MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: SANGSTER DIRECTS HAMMER (1970-1972) 7-Disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Box Set Review + Screenshots

SANGSTER DIRECTS HAMMER (1970-1972)

7-Disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Box Set

THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970)

LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971)

FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972)

Hammer icon Jimmy Sangster started with Hammer beginning with X the Unknown, he went onto write the screenplays for several of studio absolute classics, the films that established the studio's Gothic horror blueprint for decades, among them The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula and The Mummy. After establishing himself at Hammer he ventured to Hollywood and carved out a lucrative career as a TV writer/director, having worked on TV popular shows Columbo, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker, as well as the supernatural anthology series Circle of Fear aka Ghoststory. He returned to the Hammer fold in the 70s to direct the only three feature films of his career, once more leaving his mark on the cinematic legacy of Frankenstein's monster, bloodsuckers and a suspenseful gaslight psycho-thriller. Sangster Directs Hammer is a 7-disc box set featuring the North American UHD premieres of The Horror of Frankenstein, Lust for a Vampire and Fear In The Night, presented with a whopping 18+ hours of new and archival extras, including new documentary featurettes on Mary Shelley, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Ralph Bates, Dame Joan Collins and Jimmy Sangster, plus an voluminous all-new 312-page book designed by Stephen Thrower.

THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970)

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 95 Minutes 33 Seconds

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.66:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Jimmy Sangster

Cast: Ralph Bates, Kate O’Mara, Veronica Carlson, Jon Finch, Dennis Price, Dave Prowse

The Horror of Frankenstein (1971), the first feature film directed by Jimmy Sangster, was a new more edgy take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, basically a reimaging of Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein, which see actor Ralph Bates (Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde) star as the sociopathic Victor Frankenstein, a young man obsessed with anatomical experiments. When his strict father Alphonse (George Belbin, Eye of the Needle) forbids such experimentation the teen sabotages his father's hunting rifle, causing it to blow-up in his face, killing him during an unfortunate hunting "accident". The young Frankenstein inherits his father's title and wealth and enrolls at the Vienna medical school, where he earns a reputation as an arrogant womanizer, only to be forced to drop out after impregnating the daughter of the Dean (James Cossins, Sphinx), so he returns home with his school mate Wilhelm Kassner (Graham James, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb) in tow, to continue his macabre experiments. The flick is pretty cheeky and infused with a black humor not present in past iterations of the story, Victor carries on a lustful relationship with his sexy

housekeeper Alys (Kate O'Mara, Vampire Lovers), who was also his late father's lover, while also attracting the affections of childhood friend Elizabeth Heiss (Veronica Carlson, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed), who has secretly harbored a crush on him for years, even roping in her scientific father Professor Heiss (Bernard Archard, Village of the Damned), who becomes an unwitting participant in Victor's forbidden science quest.

As Victor resumes his mad science experiments into reanimating the dead he receives the limited participation of Wilhelm, first killing and then reanimating Prof. Heiss' pet turtle as a proof of concept, before moving on to reanimating human corpses, or more accurately, an assembly of body parts stitched together. He does so with the help of a nefarious graverobbing couple (Dennis Price, Twins of Evil, Joan Rice, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men) who supply him with a steady stream of graveyard-fresh cadavers. He keeps the more macabre aspects of his experiments a secret from all, including Wilhelm, who grows increasing uncomfortable with Victor's scientific pursuits. He eventually succeeds in reanimating the body of his stitched together corpse, which includes bits and pieces of former acquaintances who have outlived their usefulness, the elderly professor and poor Wilhelm among them. The monster is notably played by a pre-Star Wars/Darth Vader David Prowse (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell), an impressive muscular specimen to be sure, but lacking the tragic and more sympathetic elements that the mighty Christopher Lee brought to the screen. The monster lacks the horror previous incarnations, it's just Prowse with red jigsaw scars stenciled onto him limbs, which sort of brought to minded Guillermo del Toro's more recent adaptation, and that veiny bald-cap is really something awful. He's beefy as Hell but not too sympathetic or emotive. As you would expect the monster escapes and goes on a killing spree, axing a woodsman to death, which threatens to derail Victor's experiments as the attention of the local authorities are drawn to the castle, via Victor's former childhood friend Lieutenant Henry Becker (Jon Finch, The Final Programme). Victor attempts to dissuade further interest by framing his childhood friend Stephan (Stephen Turner, The Omen III: The Final Conflict), who has recently come under his employee, but it's too late, Becker is too smart, and eventually the torch and pitchfork carrying villagers storm the castle, but not with the expected result, instead we get something quite a a bit more sly, and a bit anticlimactic to be honest, but darkly funny, it's an odd punchline.

