Most genre fans have a healthy respect for the classics that inspired modern day horror and no one did it better than Hammer Horror. Hammer is best known for their Gothic horror films that included DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED, THE MUMMY and DRACULA AD 1972, as well as helping to solidify actors such as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as icons of the genre.
Many Hammer film fans had been watching with envy as one Hammer Horror classic after another landed on UK store shelves beginning in late 2011, but Variety has reported that the long wait for a North American release of many sought after titles in the Hammer library may finally be coming to an end as Millennium Entertainment has picked up the license from Exclusive Media to begin delivering these iconic films to fans as early as April.
The initial release is to be a two-disc, three-film DVD set with the Christopher Lee-starring DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, the Hammer/Shaw Brothers Studios crossover THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES and 1967’s FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN.
Millennium stated that the idea behind this release is
“To encourage the general public to join the Hammer fanbase”.
Millennium said the alliance will introduce the Hammer Horror brand to a new audience not familiar with the Hammer titles classic line and provide limited edition Blu-rays and Collector’s Sets over the next several years. From the Press Release:
“Alongside the new extras we have created, we hope that our American Hammer fans will love the Blu-ray collector’s editions and that these editions will also help new fans discover our rich history.”
This is pretty exciting news for fans, especially those who have been sitting on the long out-of-print Anchor Bay discs, patiently waiting on an upgrade. No other studio did horror quite like Hammer so it’s refreshing to hear that we’ll soon be seeing some of the best that horror had to offer coming our way again.