Stars:
Valerie Leon,
James Villiers,
Andrew Keir,
Hugh Burden,
Christopher Lee,
Charles Gray,
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies,
Paul Eddington,
Ralph Bates,
Kate O'Mara,
Veronica Carlson,
Dennis Price,
Barbara Jefford,
Suzanna Leigh,
Michael Johnson,
Dennis Waterman,
Christopher Matthews,
Jenny Hanley
Director:
Roy Ward Baker
Summary: In 'Blood From The Mummy's Tomb' an explorer's daughter becomes possessed by the spirit of a dead Egyptian princess, who takes revenge on those who desecrated her grave. In 'Devil Rides Out' a group of Satanists invoke the powers of darkness for personal gain, risking their lives to do so. 'Horror Of Frankenstein' finds an ingenious Baron who finds time to create a monster while also practising his other hobby... philandering. 'Lust For A Vampire' is the story of a beautiful female vampire who leaves her mark on teachers and pupils alike as she preys on a quiet British finishing school. 'Scars Of Dracula' tells of the Prince of Darkness who casts his undead shadow once more over the cursed village of Kleinenberg when his ashes are splashed with bat's blood.
This collection includes five Hammer horror films: THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, SCARS OF DRACULA, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, and BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB.
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT: Revered as one of the best horror films produced by Hammer, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT is a chilling battle between good and evil set in the 1930s. Christopher Lee, perhaps best known for his role as Dracula, gets to show his good side as the heroic and cavalier Duc de Richleau, who maintains the air of a gentleman throughout his tireless battle with a Satanic coven, led by the wonderfully villainous Mocata (Charles Gray).
THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN: Coming at the tail end of Hammer's Frankenstein cycle (it was preceeded by the classic CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED), HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN takes the familiar story in a much different direction than its predecessors. The film finds young Victor Frankenstein (Ralph Bates) becoming fed up with his boorish father and his boring classes. Longing to escape to Vienna to experiment in his lab, Victor offs his father and quits school. Soon Victor has successfully reanimated a turtle and begins work on his ultimate creation--a human made out of dead body parts. Taking place in a vaguely mod-ish 18th century where the characters carry on as if they were London during the swingin' 1960s, the film has its tongue planted firmly in cheek.
SCARS OF DRACULA: Christopher Lee returns to his signature role in this Hammer Studios production, the last of their period-era Dracula films. In the movie, a young lothario named Paul (Christopher Matthews) leaves a party and ends up asleep in the back of a carriage that drives him to Dracula's castle. When Paul doesn't return the next day, his girlfriend Sarah (Jenny Hanley) and his brother, Simon (Dennis Waterman), begin a search for him. They happen upon the vampire's castle, where the Count denies having seen Paul, but insists that the pair spend the night. However, during the night, Simon finds evidence that Paul was indeed in the castle and begins to piece together the mystery. Stylish and brutally violent, SCARS OF DRACULA is another excellent entry into Hammer's Dracula series.
LUST FOR A VAMPIRE: Swedish stunner Yutte Stensgaard appears in this Hammer Studios production as the reincarnation of the notorious female vampire Carmilla Karnstein. A follow-up to THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, this film, like its predessor, is based on the writings of Sheridan le Fanu. Here le Fanu's famed vampiress takes the form of Mircalla, a stunning young finishing school student at an all-girls school. Mircalla satisfies her lust for blood by preying on her classmates, all of whom are drawn to her stunning looks. However, Mircalla's sensuality also attracts the attentions of Lestrange (Michael Johnson), a teacher at the school with whom she falls in love. An entertainingly tawdry Hammer vampire movie, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE is most notable for Ms. Stensgaard's sultry star turn.
BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB: Based on Bram Stoker's novel JEWEL OF THE SEVEN STARS, this mummy movie from Hammer Studios does not have so much as one bandage-wrapped zombie in any of its frames. It does, however, have the fetching Valerie Leon, in a performance that would make her an icon for Hammer, as the vessel for a long-dead Egyptian queen. Leon plays Margaret, a young woman plagued by nightmares of Queen Tera, who looks exactly like her, being sealed into a tomb by a group of priests. When her archaeologist father, Julian Fuchs (Andrew Keir), gives her a ring that had belonged to Tera, it sets into motion a series of supernatural events that are destined to end with the evil Tera's rebirth. A success at the time of its release, BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB, is a creepy, intelligent, and original take on the genre, standing as one of Hammer's best films.