It all worked, creating a legacy of horror unmatched in modern film history.
Hammers main focus was on the classic monsters with Lee and Cushing starring in aDraculacycle that rivaled Universals.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one of which,Dr.
Kali, Devil Bride of Dracula
In 1975, Hammer Films was desperately trying to keep afloat.
Funding was drying up but concepts were flowing fast and furious from the bloodiest studio in the world.
One of those movies was reportedly going to be a prequel to HammersDraculafilms.
This movie, to be set and filmed in India, was entitledKali, the Devil Bride of Dracula.
Just think how Hammer could have brought India to life with their penchant for stunning sets.
Would it have featured a new monster in Kali?
Would Dracula and Kali have had a sexual tryst the likes of which horror fans could never imagine?
Imagine what Kali could do with all those arms.
Welch had previously steamed up the Stone Age in Hammers Ray Harryhausen dinosaur rompOne Million Years B.C.
Payment in Fear
Payment in Fearwas intended to be a reimagining of Henri-Georges ClouzotsThe Wages of Fear.
further reading: 13 Best Hammer Horror Movie Monsters
All that aside, look at the poster!
Isnt space supposed to be cold?
To absolutely no ones surprise, the scantily clad mistress of darkness won by a landslide.
Hammer sawVampirellaas a way to possibly attract the same success asBarbarelladid, and geared up production on the feature.
Think of the potential directions Hammer could have gone with this one!
To raise money, Hammer had Leigh visit American International Pictures in the Vampirella costume.
It worked, duh.
The film was based on the 1934 Dennis Wheatley novel of the same name.
The novel explores satanic cults, and features a multi-legged Satan haunting a World War II veteran.
Toho even built theNessiemodel and filmed some sequences before Hammer pulled funding.
Chaka Zulu: The Black Napoleon
Hammer tried everything in the mid-70s, so why not blaxploitation?
Hey,Twins of Evildid feature Peter Cushing in his most vile role, the sadist Gustav Wei.
Conditions were so cramped and horrible in the prison that 123 British soldiers died an agonizing death.
If thats what this Hammer film was about, it wouldnt have been a bundle of laughs.
Hey with the film taking primarily in a nightmarishly claustrophobic hole, Hammer could have saved money on sets.
Would this have starred Christopher Lee?
Would it have been a prologue to theDraculacycle of Hammer films?
Can you imagine the set and costumes involved in a period piece featuring the origin of Dracula?
Seeing Lees leering eyes as he impaled his enemies, man, that would have rocked!
Let that sink into your frontal lobe for a moment.
Like James Bond meets Dr.
Strange kind of stuff.
Zeppelin v Pterodactyls
Now, do I really have to explain why this is awesome?
Has there ever been a more strangely specific title in all of cinema?
It has a zeppelin.
It has guys in zeppelins with machine guns, fighting Pterodactyls.
Not just dinosaurs, specifically,Pterodactyls.
Why are they fighting?
It seems to be a World War II piece, so are the Pterodactyls Nazis?
Because Nazi Pterodactyls would be the coolest thing ever.
Would Christopher Lee have played a Pterodactyl?
This film could have started a transportation versus dinosaur genre.Bus v. Allosaurus.Trolley Car v. Triceratops.Cargo Plane v. Pachycephalosaurus.