I recall disliking this quite a bit the first time I watched it as a kid, some of which can no doubt be laid at the feet of the absence of legendary Peter Cushing. This was the first and only Hammer Frankenstein flick without him, and his presence is sorely missed. Actor Ralph Bates was an actor that was being groomed as a future Hammer star, previously appearing in Taste the Blood of Dracula, and while I previously found him lacking, I found that this time around he was quite an attractive character, albeit wholly morally repugnant in pretty much any way you can imagine, which is good fun, truly a diabolical and murderess dandy. The script is darkly comedic, which is something I more appreciated now than when I was a teenager seeing it on TV. That dark edge that teeters on parody feels more piercing and sharper edged this time around. It was that tongue-in-cheek aspect that threw me the first go around, it seemed out of place to me, but in hindsight it seems a logical evolution for Hammer, the story was already rote at this point in the '70s. So where else to go but to send it up, to play with the conventions of the well-trodden story. The finale with the villagers storming the castle and Victor hiding his hideous creation in the empty acid-tank only for a bratty kid to go and ruin it all, is a fun punchline that puts a point in the humor, even if I still find it anti-climactic, but that was sort of the point, defying the expectation of the typical Frankenstein story finale. I do think this is a film that has grown on me with each subsequent watch, it's the dull-thud of the finale that still sticks in my craw a bit.

Special Features:

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

- Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer/Director Jimmy Sangster, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn

- NEW! Audio Commentary With Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas

- Trailer

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

- Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer/Director Jimmy Sangster, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn

- NEW! Audio Commentary With Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas

- Frankenstein, Dracula And Me – Archival Interview With Actress Veronica Carlson (2001, 13:43)

- NEW! Reunion Panel At 1997 Festival Of Fantastic Films Manchester With Director Jimmy Sangster, Actor Dave Prowse And Actress Veronica Carlson, Moderated By Wayne Kinsey (17:02)

- NEW! Younger Frankenstein – Interview With 2nd Assistant Director Nicholas Granby, Camera Operator Neil Binney, Production Runner Philip Campbell And Co-Writer Jeremy Burnham (7:30)

- NEW! One Frankenstein After Another: - 125 Years of Cinematic Adaptations – Illustrated Audio Essay By Gillian Wallace Horvat (18:17) -

- NEW! The Life And Work Of Mary Shelley – Interview With Dr. Emma Liggins, Co-Director Of The Manchester Centre For Gothic Studies (18:03)

- NEW! The Unhallowed Arts: The Creation Myth Of Mary Shelley – Interview With Gothic Scholar Dr. Colin-Azariah Kribbs (22:00)

- Vintage Behind-The-Scenes From Hammer Films (5:44)

- NEW! Alternate TV Opening Credits (1:50)

- Trailer (2:47)

- SCARS OF DRACULA/THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN Double Feature Trailer (2:42)

- SCARS OF DRACULA/THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN Double Feature TV Spot (0:23)

LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971)

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 95 Minutes 41 Seconds

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.66:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Jimmy Sangster

