One Of the wOrld’s leading hammer experts invites yOu tO enrOll in...
F
Or hammer fans nOt cOntent with merely watching the filmic ex-
ploits of Baron Frankenstein and Count Dracula, a forthcoming university course will allow them to learn about the legendary British studio and what made its films suc- cessful with audiences worldwide. Titled Hammer: The Birth of British Horror, it pre- viously ran as an in-class open-learning program on the grounds of Queen’s Univer- sity Belfast (QUB) in 2008. Now, the man behind it, writer and film historian Robert Simpson, has retooled it as a ten-week on- line course (through QUB) with a larger scope, in order to accommodate students outside of Ireland. “I’ve been developing it as a distance-
learning module,” he explains. “We got some great feedback, and [also] a lot of frustrated interest from overseas. So now, anyone from anywhere in the world can en- list.” Incorporating a history of the company
In terms of other new projects, what can you say about your involvement with the new Robin Hardy film, The Wicker Tree? People will think that it’s another Wicker Man. But it is not at all. This is only similar in that it has an element of pa- ganism in it. It’s about two young Americans
who...come to Scotland on a mission, almost a religious one. It’s a very uneasy film. My part is very small, but they asked me to do it. They wanted some sort of connection to The Wicker Man. I think it will be very good indeed.
Are you reprising the role of Lord Summerisle? No, not at all.
By chance, what did you think of the Hollywood remake with Nicolas Cage? I never saw it.
Would you say that your interest in something like The Wicker Man stems from your well-known curiosity about the occult? Does that type of thing still fascinate you? Yes, I’ve certainly had an interest, and I still do, in the unknown, the mysterious, the occult, almost the supernatural in some respects and, again, the unexpected. The ending in The Wicker Man was certainly unexpected and a great shock, which I think is the answer. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Everybody’s so nice to this policeman, played by Edward Woodward, who sadly died not too long ago. But there are no elements of evil in this film at all. It’s simply that they’re pagan.
How was your interest in the occult born? Can you attribute it to any event in your life? It’s probably because when I was young, I was a classical scholar in Latin and Greek, and of course that meant knowl- edge of mythology. And I became particularly interested in Nordic mythology. In The Wicker Man, there’s a lot of Celtic myth, Pagan belief, and sacrifice. I’ve been interested in mythology all my life. I still read books about it from coun- tries all over the world.
Are there any books of particular interest that you’ve read recently that fit into the occult or mythology gen- res? I can’t think of any offhand, except The Lord of the Rings, which is from the absolutely brilliant author J.R.R. Tolkien. He did something that no other author has ever done, to the best of my knowledge: invent a language. I read that book every year.
Cont’d on page 28...
along with a discussion and critique of se- lect films, the course, which starts this Oc- tober, will also devote time to examine various publicity and marketing strategies used to promote and sell the films, and will make a point of covering the studio’s non- horror output, as well. Unfortunately for stu- dents outside of the region, Simpson also includes a special field trip. “Unless you’re willing to travel to Belfast
you’ll miss out on the climax,” he says, “which is the period-inspired cinema-going experience. We hire out a small private cin- ema and screen a package in something as close to the ’50s/’60s experience as we can get: two features, a short, trailers and newsreel.” In addition to developing the course,
Simpson has been writing pieces for Ham- mer’s official website, penning a history of Hammer Films (scheduled for release next year), maintaining his own Hammer- themed site (
unofficialhammerfilms.com), planning a Hammer movie poster-themed art show and working on a doctoral project about Hammer’s sister company, Exclusive Films (known currently as Exclusive Media Group). He confirms, “I’m totally engrossed in
Hammer at the moment, to the point where it has taken over my life.”
For updates and further details on Ham-
mer: The Birth of British Horror, visit
avalard.co.uk.
JAMES BURRELL
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