased separately or together and are (beyond debate) essential for any cinema library. To order, visit

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TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: DARK PRINCE/ZOMBIE PLAGUE

 

Collectible Time: History's Jack the Ripper & Life's Vampires (Magazines)

National Geographic's History (Magazine) offers a comprehensive overview of the creme de la creme of mysterious murderers in Jack the Ripper: The World's Most Notorious Cold Case, by Michael Burgan. 

With meticulous care, the mag's contents cover the infamous White Chapel murders, emphasizing its woeful victims with stark, visual frankness, along with many of the scandalous, Ripper suspects. 

The spread isn't for the faint of heart, but for anyone drawn to the Ripper's maddening legacy, this History installment is fated to seize one by the throat and not let go with its theoretical thoughts and chilling essays.  

To supplement the Ripper periodical, Life (Magazine) presents Vampires: Their Undying Appeal, by Franz Lidz, which covers not only Vlad Tebes' terrifying history, but his literary and cinematic extensions, including  (of course) Bram Stoker's influential novel. 

Along the dark-drawn way, readers are dealt Dracula's redefined personification through Christopher Lee, Max Schreck, Klaus Kinski, Willem Defoe, Al Lewis, Gary Oldman and the all-consuming Bela Lugosi. These beloved Counts are, in turn, joined by their biting cousins, as disinterred from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga and Charlaine Harris' True Blood.  

Vampires: Their Undying Appeal is a pulse-pounding submission that will hold one's macabre attention, whether one is an erudite follower or novice seeker. 

Both Jack the Ripper: The World's Most Notorious Cold Case and Vampires: Their Undying Appeal are worth adding to one's library for whenever one's morbid inclinations transude.

Copies of each can be found in book shops and drug stores nationwide. Catch 'em while you can.