Cast: Yutte Stensgaard, Suzanna Leigh, Barbara Jefford, Mike Raven

Jimmy Sangster's second directorial feature was Lust For A Vampire (1970), the middle-film in the unofficial Karnstein Trilogy, following Vampire Lovers and just before Vampire Circus. I don't think this has been a particularly beloved entry in the Hammer bloodsuckers, or even within the Hammer filmography to be honest, but I do feel like it's been appraised ever so slightly higher in the past twenty years or so, and for me it hits a lot of the sweet spots I'm looking for when I watch a Hammer film. It's got the Gothic charms, the Hammer atmosphere and plenty of vampire tropes, including a blood ritual to resurrect a vampire, as well as the plunging necklines and plenty of naked ladies! In it lecherous horror writer Richard LeStrange (Michael Johnson, Homebodies) has arrived in a village near the now deserted Castle Karnstein looking for information about the local folklore and mysteries for his next book. He is warned to stay away from the castle but pays no mind to such local superstition, yet when he arrives in the dilapidated ruins he is set upon by several women in shrouds, which appear very frightening, but who turn out to be students from the nearby finishing school for young women just having a good time. The school is run by Miss Simpson (Helen Christie, Rasputin the Mad Monk) who LeStrange is introduced to when he later visits the school. We are also introduced to the school's sexy gym mistress Janet Playfair (Suzanna Leigh, The Lost Continent), and the newly arrived student Mircalla Herritzen (Yutte Stensgaard, Scream and Scream Again) who LeStrange finds himself drawn to instantly. LeStrange later arranges to become the new English teacher at the school, so he can get close to Mircalla, along the way befriending the school headmaster Giles Barton (Ralph Bates, Horror of Frankenstein), who is also quite enamored with the new arrival. What we know that they do not is that Mircalla is actually the vampiress Carmilla Karnstein, who was resurrected in the intro during a Satanic ritual perfromed by the Count Karnstein (Mike Raven, Crucible of Terror) and Countess Herritzen (Barbara Jefford, The Ninth Gate), who sacrifice a local peasant girl (Kirsten Lindholm, Twins of Evil) to bring her back.

As LeStrange continues to obsess over Mircalla the pair becomes sexually engaged, while Giles comes to realize the truth of whom she really is, aiming to become her human familiar, but only meeting his doom. Meanwhile Carmilla begins to seduce and drain her co-eds, while seemingly staring to actually fall in love with the dark fiction writer. Other Hammer beauties that appear in the film include Luan Peters (Twins of Evil) as pub wench Trudi, Pippa Steel (The Vampire Lovers) as American student Susan Pelley, and Judy Matheson (Twins of Evil) as Amanda, a Scottish student.

While this is still my least favored of the Karnstein Trilogy it is still a plenty entertaining Hammer entry, a Gothic-erotic vamp flick with numerous lovely ladies dropping their blouses, engaging in lesbian seduction, and of course, there's that lovemaking scene at a graveyard between LeStrange and Mercalla set to the music cue of "Strange Love", which is one of the sillier elements of the film, but the scene is nicely shot just the same, and still a turn on. The flick strays pretty far from the Sheridan Le Fanu source material and relies more on established tropes, but still manages to be a captivating experience, even if Stensgaard does not exude the haunting and sensual charms of euro-cult legend Ingrid Pitt. Even still, she manages to be quite alluring in her own right. Detracting from her charm is just how sensual Suzanna Leigh is as the gym mistress, she's just dripping sexuality, so much also that she sort of steals the show when she shows up. I'd be remiss not to mention the presence of form UK radio DJ tuned aspiring horror icon Mike Raven, the guy who portrays Count Karnstein. This guy, he so obviously wants to be the successor of some sort to Christopher Lee, but he just does not have the good. He has a strange presence about him for sure and and an interesting look with that sharp widow's peak, but his performance comes off as stagey and a little too camp. During the opening scene of the resurrection they actually edit in a close-up of Christopher Lee's bloodshot eyes from the Horror of Dracula for a moment, which was an odd choice, adding further insult to injury his voice was dubbed over by veteran actor Valentine Dyall (City of the Dead) for all of his scenes. More effective is Barbara Jefford as the Countess Herritzen, an insidious presence who easily influences headmistress Miss Simpson to thwart the investigations into the missing girls at the school.

While nowhere near an enthralling as the previous Karnstein entry The Vampire Lovers, it's a passable erotically-charged vamp flick with Hammer's patented plunging neckline, ritual sacrifice and bloodletting, including a proper fiery finale with Carmilla getting staked through the heart properly.

Special Features:

Disc 3 - 4K UHD:

- Audio Commentary With Director Jimmy Sangster And Actress Suzanna Leigh, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn

- NEW! Audio Commentary With David Flint, Author Of Ten Years Of Terror: British Horror Films Of The 1970s

- Trailer (2:41)

Disc 4 - Blu-ray:

- Audio Commentary With Director Jimmy Sangster And Actress Suzanna Leigh, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn

- NEW! Audio Commentary With David Flint, Author Of Ten Years Of Terror: British Horror Films Of The 1970s

- Illustrated Archival Audio Interview With Actress Yutte Stensgaard By Michael Augustine-Reed With Accompanying Career-Spanning Still Gallery (18:53

- Live, Love, Lust – Interview With Actress Judy Matheson (23.:48)

- NEW! Gothic Girl – Interview With Actress Kirsten Lindholm (18:27)

- NEW! Hammer Times – Interview With Actor Christopher Neame (12:44)

- NEW! A Bit Of Fun – Interview With Actress Erica Beale (8:23)

- Lust Mel – Interview With Actress Mel Churche (3:41)

- NEW! Running Blood – Interview With Production Runner Philip Campbell (3:58)

- Gates Of Karnstein Castle – Archival Interview With Screenwriter Tudor Gates (10:26)

- NEW! The Invisible Prince: The Life & Legacy Of J. Sheridan Le Fanu – Interview With Dr. William Hughes, Gothic Scholar & Co-Editor Of Open Graves, Open Minds: Representations Of Vampires And The Undead From The Enlightenment To The Present Day (24:13)

- Strange Love – Carmen Maria Machado, Author Of Queer Reflections Of Horror, Reframes The Sapphic Vampire (8:03)

- NEW! School Of The Heaving Bosom: Education, Eroticism And Lust For A Vampire – Video Essay By Dr. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (22:06)

- NEW! Alternate Version Of Lesbian Scene (0:59)

- Trailer (2:41)

FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972)

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 94 Minutes 2 Seconds

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Jimmy Sangster

Cast: Judy Geeson, Ralph Bates, Peter Cushing, Joan Collins

Fear In The Night (1971) is the third and final feature directed by Hammer alum Jimmy Sangster, a reworked adaptation of Hammer's previous thriller Scream of Fear, a gaslight thriller with some obvious nods to Diabolique, wherein newlyweds Peggy (Judy Geeson, Berserk!), a fragile woman who has only just recovered from a nervous breakdown, and her teacher husband (Ralph Bates, Taste the Blood of Dracula), are set to move to the countryside in South London, where he has taken a new job at a private boarding school, run by headmaster Michael Carmichael (Peter Cushing, Corruption). The night before they leave Peggy is attacked by a black-gloved assailant with a prosthetic hand and faints. She is found alive, but obviously rattled. While shaken by the violent encounter at her flat they still leave for South London the following day, arriving at their new home on the grounds of the school, setting up house, before Robert leaves for work. When left alone she is again attacked by a black-gloved maniac, but when she report's what has happened to Robert it is clear that he does not believe her, and that he thinks she's a bit mental. Later she encounters headmaster Carmichael while walking around the corridors of the school, and the later she meets his wife Molly (Joan Collins, Dark Places), who is very cold, almost hostile towards her. Peggy suspicions are aroused when later she discovers that Michael has a prosthetic hand, and according to Robert, has a tragic past that as left him mentally scarred and unwell.

When her Robert later leaves for London for a couple of days on a schedule trip the already frazzled Peggy is left alone, as her fears of being attacked again mount she arms herself with a shotgun, and when the black-gloved maniac returns she has reached the breaking point and takes matters into her own hand. What transpires is a tasty gaslight-thriller with a thrillingly diabolical twisty ending revealing motivations and machinations brought to light in the end.

This is a solid Hammer thriller with a strong cast, Geeson manages to be both mentally frail and sympathetic, while her husband Ralph Bates is somewhat cold. You could sympathize with either or both, she scared of losing her mind, him afraid his new wife's sanity might be slipping away. Then we have cold bitch queen Joan Collins, who as usual both stunning and ruthless in equal measure, while the legendary Peter Cushing as the unwell headmaster of the school is also both sympathetic and a potential menace. The flick generates plenty of suspense, a psycho-thriller in the mold of Diabolique, but also flirting with some tasty giallo-flavored mystery elements. The weak link would be the plot itself, it's somewhat familiar even when it arrived at the cinema I would think, and it wears it's influences on it's sleeve. What that means is that the surprise twists are largely broadcast early on, or perhaps to be more charitable, maybe I've just watched too many of these sort of twisty thrillers one too many times, either way, even when I first watched this there was little surprise when clearly I was meant to be shocked, but I thought they built up to it well with plenty of intensity and suspense, so still a solid Hammer thriller, and certainly with a watch, just not a stone-cold classic.

Special Features:

Disc 5 - 4K UHD:

- Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer/Director Jimmy Sangster, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn

- NEW! Audio Commentary With David Flint, Author Of Ten Years Of Terror: British Horror Films Of The Seventies And Mayhem Film Festival's Chris Cooke

- Trailer (3:02)

Disc 6 - Blu-ray:

- Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer/Director Jimmy Sangster, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn

- NEW! Audio Commentary With David Flint, Author Of Ten Years Of Terror: British Horror Films Of The Seventies And Mayhem Film Festival's Chris Cooke

- Peter Cushing Discusses Hammer In Archival Audio Interview With Denis Meikle, Author Of A History Of Horrors: The Rise & Fall Of The House Of Hammer (23:33)

- NEW! The Gaslighter’s Playbook: Real And Imagined Horrors In FEAR IN THE NIGHT – Video Essay By Dr. Alexandra Heller Nicholas (20:14)

- NEW! Fun In The Day – Interviews With Camera Operator Neil Binney And Production Runner Philip Cambell (6:19)

- Trailer (3:02)

Disc 7 - Bonus Blu-ray

- NEW! HAMMER AND BEYOND: THE JIMMY SANGSTER LEGACY – 2026 Documentary By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn (65:14)

- NEW! The Man From Bristol: Ralph Bates Remembered – Interviews With Actress/Wife Virginia Wetherell And Composer/Son Will Bates, Narrated By LUST FOR A VAMPIRE Co-Star Judy Matheson (47:06)

- NEW! Joan Collins: Queen Of The Horror Films – Interviews With House Of Psychotic Women Author Kier-La Janisse And Telefilm Historian Amanda Reyes (30:30)

- NEW! Hammer In The U.S.A. – Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner On The Studio's Stateside Distribution (24:05)

- Hammer Scribe – Archival Interview With Director Jimmy Sangster (16:27)

- NEW! Sapphic Blood Suckers: A Cinematic History Of The Lesbian Vampire Trope With Annie Rose Malamet, Film Scholar And Host Of Girls, Guts, Giallo (31:53)

- NEW! I Coined "The Karnstein Trilogy" – Interview With David Pirie, Author Of A Heritage Of Horror (19:20)

Audio/Video: All three Sangster directed Hammer flicks are presented in 4K UHD for the first time ever in North America, newly scanned in 4K from their original camera negatives by StudioCanal. These are presented in 2160p Ultra HD with Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grades, in the original widescreen aspect ratios, The Horrors of Frankenstein framed in 1.66:1 widescreen with Fear in the Night framed in 1.85:1. The transfers are spotless, film grain resolves nicely and appears unmolested by aggressive digital scrubbing, textures are refined and offers nice detail in the close-ups of hair, skin pores and clothing. The Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grade is well-done, not too aggressive, offering deeper more nuanced hues compared to the accompanying Blu-ray, blacks are deep with excellent shadow detail, primaries are subtly plumped, with pleasing depth and contrast. Audio on all three films arrives via English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and well-balanced, the uncompressed audio sounds authentically flat with weak bass response, which is typical of this era, but dialogue sounds crisp and the score and effects fare well.

