British Horror - From Hammer to Kill List

Great Britain's contribution to the world of Horror cinema can never be understated. Some of the biggest icons of the genre, Dracula and Frankenstein spring to mind immediately, originated on our shores in their original literary format. Though it wasn't until the late 1950's that Britain really made it's mark on Horror in Cinema with the release of The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula. Under the direction of Terence Fisher, these full colour reboots of the legendary horror characters put Hammer on the map as the kings of British Horror, and other studios such as Amicus and Tigon followed suit. Peter Cushing and Christoper Lee become the new leading icons of the Horror genre, following in the footsteps of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. These films were darker and bloodier than the Horror that gone before and it's influence was felt worldwide. Italy began producing it's own brand of Gothic horror films, starting in 1960 with Mario Bava's Black Sunday, an original take on the vampire story which made it's star Barbara Steele an icon of the genre. Over in America, B - Movie extraordinaire also began his cycle of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations in 1960, starting with House of Usher. Hereby we can see that in the late 50's and early 60's, Hammer were responsible for breathing new life into a stagnating genre, and establishing British Horror as a style of its own which could not be duplicated by other countries.

By the 1970's, the Gothic Horror of Hammer had started to become a little old hat. Films such as Dracula A..D. 1972 and The Legend of The Seven Golden Vampires, attempted to modernise the genre, but with little success.  Christopher Lee was fed up of being typecast in his typical Hammer Horror parts, and wanted to take on more interesting roles. Around this time, a new sub genre of Horror had come into vogue, known 'Folk Horror' or 'Rural Horror'. Films such as Blood on Satan's Claw and Witchfinder General, took place away from the castles of Frankenstein and Dracula and took Horror into the countryside, where the fear of pagan religion, imagined or otherwise, was the dominant theme. Lee met with screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and director Robin Hardy, and together they decided it would be fun to do a film based around 'old religion' as a contrast to the horror depicted in the Hammer films. The resulting film, 1973's The Wicker Man, is the best known example of British Rural Horror. Though it's legacy has been overshadowed in popular conscious somewhat by the horrible Nicolas Cage remake, the original still packs a punch thanks to incredibly creepy atmosphere, good performances, and an ending that leaves a lump in your throat. The magazine Cinefantastique desribed it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and Christopher Lee himself, who has starred in over 200 films, considers it his best one.

Fast forward to the modern day and the influence British Horror is still felt in contemporary film-making. Hammer themselves have made something of a comeback with films such as The Woman In Black and The Quiet Ones. However, one film in the last few years which really owes to the legacy of Rural and Folk Horror is Ben Wheatley's 2011 film Kill List. In this film, a returning British soldier and his friend take a job as contract killers, and soon become sucked into an underworld which involved a mysterious cult. The film reminded me of a cross between The Wicker Man and the work of director Shane Meadows, whose films paint bleak and realistic images of modern day working class England. Now that I am watching a lot more films from different periods and genres as part of my course, I find I am now able to detect references and influences in films which I couldn't before. At one point in Kill List the protagonist's family cat is killed off screen and then hung outside there front door as a warning from the antagonists. A very similar thing happens in Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, in which the couples cat is hung in their closest. I also detected some Kubrickian touches in Kill List, and was not surprised when Ben Wheatley named him as an influence on the film. The film is broken into chapters named after targets on the Kill List, such as 'The Librarian', which is similar to how some of Kubrick's films are broken up. Also, the idea of the main protagonist being drawn into a secret cult whose motives and origins are never really explained reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut. Kill List features an ending which could disturb even the most seasoned Horror veteran, and almost makes The Wicker Man's ending seem tame by comparison Ultimately, Kill List shows that the influence and legacy of British Horror continues in fine form, and made me excited to check out some of Ben Wheatley's other films and other films within the British Horror genre.