I’ve never looked into the Hammer stuff. Is it more on the campy side?
A bit. I’m a huge fan of TOS (shocker) and the 60s Batman, so I guess I can’t say camp is bad. At the time, these movies were absolutely shocking, since it’s gorier, bloodier, and more sexually explicit than Universal, but these days it’s not terrifying. It can be horrifying, though (Curse of the Werewolf has a rape scene in the first five minutes. That movie in particular is really dark). Like the Universal films, they create a distinct atmosphere that I haven’t seen anywhere else. And that vivid Technicolor photography is gorgeous!
Here are a few clips to demonstrate the kind of atmosphere you can expect:
Dracula/Brides of Dracula
The Curse of the Werewolf
I seem to recall watching stuff like this on SyFy back in the day. Definitely up my alley.
The Shining is good any time of the year.
For sure, but I tend to agree with joefavs that it just feels right watching it in the winter. I need to pick up the US release; I only have the UK Kubrick box set and that cut is different.