THERE’S a whole load of spooky goings-on for horror fans to sink their teeth into this Halloween season...
The National Science and Media Museum’s Pictureville Cinema has collaborated with Hammer Films on a programme bringing the legendary studio’s films together with the museum’s own extensive horror collection.
Launching the season was the Northern premiere of Hammer’s newly restored 4K version of 1958 classic Dracula - which includes footage believed to be missing for more than six decades, screened for the first time in Bradford.
The National Science and Media Museum launched its Hammer Films season with a gala screening of 1958 classic Dracula.
The Hammer season has continued at Pictureville this week with classics and cult favourites such as The Curse of Frankenstein, The Plague of the Zombies and The Gorgon. Tomorrow there’s a screening of action horror Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, while film noir melodrama Stolen Face is on Sunday.
Founded in 1934, Hammer Films redefined gothic horror on screen. Acquired by producer John Gore in 2023, and now part of John Gore Studios, Hammer is honouring its extraordinary legacy through acclaimed 4K restorations and home entertainment releases, while expanding its reach with Hammer Presents, championing horror cinema.
The film company was acclaimed for its vivid Technicolor gore and special effects make-up which captivated - and terrified - audiences. Hammer make-up artists Philip Leakey and Roy Ashton revolutionised the horror genre, creating iconic looks such as Christopher Lee’s Creature in The Curse of Frankenstein.
And their original make-up, prosthetics and designs from the Hammer classics are kept here in Bradford.
While some items - including the original fangs worn by Christopher Lee in Dracula - are exhibited in the National Science and Media Museum’s Sound and Vision Gallery, the museum’s Ashton and Leakey collection is not on public display.
The fangs worn by Christopher Lee in Hammer classic Dracula
I joined a behind-the-scenes tour, led by Senior Curator Toni Booth, for a fascinating insight into the creative process of these masters of specialist make-up.
Working on low budgets, Ashton and Leakey used a variety of materials to bring their monsters to life. First, Toni showed us the Leakey collection, containing about 1,000 items - including vampire bites.
Phil Leakey, who set up the make-up department at Hammer, was the first person ever to have an on-screen credit for special make-up effects. He worked on almost 100 films and TV shows; his make-up for the 1958 Dracula film - the first big screen Dracula in colour - was hugely influential.
Signed photo Christopher Lee gave to Hammer make-up artist Phil Leakey (Image: National Science and Media Museum)
Toni showed us Leakey’s make-up box, bearing his initials in gothic script, containing, among the usual items, lots of fake blood. There are eye patches, nostril enlargers, a latex nose, ears and vampire bites, a stamp pad for fake tattoos and a small model of Rasputin’s head.
Leakey worked with Roy Ashton at Hammer Films, together they created the make-up for Dracula and Frankenstein’s Creature. Ashton later became Hammer’s chief make-up artist, creating some of the most memorable creatures in British cinema, including werewolves, vampires and zombies.
Ashton’s sketches and handwritten notes highlight his thought process, and the skill and experimentation that went into the make-up. His notes for The Mummy reveal he initially forgot to put breathing holes in Christopher Lee’s mask. ‘Breathe through the eyes?’ Ashton wondered.
Roy Ashton's make-up box - with 'Handle Like Eggs' label on top (Image: Newsquest)
Original drawings and photographs show how initial designs ended up on screen in films such as The Curse of the Werewolf, fantasy adventure She, and The Evil of Frankenstein, the third in Hammer’s Frankenstein series.
Ursula Andress, in She, ages 2,000 years in minutes.
Ashton’s drawings of snakes reveal his research for The Reptile, and Toni shows us masks used in Amicus film The Vault of Horror, made by a process of casting and moulding, blended with the actor’s features. Four masks were made for each of the actors appearing as zombies in the final scene, which in the end never made the film.
Ashton and Leakey were pioneers of special effects make-up - using cosmetics and prosthetics to transform the appearance of actors including Peter Cushing, Oliver Reed, Ursula Andress and, of course, Christopher Lee.
“They worked quickly and efficiently on small budgets. They really were artists,” says Toni. “The materials they used weren’t meant to last - the masks were made from papier mache. It’s amazing that this has all survived.”
As well as Christopher Lee’s original fangs, made from latex, metal and rubber, the Sound and Vision Gallery has on display a model of them, mounted on a mouth-shaped stand, which visitors are invited to touch.
Alongside the Hammer programme, Pictureville is hosting Monster Mash: Four Monsters That Changed Horror, curated by writer and film critic Christina Brennan. Taking place on October 24 and 31, it explores four monsters that shaped the horror genre, with screenings of Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Thing (1982) and Re-Animator (1985).
Halloween fun continues in half term with pop-up talks, from October 24 to November 1, on the secrets of special effects make-up. There’s a Spooky Sound tour, a silent disco, and family-friendly tours exploring objects in the museum’s collection, including horror film props and Victorian spirit photography.
Inspired by new film Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, Aardman-inspired activities include stop-motion animation workshops, spooky live science shows and the chance to see an original set made and used by Aardman for the Shaun the Sheep Movie.
Pictureville Cinema will screen Aardman films throughout half-term, including Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. Visit scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk