Welcome to another atmospheric installment of the General Witchfinders podcast. In this episode, we are throwing chronology to the wind and jumping straight into the heart of the Hammer Films oeuvre. Having previously explored the Baron’s first experiment in The Curse of Frankenstein and his final bow in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell, we now settle into the middle of the franchise with the 1967 cult classic: Frankenstein Created Woman.

Directed by the undisputed master of gothic cinema, Terence Fisher, and featuring a career-defining performance by Peter Cushing, this film stands as one of the most intellectually provocative entries in the Hammer Horror canon. Interestingly, this is famously cited as one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite films, proving that the brilliance of the Baron transcends the "B-movie" label.

In Frankenstein Created Woman, Peter Cushing returns as Baron Victor Frankenstein. Unlike earlier iterations where the focus was on the stitching of limbs and the reanimation of dead tissue, the screenplay by Anthony Hinds (writing as John Elder) takes a metaphysical turn. Here, the Baron is obsessed with the soul.

The plot follows the wrongful execution of Hans Werner (Robert Morris), the lover of the physically scarred Christina Kleve (Susan Denberg). After Christina takes her own life in grief, the Baron captures Hans’s soul and traps it within Christina’s surgically repaired body. This results in a "soul-swapping" revenge thriller that remains unique within the Frankenstein series. Cushing’s performance is refined, showing a Baron who is less of a graverobber and more of a cold, calculated philosopher of the macabre.

The casting of Susan Denberg is central to the film's legacy. A German-Austrian model and 1966 Playboy Miss August Playmate, Denberg was already known to sci-fi fans for her appearance in the Star Trek episode "Mudd’s Women." While her visual presence is striking, the production decided her Austrian accent was too strong for the character.

Enter the legendary Nikki van der Zyl. If you have watched a James Bond film, you have likely heard her voice. She famously dubbed Honey Ryder in Dr. No and provided dialogue for countless Bond girls and even Gert Fröbe in Goldfinger. Her work on Frankenstein Created Woman adds a layer of polished professional mystery to Christina’s character, bridging the gap between Hammer Horror and the 1960s spy-fi aesthetic.

As we always do at General Witchfinders, we track the "mother nexus" of British character actors who populated the halls of Bray Studios. This film is a treasure trove for genre enthusiasts:

• Thorley Walters (Dr. Hertz): A close personal friend of director Terence Fisher, Walters brings a much-needed warmth to the role of the Baron's assistant. Fans will recognize him as a recurring Doctor Watson in various Sherlock Holmes adaptations, including Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace.
• Duncan Lamont (Werner): A veteran of the Hammer stable, Lamont appeared in the original Quatermass Experiment and returned for the 1967 film version of Quatermass and the Pit. He is also a favorite of ours from The Creeping Flesh.
• Robert Morris (Hans Werner): Another Quatermass alum who brings a tragic weight to the first half of the film.
• Derek Fowlds (Johann): Long before he was a household name in Yes Minister and Heartbeat, Fowlds was a RADA scholar cutting his teeth in the world of horror.

The road to Frankenstein Created Woman was long. It was originally mooted as a follow-up to The Revenge of Frankenstein in 1958, capitalizing on the popularity of Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman. By the time it went into production at Bray Studios in July 1966, it was one of the penultimate productions at that iconic location.

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In this episode, we dive deep into the 1972 British science fiction horror cult classic, The Asphyx (also known as Spirit of the Dead or The Horror of Death). Set in the Victorian era, this unique period chiller follows a wealthy philanthropist and amateur scientist, Sir Hugo Cunningham, who stumbles upon a way to photograph the "Asphyx"—the Ancient Greek spirit of death that appears at the precise moment of a person's demise.

Before we get into the meat of the film, we have to address the elephant in the room: the visuals. Throughout the episode, you’ll hear us absolutely tear into the "pan and scan" and the ropy, grainy picture quality of the version we watched.

Full disclosure: We’ve since realized we were watching a particularly bottom-of-the-barrel DVD. It turns out there are actually stunning, high-quality HD versions of The Asphyx available for free on YouTube! From the Todd-AO 35mm widescreen transfers to beautifully restored prints, the real film looks pretty good. If you want to see what Freddie Young actually intended, go search for it—it’s easy to find and looks worlds better than the disc we suffered through.

Despite our technical hurdles, The Asphyx is a fascinating piece of British cinema history. We explore the career of director Peter Newbrook, who rose from a messenger boy to the second unit photographer for the legendary mirage shot in Lawrence of Arabia.

Key Discussion Points:

• The Legend Freddie Young: How a three-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer ended up shooting a 70s mad scientist flick.
• The Ghostbusters Connection: We examine the theory that this film’s spirit-trapping tech was the direct blueprint for the 1984 Ghostbusters equipment.
• The Remake That Never Was: Details on the failed 2011 reboot that was set to star Bond girl Alison Doody.
• Music: Composer Bill McGuffie (of Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. fame) and his incredible story of overcoming a childhood injury to master the piano.

