When The Gorgon was made in 1964 Hammer was on a crest of a wave of horror movies and were the company to go to for the unique blend of British horror.
At the turn of the century, in a small German town, a series of murders has left the residents scared and horrified. The authorities, fearing that a local legend was coming true, do their best to ignore the killings and hide all traces or clues as to how they died. When a local girl becomes the next victim, and her boyfriend is arrested, his father arrives to discover the truth and uncover what is really going on.
Its great to always see Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together on screen and although their parts are smaller than normal they are also memorable. It is also refreshing to see them play the opposite characters of what they normally portray, here Cushing is essentially helping the villains.
The movie has a great atmosphere, thanks to director Terence Fisher and the fabulous set design. The horror is for today’s audiences much more subtle and the one bad thing is the special effects of the Gorgon herself with her snakes for hair looking pretty poor. But overall this is a very good Hammer production and stands up well.
The Blu ray by Indicator has an excellent 1080p transfer. Colours are striking and blacks deep. Many Hammer films have had bad to mediocre releases in HD but this is one of the better examples. The sound has original mono and is fine and clear.
You get some good bonus material :
- Heart of Stone: Inside ‘The Gorgon’
- Audio commentary with Daughters of Darkness’ Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger
- The Gorgon introduction by actor and filmmaker Matthew Holness
- The Gorgon’ Comic-Strip Adaptation: Goodall, Goring & Coyas’ 1977 comic strip, originally published in House of Hammer magazine
- Original trailer
A classic film and released as part of the Hammer Vol 1 Fear Warning Box Set
FILM: 7.5 PICTURE: 8 SOUND: 7 EXTRAS: 7
