Hammer
A new investment group has acquired the rights to Hammer Films’ back catalogue and properties. Like the group they bought it from, they’re promising to revive the venerable horror brand with new movies and a 21st century media strategy.
I really dig the classic Hammer films but can’t envision a successful relaunch. Their signature characters are all in the public domain. The foundation of the studio’s appeal lay in its house style and stock company of actors. How do you update Hammer’s quaint period charms to the present era of extreme torture horror? Even if you could find actors with the quirky appeal of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, you couldn’t get them to tie their careers to a single line of films today. Buxom women never go out of style, but the sex-horror envelope has already been pushed to its maximum extent.
I wonder if they’ll produce anything at all before selling to yet another group of investors who take it for granted that that any beloved old fantastic property can be profitably revived.