The acting pedigree in this film is surprisingly high, featuring some of the most recognizable faces in British television and film:

• Robert Stephens: The star of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. We discuss his marriage to Maggie Smith and his iconic work in The Box of Delights.
• Robert Powell: From Jesus of Nazareth to fighting rats in Doomwatch, Powell brings a certain intensity to the role of Giles.
• Jane Lapotaire: A Tony-winner and star of The Crown (as Princess Alice). We also take a detour into her role in One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing.
• Fiona Walker & Ralph Arliss: Spotting familiar faces from Doctor Who, I, Claudius, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and the classic series Survivors.

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In this episode, we explore the 1981 television pilot K-9 and Company, a unique and historic entry in the Doctor Who universe. Produced as a proposed Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company stars the legendary Elisabeth Sladen as investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith alongside the robotic dog K9, voiced by John Leeson. While both were iconic former companions of the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who, they had never appeared together on screen until the K-9 and Company pilot episode, titled A Girl’s Best Friend. Broadcast on BBC1 as a Doctor Who related Christmas special on 28 December 1981, K-9 and Company remains a vital piece of the Doctor Who franchise history despite not being commissioned for a full series.

The existence of K-9 and Company was largely due to Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner, who wanted to bring Elisabeth Sladen back to the Doctor Who family. His initial 1980 plan for the actress would have seen Sarah Jane Smith travel in the TARDIS during the Doctor Who transition from Tom Baker to Peter Davison. However, Sladen wanted a role that evolved beyond her previous Doctor Who narrative. Simultaneously, the Doctor Who production team was struggling with the logistics of K9. While K9 was a massive hit with Doctor Who viewers, the prop was technically awkward and made the Doctor Who heroes too capable. The solution was K-9 and Company, a child-orientated Doctor Who spin-off where Sarah Jane Smith would be the central heroic lead.

Before K-9 and Company, Elisabeth Clara Heath Sladen built a career in theatre and television, appearing in Z-Cars and Doomwatch. Her work on Z-Cars led directly to her casting in Doctor Who. Interestingly, the Doctor Who role of the new companion for The Time Warrior was originally cast with April Walker. However, Doctor Who lead Jon Pertwee felt the chemistry was wrong, leading to Sladen being cast as the definitive Sarah Jane Smith. She played the role in Doctor Who from 1973 to 1976, eventually returning for the K-9 and Company pilot. Her Doctor Who legacy continued in 2006 with David Tennant and the successful Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. Following her death in 2011, Doctor Who aired a tribute during The Impossible Astronaut, proving her status as a Doctor Who icon.

The voice behind the metal dog in K-9 and Company, John Leeson, first voiced K9 in the 1977 Doctor Who serial The Invisible Enemy. While Tom Baker had a difficult relationship with the K9 prop, he worked well with Leeson. Leeson briefly left Doctor Who to avoid being typecast but returned for K-9 and Company and later the Doctor Who anniversary special The Five Doctors. The K-9 and Company pilot also featured Colin Jeavons, known for his work in The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Doctor Who serial The Underwater Menace, and Mary Wimbush, a stalwart of The Archers. Written by Terence Dudley, a writer and director for Doctor Who stories like Meglos, the K-9 and Company pilot stands as a fascinating "what if" in the wider Doctor Who mythology.

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The Ice House is part of the BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas tradition, originally broadcast under the banner A Ghost Story for Christmas. First shown on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1978, it marked the final instalment of the original 1971 to 1978 run. This episode completes our podcast coverage of that era. -

Written by John Bowen, who previously delivered The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Ice House was produced by Rosemary Hill and directed by Derek Lister. Its Christmas Day broadcast made it only the second entry in the strand to air on 25 December, following Lost Hearts, securing its place in the BBC Ghost Story for Christmas canon despite being quietly sidelined over the years. -

Starring John Stride as Paul, Geoffrey Burridge as Clovis and Elizabeth Romilly as Jessica, The Ice House breaks from tradition by being a contemporary ghost story rather than a period adaptation. This change was driven by Rosemary Hill after she took over the strand. Series creator Lawrence Gordon Clark preferred the earlier M R James style and left after Stigma, making The Ice House the only film in the original run not directed by him. -

John Stride had appeared uncredited in Sink the Bismarck! before gaining wider recognition in The Omen and A Bridge Too Far. He later starred in the BBC adaptation of The Old Devils. Producer Adrian Mourby later described Stride as a powerful actor whose volatility could be difficult to manage. -

Geoffrey Burridge is remembered for Blake’s 7, Emmerdale Farm and his appearance in An American Werewolf in London. He died in 1987 from an AIDS related illness. His partner Alec McCowen later insisted their relationship be acknowledged during the broadcast of This Is Your Life. McCowen also connects back to the podcast through Frenzy and his role as Q in Never Say Never Again. -

Elizabeth Romilly appeared in several television plays and in Secrets of a Door to Door Salesman. By 2011 she had left acting and was working as a lawyer in the Government Legal Service. -

Writer John Bowen went on to create Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and wrote for Dead of Night and The Guardians, a 1971 series imagining a fascist Britain. It feels increasingly relevant and is very much on our list for future podcast coverage.

