The Actors of Hammer Film (8 minutes) is a short segment with film historian David Del Valle in which he shares interesting trivia about several performers in these pictures.

Gallery of Grotesqueries: A Brief History of Circus Horrors featurette with British author/film historian Philip NutmanPeter Cushing: Perspectives (2021, 29 mins): documentary looking at the life and work of Peter Cushing, featuring contributions from actors Derek Fowlds, Judy Matheson and Madeline Smith Making of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (2014, 31 mins): documentary presented by actor Edward de Souza, including interviews with film historian Richard Golen, sound recordist Alan Lavender, and de Souza himself Hammer had an unprecedented run of success through the end of the 1970s, before closing up shop in the wake of decreasing interest in their trademark Gothic horror melodramas, and the proliferation of increasingly violent films coming out of mainstream Hollywood that detracted from Hammer's bloodthirsty demographic. Over a 44-year period, Hammer produced nearly 166 films in addition to three anthology series for television, including Journey Into the Unknown and Hammer House of Horror. When the Blu-ray market was starting out Hammer fans waited impatiently, hoping for some of the studio’s horror titles to start hitting the new format. It took several years. This was the first, released in the U.K. by Eureka. A middling entry in the sub-genre of Psycho- inspired movies Hammer cranked out in the mid sixties, it was an odd choice to be the first of their horror entries to hit HD. The film’s detriments are offset by the fantastic transfer however, which is razor sharp with a great grayscale. It’s an exciting peek at the promise the new format could provide the Hammer library, a promise displayed only intermittently with the releases that followed.

A religious sect led by Gustav Weil hunts all women suspected of witchcraft, killing a number of innocent victims. Young Katy, Gustav’s niece, will involve herself in a devilish cult, and become an instrument of Justice in the region. Visiting The House of Hammer: Britain’s Legendary Horror Magazine featurette with British author/film historian Philip Nutman Special FX Catastrophe (2014, 4 mins): audio interview with assistant special effects artist Ian Scoones Passengers aboard the Trans-Siberian Express from Shanghai to Moscow are stalked by a humanoid creature that can absorb the skills of its victims. Lee and Cushing play the doctors on board tasked with stopping the chaos. Horror Express is a prime example of Hammer at the peak of its powers, operating outside of the Universal monster blueprint. Eugenio Martín's thrill ride has an enduring wit, not to mention a bloodlust to match that of Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers. At their best, the Hammer period horrors approached a serious-minded costume drama as invaded by a variety of murderous predators. (Depending on budget, this approach was more convincing at some times than others.) Commentary with writer/producer Phoef Sutton, writer/film historian Mark Jordan Legan, and screenwriter/film historian C. Courtney Joyner.

The video and audio presentations of these films have all been apparently sourced from the same masters used for the individual Synapse Films Blu-ray releases, though there are sometimes obvious differences. Terrance Fisher’s acclaimed, seminal horror The Mummy (1958) starring screen icon Peter Cushing (Star Wars, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Hound of The Baskervilles) has been unearthed from its tomb, and now the spellbinding horror cult classic is set for the Limited Edition treatment on Blu-ray, with a vast array of special features courtesy of Second Sight Films on 29th August 2022. Commentary with filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr and author/film historian Steve Haberman.

Note about Frame Grabs: They were captured in the VLC media player program, and were not adjusted in any way except for size. They are not intended as anything more than a general example of some of the points I brought up. How these Blu-rays will look on your monitor in a home viewing environment can of course be significantly different.Since its Sundance premiere, the energy surrounding the film has steadily grown with RogerEbert.com calling Onyx the Fortuitous “a handmade horror gem.”