{"id":793008,"date":"2026-10-05T20:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T20:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/793008\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T20:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T20:36:12","slug":"hammer-films-boss-john-gore-on-resurrecting-the-british-horror-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/793008\/","title":{"rendered":"Hammer Films Boss John Gore on Resurrecting the British Horror Icon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn the credits for the \u201cParanormal Activity\u201d stage play currently running on the West End before it heads off to Broadway next year, next to Blumhouse, which produced the original hit film franchise, sits the name of one of cinema\u2019s most historic and iconic horror brands: Hammer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe British production company, founded in 1934, is famed for its Gothic reinventions of monsters such as Dracula<\/a>, Frankenstein and the Mummy starring horror titans such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee<\/a>. Most of these movies released in the late 1950s, 60s and early 70s, influencing generations of noted filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro, Tim Burton and John Carpenter, to name just a few. Yet it had nothing to do with \u201cParanormal Activity.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tBut for John Gore<\/a>, the British theater impresario who made a name in the U.S. through his John Gore Organization by backing the likes of \u201cThe Book of Mormon,\u201d \u201cHamilton\u201d and, now, \u201cParanormal Activity: A New Story,\u201d he simply wanted to see the Hammer name \u2014 a shadow of what it was during the glory days \u2014 back in the spotlight alongside arguably the current reigning horror icons. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cInstead of my U.S. company, I put Hammer on it \u2014 because I thought we just have to have it there,\u201d he tells Variety. \u201cIt\u2019s a taste of the future!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Gore, the future for Hammer \u2014\u00a0which he acquired in late 2023 \u2014\u00a0is to see the brand resurrected, much like the famed blood-sucking Count himself, and become part of the horror conversation just as the genre continues to enjoy its most successful period in cinematic history. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe next step towards this leans into its vast library of classics, with a 4K restoration of its 1958 hit \u201cDracula\u201d releasing in more than 144 U.K. cinemas this week and landing in the U.S. (as \u201cHorror of Dracula\u201d) later this month following a premiere at the Academy Museum in LA. Also at the museum, Hammer and John Gore Studios are supporting its recently launched exhibition \u201cThe Horror Show,\u201d which in January will celebrate the history of Hammer. <\/p>\n

\n\tGore says his commitment to Hammer, his first major acquisition in the film world, is backed by a deeply personal connection, having adored its horrors while growing up in the late 60s and 70s. \u201cI loved those films from a very young age,\u201d he says, adding that Hammer\u2019s titles \u201ccaptured my imagination\u201d in a way the earlier black-and-white horrors hadn\u2019t. \u201cThey felt very real, and had the atmosphere with this sort of red-velvet quality to it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a commitment that has seen Gore build up an assortment of supporting companies around Hammer, forming John Gore Studios in the process. The fast-growing outfit is now producing upcoming titles such as period romp \u201cThe Return of Stanley Atwell,\u201d starring Nicholas Galitzine and Ella Purnell and from \u201cHamnet\u201d banner Hera Pictures, and the Wallis Simpson biopic \u201cThe Duchess,\u201d starring Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini. <\/p>\n

\n\tBut Hammer was a keystone. It was also a major \u201cleap of faith,\u201d admits Gore, who acquired the company almost as a \u201cblind purchase\u201d when it was on the brink of financial collapse and due diligence would have \u201ccost 10 times the amount of what it was to take it out of bankruptcy.\u201d He says he wasn\u2019t sure if he would \u201cjust end up owning a name,\u201d with Hammer having co-produced so many of their titles with Hollywood studios \u2014 many of the majors funding them outright. \u201cBut\u00a0I knew the catalogue inside out, and was very happy with what we got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJohn Gore<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy John Gore Studios<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Hammer, Gore acquired the noted London-based remastering outfit, Silver Salt Restoration, which had worked on the Ealing comedies. \u201cEvery [Hammer] film was in a real state, so rather than paying for restoration, buying a restoration company seemed to make an enormous amount of sense, especially a restoration company that has done so many great British things,\u201d he says. Then, appreciating the importance of U.K. distribution, he bought KFilm, the parent company of Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment and Icon Film Distribution. Suddenly Hammer sat within a framework of entities \u2014 formally announced as John Gore Studios in early 2025 \u2014 that could give its dusty reels a makeover and get them out into the open. <\/p>\n