Extras for the Horror of Frankenstein include a pair of commentaries, the first is an Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer/Director Jimmy Sangster, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn, the second is a new Audio Commentary With Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas.

The edition is also stacked with new and archival featurettes and interviews, starting off with the Frankenstein, Dracula And Me – Archival-min Interview With Actress Veronica Carlson. Recorded in 2001 she looks back at her three Hammer horror films, noting that Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is her favorite of the three, thanks in large part to director Freddie Francis, and meeting horror icons Cushing, and Lee and how overwhelming that was. Remembering how Christopher Lee sat for a sketch she made, and noting what Sangster was like as a director, how mischievous he was, as well as working with Ralph Bates, and his gone-too-soon death from Pancreatic cancer. She also fondly recalls Dave Prowse's impressive physique, her later life, her artwork, and being recognized as a Hammer actress while living on an island off the coast of South Carolina. Next is a 17-min Reunion Panel At 1997 Festival Of Fantastic Films Manchester With Director Jimmy Sangster, Actor Dave Prowse And Actress Veronica Carlson, Moderated By Wayne Kinsey, Sangster discusses the genesis of the project, the freedom he had as writer/producer/director, and plenty of fun stories from the set, its quite a fun panel. The 7-min Younger Frankenstein – Interview With 2nd Assistant Director Nicholas Granby, Camera Operator Neil Binney, Production Runner Philip Campbell And Co-Writer Jeremy Burnham offers a crew perspective of the six week shoot, remembering Sangster as workmanlike, how he kept things in track, and that Dave Prowse monster was so tall that it was hard to get a low profile shot without seeing the studio ceiling. Extras for The Horror of Frankenstein are finished up with a 18-min One Frankenstein After Another - 125 Years of Cinematic Adaptations – Illustrated Audio Essay By Gillian Wallace Horvat, the 18-min The Life And Work Of Mary Shelley – Interview With Dr. Emma Liggins, Co-Director Of The Manchester Centre For Gothic Studies, 22-min The Unhallowed Arts: The Creation Myth Of Mary Shelley – Interview With Gothic Scholar Dr. Colin-Azariah Kribbs, 6-min Vintage Behind-The-Scenes From Hammer Films 2-min Alternate TV Opening Credits, which offers a TV-friendly alternate credit sequence taped onto VHS from a NY TV broadcast. We also get the 3-min Trailer, the 3-min Scars of Dracula/The Horror of Frankenstein Double Feature Trailer, and the 23-sec Scars of Dracula/The Horror of Frankenstein Double Feature TV Spot.

Onto List for a Vampire extras, another pair of commentaries, the first Audio Commentary With Director Jimmy Sangster And Actress Suzanna Leigh, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn, and a second Audio Commentary With David Flint, Author Of Ten Years Of Terror: British Horror Films Of The 1970s. Again, we get a treasure trove of new and archival extras, the first is a 19-min Illustrated Archival Audio Interview With Actress Yutte Stensgaard By Michael Augustine-Reed With Accompanying Career-Spanning Still Gallery. The interview is from 1998, she talks about her early life and when she decided to be an actress, learning English, while working on commercials, then TV, with her first film being Scream and Scream Again, and her memories of making it, Eventually getting work at Hammer, and how well she got on with director Jimmy Sangster. She looks back on Lust For A Vampire, working with Ralph Bates and others. Her thoughts on having her voice dubbed in the film, her fan following, and working on Burke & Hare - which she's never watched. She also gets into why she stopped acting, attributing it to moving to the U.S. and getting married, the sort of films she watches at home, living in Oregon. Next, the 24-min Live, Love, Lust – Interview With Actress Judy Matheson. She talks about attending drama school, doing seasonal Broadway where she met actress Janet Key (Vampire Lovers), who introduced her to her agent, and eventually getting work with Vicente abanda and Hammer. She shares memories of being cast in Lust for a Vampire, recalling that co-star Stensgaard was kind and caring, very shy. She recalls shooting the alternate clothed scenes, how Suzanna Leigh was fun, girl about town, very assured, while Ralph Bates was delightful. Michael Johnson was also quite fun, too. She also shares memories of the shooting Crucible of Terror, the cast, experiences on set, shooting the pre-credit sequence of Twins of Evil with Peter Cushing, memories of director John Hough (The Flesh & Blood Show), an appreciation of Luan Peters and Peter Walker, working with Jose Larraz on The House That Vanished, and how Larraz how he was unkind to women,

