Freddie Francis

The World of Hammer is a thirteen-part British documentary series created and written by Robert and Ashley Sidaway for Channel 4. Initially broadcast from 12 August to 4 November 1994, the series is narrated by English actor and frequent Hammer collaborator Oliver Reed.

A Victorian scientist returns to London with his paleontological bag-of-bones discovery from Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, when exposed to water, flesh returns to the bones, unleashing a malevolent entity on the scientist's family and friends.

Pop singer Vicki Robbins collapses from exhaustion while shooting ta music video; her physician prescribes a respite on Seagull Island with beekeeper Ralph Hargrove. Initially finding the Hargroves' bitter marital strife oddly relaxing, the arrival of specially-bred attack bees pushes Vicki to her survival instinct.

Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?

Five train passengers are joined by a mysterious fortuneteller who offers to read Tarot. A quintet of stories unfold: an architect returns to his ancestral home to find a vengeful werewolf; a doctor suspects his new wife is a vampire; an intelligent vine takes over a house; a jazz musician plagiarises music from a voodoo ceremony; and a pompous art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.

In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.

The World of Hammer is a thirteen-part British documentary series created and written by Robert and Ashley Sidaway for Channel 4. Initially broadcast from 12 August to 4 November 1994, the series is narrated by English actor and frequent Hammer collaborator Oliver Reed.

A Victorian scientist returns to London with his paleontological bag-of-bones discovery from Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, when exposed to water, flesh returns to the bones, unleashing a malevolent entity on the scientist's family and friends.

Pop singer Vicki Robbins collapses from exhaustion while shooting ta music video; her physician prescribes a respite on Seagull Island with beekeeper Ralph Hargrove. Initially finding the Hargroves' bitter marital strife oddly relaxing, the arrival of specially-bred attack bees pushes Vicki to her survival instinct.

Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?

Five train passengers are joined by a mysterious fortuneteller who offers to read Tarot. A quintet of stories unfold: an architect returns to his ancestral home to find a vengeful werewolf; a doctor suspects his new wife is a vampire; an intelligent vine takes over a house; a jazz musician plagiarises music from a voodoo ceremony; and a pompous art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.

In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.

In Victorian England, graverobbers supply a wealthy doctor with bodies to research anatomy on, but greed causes them to seek an easier means of getting the job done.

When a tourist group become lost within ancient catacombs, they meet the sinister Crypt Keeper, who tells them each their fate. The enigmatic figure's macabre stories involve a wife dabbling in murder, a retired sanitation worker targeted by his suspicious neighbors, and an adulterer who may face a fitting demise if the yarns come true.

When meteors in a curious V-formation crash on a Cornwall field, an alien force possesses several scientists and infects bystanders with a deadly disease. Shielded from the meteor's influence by a metal plate in his head, Dr Curtis Temple discovers that an alien race on the moon seeks to use the manipulated geniuses for seemingly nefarious purposes. But, as he learns more about the invaders, they may not be as evil as initially thought.

Enigmatic asylum owner Dr Tremayne houses four very special cases. Visited by his colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each patient went mad, be they a ritualistic 'luau', a time-travelling bicycle, a toy tiger, and a tree stump.

A special sideshow torture exhibit has the power, according to showman Dr Diabolo, to warn people of foreseeable evil. One by one, skeptics stand before the Fate Atropos to preview the greed and violence hiding behind their respectable façades.

Eleven years ago, the wealthy Ashby family was shattered when Mr and Mrs Ashby died in an airplane crash and their grieving son Tony committed suicide. All who remains is cruel Simon, an alcoholic in desperate need of funds; his mentally fragile sister Eleanor; and his protective aunt Harriet. Simon is just weeks away from receiving his inheritance, but there's a hitch in his plans when the long-believed dead Tony suddenly arrives.

A demented art dealer and antique shop owner performs nightly rituals in honour of the African god Chuku, whom he believes will reward him with unimaginable wealth and power if he merely offers human sacrifice.

An American actress inherits a Transylvanian castle, unaware that her ancestor was really a vampire countess, and has emerged from her tomb to ravage the nearby village and Catholic seminary

Esoterica collector Dr Maitland buys an unusual skull from his ordinary source; the artifact is what remains of the Marquis De Sade. Much too soon, Maitland discovers that the skull is turning him into a frenzied killer.

A wealthy, fatherless British clan kidnap bums and hippies, forcing them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game in which they are the perfect family; those who refuse or attempt escape endure ritualistic murder.

A wealthy businessman schemes to steal the valuable Crown Jewels from the heavily guarded Tower of London, but many tricky factors await, including a doppelgänger and a vessel escape on the Thames.

After the mysterious crash of a millionaire's private plane, scientists secretly harvest the dying man's brain and keep it alive in a laboratory in order to communicate via telepathy.

Due to be crowned King of the Netherworld by his mentor Merlin the Magician, Count Downe — son of Dracula — falls in love with beautiful mortal Amber and finds himself in conflict with Baron Frankenstein, who is vying for the same honourary title.

A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.

In 19th-century Paris, a man raised by wolves works at a travelling circus, but on full moon nights, he transforms into a dangerous beast. Professor Paul Cataflanque is in charge of hunting him down as the young man develops an obsession for a prostitute.

Four men involved in the investigation of a German millionaire at the end of World War II are found murdered with tiny dolls beside their corpses.

Anthropologist Dr Brockton unearths a primitive troglodyte — an Ice Age 'missing link': half-caveman, half-ape — in a local cave. Through experimentation, she manages to communicate with and domesticate him before he's released by an irate land developer and goes on a rampage, terrorising the local citizenry.

An architect, a security chief, a parapsychologist and an exorcist face evil in a Barcelona skyscraper.

First Officer John Carter is aboard a cruise ship hijacked by terrorists who plan to steal gold bullion from a U.S. Treasury ship, using a nuclear bomb as leverage

An American wakes in an English hospital, unable to remember anything prior to a recent car accident. With only a magazine photograph as a guide, and an unknown benefactor, he attempts to unravel what increasingly looks like a bizarre murder.

A group of youths become lost after participating in an auto race through 1930s English moorland and find shelter in an old manor, whose occupants hide a terrible secret.

An American airman stationed in the United Kingdom strikes down his commanding officer. Believing he's killed him, the airman goes on the run with a woman. They encounter a lookalike couple and hijinks ensue.