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Event: In the Grip of Hammer

by David L Rattiganin Film, Horror, WritingLeave a Comment on Event: In the Grip of Hammer

My friend and colleague Robert JE Simpson and I will be in conversation on Thursday 13 January at 9pm GMT. The event is live online and is free to attend. Hopefully we’ll attract a few followers from our Hammer-related Twitter accounts (mine is @HammerGothic, and Robert’s is @exclusivephd), and there’ll be time for some interaction and a Q&A. From Cinepunked:

Thursday 13 January 2022, CinePunked presents In the Grip of Hammer.

In the first of a new occasional series of CinePunked conversations with fans, enthusiasts, and collectors, our very own Robert JE Simpson will be in conversation with David L Rattigan (himself no stranger to CinePunked) about their shared love of classic Hammer Films.

Robert JE Simpson is a film historian and cultural commentator, previously worked as the official archivist for Hammer Films, and is currently writing a book about the early history of Hammer’s sister company Exclusive Films. He tweets about the project at @exclusivephd.

David L Rattigan is a freelance writer and editor with a Hammer horror obsession, and for the last year has been tweeting about his love for the films over at @hammergothic.

Robert and David have a long-standing working relationship and have collaborated on a number of magazine, book and podcast projects.

Hammer Films are perhaps best known for their series of gothic horror films produced in England between 1956 and 1976, including popular series of Frankenstein and Dracula features starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In 2006 the company went back into production and has produced a stream of horror films in the years since, including Wake Wood, The Woman in Black and The Lodge.

The conversation will be live-streamed via the CinePunked YouTube channel, and will include an audience Q&A. Robert and David will not just be talking about Hammer horror, but the company’s other output, and what fandom means to them.

Bookmark the channel now.

View the event page on Facebook.
Bookmark CinePunked YouTube channel.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave – but Is God Back in His?

by David L Rattiganin Film, Horror, Religion, Writing18 Comments on Dracula Has Risen from the Grave – but Is God Back in His?

This post is part of the 2021 Hammer-Amicus Blogathon

There was little ambiguity concerning the existence and role of God in the films of Terence Fisher, the director whose vision for the Gothic helped shape ‘Hammer horror’ from the studio’s first colour period horror film, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957).

Continue reading “Dracula Has Risen from the Grave – but Is God Back in His?”

Project: Scrooge (schools musical)

by David L Rattiganin Theatre, WritingLeave a Comment on Project: Scrooge (schools musical)

In 2019 it was my pleasure to work with Stephen Mannings of Liverpool Cathedral to create a new, semi-staged version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

Photo: Sue Mannings

Stephen wrote the music and lyrics, to which I added the book. The production was designed especially for a small cast of adults and a large cast of primary school children, from twelve schools across the Diocese of Liverpool.

As well as scripting the show, I stepped in to play the part of the Narrator and the Spirit of Christmas Present, pictured.

The cathedral subsequently published the script as Scrooge: A Musical for Schools, with accompanying resources such as backing tracks, making it available to schools for future productions.

As an enthusiast for the original Dickens novel (see my article Dickensian Gothic) I had long wanted to adapt the festive tale, and I’m open to adapting A Christmas Carol again for theatre and other media. Just get in touch.