\n\tFirst up was the home entertainment 4K release of one of Hammer\u2019s lesser-known titles, \u201cCaptain Kronos: Vampire Hunter,\u201d followed by last year\u2019s theatrical release of a 4K restoration of its classic \u201cThe Curse of Frankenstein,\u201d one of six Frankenstein titles Hammer made starring Cushing as the monster-maker. Next up is possibly the most famous release of them all. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018The Curse of Frankenstein,\u2019 did extremely well, but \u2018Dracula,\u2019 for me, was always going to be the big one,\u201d says Gore, who lists it as the \u201cgreatest Dracula film\u201d ever made. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of Dracula, especially over the last few years, but there\u2019s nothing quite like Christopher Lee coming down that staircase. Christopher Lee as Dracula was the definitive Dracula for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the 4K restoration, undertaken by Silver Salt, Gore also worked closely with U.S. licence holder Warner Bros, who through the studio\u2019s library historian George Feltenstein dug up something very special. The famed, near-mythical, climax of \u201cDracula\u201d saw Lee\u2019s Count claw at his face as he disintegrated in the sunlight, pulling his skin away in agony as he rapidly decomposed into ash. It was an extended scene considered too gruesome by U.K. censors, who demanded cuts before giving the film an X rating. It was cut in the U.S. as well. But in Japan, it wasn\u2019t touched and Feltenstein went looking deep into the archives. \u201cAnd he found a copy that was just marked \u2018Japan\u2019 which had those elements in it,\u201d says Gore, who made sure it was included in the new release. \u201cI guess you could call it the director\u2019s cut.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThere are more Hammer restorations being plotted, Gore and his team \u2014\u00a0including COO Anouska Spiers \u2014\u00a0sitting down with rights holders in the U.S. to figure out how to work together. But there are also significant production plans, involving both new and existing IP. <\/p>\n

\n\tOn the fresh IP side, Canadian feature \u201cIthaqua\u201d \u2014\u00a0a period cannibal horror starring Luke Hemsworth and Kevin Durand \u2014\u00a0offers what Gore describes as \u201cHammer\u2019s first new monster.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tBut the \u201creal question,\u201d he says, is \u201cwhat do we do with the classics?\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tEssentially, how do you take what Hammer so famously did with Dracula and Frankenstein and make something new, exciting and in keeping with the company\u2019s legacy. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to contemplate how we would just do a straight remake of something that is a classic,\u201d he says, citing Gus Van Sant\u2019s failed shot-for-shot remake of \u201cPsycho\u201d as an example. <\/p>\n

\n\tBut Gore does have some thoughts. Across his films, Cushing famously portrayed Frankenstein as corrupt, ruthless or full-on villainous (such as 1964\u2019s \u201cThe Evil of Frankenstein\u201d). \u201cThe Cushing Frankenstein has never been redone \u2014\u00a0where Frankenstein is evil,\u201d he says. \u201cIn most films, Frankenstein is a tortured scientist but the evil Frankenstein is something I\u2019d like to look at.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAn easier place to start could be the less recognizable Hammer titles, the ones less likely to spark upset among aficionados. One title Gore claims has been mooted is \u201cCountess Dracula,\u201d the 1971 film in which a 17th-century aristocratic woman discovers her youthful appearance and libido can be restored by bathing in the blood of young women. \u201cIt was great, but it wasn\u2019t such a tentpole in terms of the Hammer catalogue,\u201d he says, adding that there have also been queries about revisiting 1968 cult horror \u201cThe Devil Rides Out.\u201d \u201cThat film has real power to it. Christopher Lee spent years talking about how that was for him the most terrifying experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHammer Films. Poster Illustration by Robert Sammelin<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s much to be planned, but the hope is that the combined search for new big screen horror (much like Gore says he \u201calways hunting for the next big musical or major play\u201d) coupled with a considered exploration of how to respectfully exploit its vast library of monsters \u2014\u00a0alongside partners in the U.S. \u2014\u00a0will rejuvenate the Hammer name.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s definite enthusiasm and activity \u2014 and backed up by financial support \u2014\u00a0something which for such an iconic brand has been a very long time coming. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhether Gore is Hammer\u2019s saviour after so long in the cinematic dungeons remains to be seen. But its new owner comes in not just a dedicated and obsessive fanboy \u2014 \u201cI feel great responsibility in bringing this stuff back,\u201d he says \u2014\u00a0but an entrepreneur who, thanks to his money-spinning theater business, has the crucial ability to green light projects \u201cwithin horror\u2019s budget limits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are also many other Hammer fanboys out there \u2014 many of them among the most renowned genre filmmakers working today. Alongside Burton and del Toro, the likes of Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Sam Raimi, Edgar Wright and Peter Jackson have referenced Hammer titles or expressed the influence of its work (Jackson literally shot a Super8 version of \u201cCaptain Kronos\u201d as a teenager and later cast Christopher Lee in \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d). Maybe one of the greats would love the opportunity to now direct a Hammer movie for themselves. Gore suggests there\u2019s hope.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe actually have a letter from the 90s where Martin Scorsese wrote to Hammer saying, \u2018I would love to make a Hammer film,’\u201d he says. \u201cAnd they never replied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGore was recently speaking to Oscar-winning costume designer and frequent Scorsese collaborator Sandy Powell and asked for her advice . Her response: \u201cIt\u2019s very simple. Just reply to his letter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the credits for the \u201cParanormal Activity\u201d stage play currently running on the West End before it heads…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[77944,111593,96,261025,261026,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-793008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-christopher-lee","tag-dracula","tag-entertainment","tag-hammer","tag-john-gore","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}