The 18-min Gothic Girl – Interview With Actress Kirsten Lindholm, who was the pre-credit victim, her young life in Denmark, moving to UK in 1950, experiencing the swinging 60s London scene, partying at night, and brief recollections of working on Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, Twins of Evil. She's quite a colorful personality, she also speaks about doing her own stunts, her past life memory of being burned at the stake, becoming a shaman in real life, falling in love with her yoga instructor, marrying him, having kids, and becoming a midwife. The 13-min Hammer Times – Interview With Actor Christopher Neame sees the actor detail breaking into acting through stage, being cast in films then into Hammer, memories of the the cast and director, the Lust for a Vampire special effects work, starring as Johnny Aculard in Dracula A.D. 1972, and memories of Cushing and Lee. A Bit Of Fun – Interview With Actress Erica Beale runs a little over 8-min, Beale speaks of auditions for Lust of a Vampire, how she great fun making it, memories of the cast, and specific scenes. The 4-min Lust Mel – Interview With Actress Mel Churche features Chuche recalling being cast in Lust as one of the "Dolly Birds" memories of the shoot as a happy time, remembering Ralph Bates as very interesting, and Sangster was kind, as well as memories of dancing in the courtyard and the publicity photos,

The 4-min Running Blood – Interview With Production Runner Philip Campbell features his memories of the shoot, recollections of actor Mike Raven, whose character was voiced by Valentine Dyall, and how director Jimmy Sangster worked fast. The 10-min Gates Of Karnstein Castle – Archival Interview With Screenwriter Tudor Gates sees the Hammer scribe discussing his lesbian adaptation of Carmilla, and having never seen a Hammer film when he went to work for hammer. He notes the ethereal quality of Ingrid Pitt, and giving an appreciation of Roy Ward Baker as a topnotch director, as well as his memories of working with Cushing. Regarding the script he talks about 'the man in black' character he created, and his unrealized idea for the sequel Lust, and how there was a falling out between Sangster and producers. He doesn't seem to have a high regard for Sangster, saying the script was not properly realized, while also offering an opinion of Ralph Bates, who replaced Cushing after he dropped out of the project, while also noting that Twins of Evil is his favorite of the three, and unrealized plans for a 4th film inthe Karnstein series.

Extras for Lust for a Vampire are buttoned-up with a 24-min The Invisible Prince: The Life & Legacy Of J. Sheridan Le Fanu – Interview With Dr. William Hughes, Gothic Scholar & Co-Editor Of Open Graves, Open Minds: Representations Of Vampires And The Undead From The Enlightenment To The Present Day, the 8-min Strange Love – Carmen Maria Machado, Author Of Queer Reflections Of Horror, Reframes The Sapphic Vampire, 22-min School Of The Heaving Bosom: Education, Eroticism And Lust for a Vampire – Video Essay By Dr. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, 1-min Alternate Version Of Lesbian Scene, it's clothed, and the 3-min Trailer.

Fear In The Night also gets an exhaustive in the best sense of the word, slate of extras, We get an Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer/Director Jimmy Sangster, Moderated By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn, and a second Audio Commentary With David Flint, Author Of Ten Years Of Terror: British Horror Films Of The Seventies And Mayhem Film Festival's Chris Cooke.

The 24-min Peter Cushing Discusses Hammer In Archival Audio Interview With Denis Meikle, Author Of A History Of Horrors: The Rise & Fall Of The House Of Hammer, 20-min The Gaslighter’s Playbook: Real And Imagined Horrors In Fear In The Night – Video Essay By Dr. Alexandra Heller Nicholas. The 6-min Fun In The Day – Interviews With Camera Operator Neil Binney And Production Runner Philip Cambell offers fond memories of making the film, with Campbell remembering Geeson whom he said was very sweet, and how Cushing only shot for 2-3 days, and noting his brief appearance in the film doubling Cushing behind a curtain, while also being the unofficial third assistant director, making sure to note that he only paid as a runner. During the location shooting they had to be being careful not to damage things because the house caretaker was always around, while Binney mentions that Sangster was only a few years older than him, but was full of ideas, and his experiences with Cushing on set, also admiring Ralph Bates. The last of the extras for Fear in the Night is the 3-min

Trailer.

