Powerhouse Films, out now

Powerhouse release another set of Hammer classics, beautifully cleaned up for hi-def and with a wealth of extras.

There’s only one weak link in this quartet of releases – The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll – but that’s simply because it’s not a great movie, and yet it still has plenty of value added material here. The others – The Revenge of Frankenstein, Taste of Fear and The Damned – are all worthy of purchase and your time.

The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) is a direct sequel to the previous year’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) with Peter Cushing’s monster-maker eluding the guillotine and starting a new set of experiments on cadavers, joined this time by Francis Matthews as his accomplice. It’s not your usual, ‘stitch up the parts to make a monster’ formula, with a very different creation, and a nice twist at the end.

This new 4K restoration features commentaries from Hammer experts Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby as well as authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman, numerous ‘making of’ features and video essays (there’s a nice appreciation of composer Leonard Salzedo’s score), outtakes, and 8 minute Super 8 version, gallery and 36-page booklet.

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) is Hammer’s take on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, the twist here being that the good doctor (Paul Massie) doesn’t turn into a beast but an engaging socialite. Terence Fisher does what he can with Wolf Mankowitz’s workmanlike script, but it’s just all a little to by-the-numbers, even with support by Christopher Lee.

The commentary is provided by historians Josephine Botting and Jonathan Rigby, supplemented with a ‘making of’, a feature on female lead Dawn Addams and an archival audio interview with lead Massie. A short piece about censorship of the movie reveals some previously unknown facts, and there’s the usual image gallery.

Taste of Fear (1961) is the strongest of these releases, a monochrome thriller set on the French Riviera that will keep you guessing to the very end. With both the UK and US (Scream of Fear) versions on the disc, we follow wheelchair-bound Penny Appleby (Susan Strasberg) who is being gaslit by her stepmother and Christmas and chauffeur. It’s a classy game of cat and mouse, with Jimmy Sangster’s script relentless in its tension.

There’s a commentary by author Kevin Lyons, a ‘making of’ feature, a spotlight on Ann Todd, over three hours of material in two archival interviews with Jimmy Sangster –BFI and BEHP – another Super 8 cutdown, trailer and more.

The final movie, presented over two discs, is The Damned (1962), its 2K transfer offering either The Damned or These Are the Damned cuts. Blacklisted Hollywood director Joseph Losey takes H L Lawrence’s sci-fi novel and creates one of Hammer’s strangest ventures. Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) is holidaying in the south of England when he’s set upon by Oliver Reed’s gang of hoodlums, leading to a secret lair of radioactive children.

The commentary is by film historians Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan, there’s a ‘making of’ feature, a spotlight on Viveca Lindfors and a fascinating chat to three of the child actors – David Palmer, Kit Williams and Christopher – and a clutch of other documentaries, an iso okayed music and effects track and image gallery.

Verdict: Powerhouse continue to be the go-to destination for releases of legacy movies with excellent transfers and a bumper crop of extras. You really can’t go wrong with this great example of Hammer at its most diverse. 9/10

Nick Joy

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