HAMMER HORROR: THE GORGON (1964) / THE REPTILE (1966)

HORROR 101 with Dr. AC

THE GORGON (1964) d. Terence Fisher (UK) THE REPTILE (1966) d. John Gilling (UK) By the mid-1960s, Hammer Studios had exhausted its supply of classic Universal monsters, with vampiric counts, stitched-together reanimated corpses, lycanthropic curses, and bandaged Egyptian shamblers all present and accounted for. In response, the creative teams dug out their tomes of Greek mythology and exotic travel guides to conjure two original monsters, both – coincidentally or not – featuring female creatures levying doom on the locals: The Gorgon (1964) and The Reptile (1966). For casual Hammer fans who know only the classic Gothic Universal spin-offs and series, The Gorgon and The Reptile reside far below the radar. But those willing to dive deeper will find two satisfying and melancholy melodramas that show off their iconic stars in a different light. Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Jessica Dwyer, Mike Mayo, Alan Tromp) as they discuss these oft-neglected classics from the Studio That Dripped Blood: Hammer! ----------------------------- JESSICA DWYER was raised on a diet of Dark Shadows, Doctor Who, and a lot of things she saw way too young. She’s been writing for nearly a quarter of a century about the world of entertainment and her own fiction (and that sound you heard was her bones turning to dust.) She works for the JoBlo Network, HorrorHound Magazine, and is a producer on a number of projects. MIKE MAYO has written several books about film and popular culture, among them VideoHound’s Horror Show and American Murder. He is also the author of the Jimmy Quinn historical suspense novels set in Prohibition-era New York. ALAN TROMP is a golden age Monster Kid, who has published articles in Filmfax, Twilight Zone Magazine, and We Belong Dead publications in the UK. He was scriptwriter for the shot-on-video nightmare, The Soul Eaters. ----------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!