As if these extras-laden discs were not already packed tot he max with bonus content Severin offer up a seventh disc, also stacked to the ceiling with more extras and documentaries! First up is the 65-min HAMMER AND BEYOND: THE JIMMY SANGSTER LEGACY – 2026 Documentary By Hammer Historian Marcus Hearn, the 47-min The Man From Bristol: Ralph Bates Remembered – Interviews With Actress/Wife Virginia Wetherell And Composer/Son Will Bates, Narrated By LUST FOR A VAMPIRE Co-Star Judy Matheson, 31-min Joan Collins: Queen Of The Horror Films – Interviews With House Of Psychotic Women Author Kier-La Janisse And Telefilm Historian Amanda Reyes, 24-min Hammer In The U.S.A. – Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner On The Studio's Stateside Distribution, the 16-min Hammer Scribe – Archival Interview With Director Jimmy Sangster, 32-min Sapphic Blood Suckers: A Cinematic History Of The Lesbian Vampire Trope With Annie Rose Malamet, Film Scholar And Host Of Girls, Guts, Giallo, 19-min I Coined "The Karnstein Trilogy" – Interview With David Pirie, Author Of A Heritage Of Horror.

The extras included on this set are ridiculously thorough and deep-diving, this is easily the most densely packed 3-film set I've ever poured through, with over nineteen hours of extras, plus a 312-page book, it's simply a stunning set from Severin.

The 7-Disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray set arrives with some sweet packaging, we get a top-loading Rigid Slipbox with terrific new artwork adoring the box, a moody green/yellow themed illustration featuring Sangster in his prime surrounded by iconic characters from the three films. Inside the three films are housed inside black keepcases with single-sided sleeves of artwork featuring original movie poster artworks, these are housed inside individual Slipcovers, with The Horror of Frankenstein and Fear in the Night featuring new artwork by Joel Robinson, while Lust for a Vampire features a gorgeous previously unseen, pre-production painting by the legendary UK poster artist Tom Chantrell, which was deemed "too salacious" by the Brit censors in '71. These slips are thick cardstock quality and have spot-gloss logos on the front covers and spines.

Also tucked away inside, and contributing about half the set's weight, is an all-new Horror! Lust! Fear! Sangster - a 312-page book designed by Stephen Thrower, featuring 22 new in-depth essays Ramsey Campbell, David Gregory, Chris Alexander, Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Kat Ellinger and David Flint plus archival interviews with Kate O’Mara, Tudor Gates and Mike Raven, comic adaptations of the films, and a glorious amount of photos including behind-the-scenes, promotional shots, illustrations, ephemera, and movie posters. It's quite a hefty tome, probably the biggest yet from Severin. The writing approaches the trio of films from several fascinating angles, and honestly, I have not finished reading the whole shebang yet, but thus far it's been quite an exciting read.

This is quite a spectacular release, Severin take their stewardship of these licensed properties rather seriously, and it seems especially for these underdog Hammer properties. Literally anyone can license a 4K master and put out a decent looking 4K UHD release, but that's not who they are, it's not in their DNA to just put it out, and that's good enough. They go above and beyond with an array of bonus content that is simply overwhelming in it's scope and breadth. In my opinion it is an unrivaled set, I will say right here and now, this is Severin's best curated box set to date, with the important caveat that they are releasing on average 5-7 major box sets a year, each better than the previous, so that could easily change with the next slate of announcements!

This is an easy recommend for all lovers of vintage horror, particularly if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Hammer Horror fanatic - these films have simply never looked or sounded better, the extras have never been more plentiful, and the collector packaging is top-notch!

Screenshots from the Severin Blu-rays:

THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970)