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This time we watched the 1973 British horror film Psychomania, a cult biker horror oddity originally filmed as The Living Dead before the title changed. In the United States it appeared as The Death Wheelers. Not to be confused with the 1963 American film Psychomania, also known as Violent Midnight.

The film was produced by Benmar Productions, better known for Spaghetti Westerns shot in Spain. They also made Horror Express later the same year with the same writers, which we covered back in episode 7. Psychomania was created in association with Scotia Bar Distributors who had director Don Sharp under long term contract.

Don Sharp was born in Tasmania and began as an actor before becoming a director in the mid 1950s. He turned out low and medium budget films including the Tommy Steele musical It’s All Happening, then Hammer Films hired him and he made several well received thrillers. He also worked as second unit director on Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Quiz time for Jon. Sharp directed BigChrisLee six times. Name them.

Beryl Reid plays psychic medium Mrs Latham. She left school at 16 and debuted in 1936 as a music hall performer at the Floral Hall in Bridlington. She became famous on BBC radio in Educating Archie as Monica and as the Brummie Marlene. She later worked for the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She made the very first challenge on Just A Minute in the 1967 pilot. In the late 1970s and early 1980s she played Connie Sachs in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People, earning two British Academy Television Award nominations and winning for Smiley’s People. Doctor Who fans will know her as Captain Briggs in Earthshock. The same year as Psychomania she appeared in Dr Phibes Rises Again. Ross will always remember her as Grandma in the Adrian Mole TV adaptation.

Nicky Henson plays lead biker Tom Latham. A familiar face across British television, he excelled at playing cultivated gents, snobs and playboys. His many guest roles included several appearances in The Bill, A Touch of Frost, Pie in the Sky, Fawlty Towers and Witchfinder General as Trooper Swallow. His first wife was Una Stubbs, with whom he later appeared in EastEnders. Despite living with cancer for twenty years he continued acting on screen until 2018.

Robert Hardy plays Chief Inspector Hesseltine. We discussed him fully in episode 41a when we covered The Stalls of Barchester from the BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas series.

Academy Award winner George Sanders plays Shadwell. Born in Russia to an English horticulturist mother and a rope maker father, he became a British subject when the family fled during the revolution. His smooth voice and upper class accent made him perfect for polished villains. His roles included Jack Favell in Rebecca, Scott Folliott in Foreign Correspondent, the Saran of Gaza in Samson and Delilah and Addison DeWitt in All About Eve which won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He voiced Shere Khan in Disney’s The Jungle Book and played Simon Templar in several films in The Saint series. British horror fans may know him from the Doomwatch movie as The Admiral.

There are brief appearances by June Brown as Mrs Pettibone, John Levene from Doctor Who and Bill Pertwee as a publican. Levene worked with Jon Pertwee who was Bill’s second cousin.

The soundtrack by John Cameron was released in 2003 by Trunk Records. Cameron said they needed something spooky and different with a rock feeling, all pre synthesizer. They recorded at Shepperton’s studios which had not been updated since before the war. He described hooligan musicians scratching inside pianos while the engineer sat there in suit and tie, completely anachronistic.

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We return to our rundown of Flash Gordon, just as Flash and Prince Barin are being taken to the Hawkmen’s planet to fight to the death!

Flash Gordon was directed by Mike Hodges, the British filmmaker behind Get Carter and Pulp, and produced by the legendary Dino De Laurentiis. Based on the King Features comic strip created by Alex Raymond, the film stars Sam J. Jones as the all-American hero Flash, Melody Anderson as Dale Arden, Ornella Muti as the dangerous Princess Aura, Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, and Topol as the eccentric scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov. The supporting cast includes Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngarde, Peter Duncan and John Hallam — a line-up that reads like a who’s who of cult cinema.

We dig into the incredible production history of Flash Gordon, from De Laurentiis’ first attempts in the 1960s to his decision to turn down George Lucas — a choice that helped inspire Star Wars. The film’s troubled development included a scrapped version by Nicolas Roeg, with Debbie Harry once rumoured to play Princess Aura. Eventually, Hodges took the reins, working from a screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr., the same writer who brought Batman’s colourful POW! ZAP! style to TV in the 1960s. That influence is clear throughout, giving Flash Gordon its unmistakable comic-book tone.

The film was shot mainly at Elstree and Shepperton Studios, pushing British set design and visual effects to the limit. For the famous Hawkmen sequence, the crew built a sixty-foot-high, hundred-foot-wide blue screen powered by a million watts of light. The result is one of the most gloriously excessive moments in sci-fi history — a flying army, Brian Blessed shouting “Gordon’s alive!” and Queen blasting through the speakers.

Speaking of Queen, we explore how their soundtrack revolutionised film music, paving the way for rock bands to score major blockbusters. The combination of Freddie Mercury’s operatic flair and Howard Blake’s orchestral compositions gave Flash Gordon a sonic identity that still feels fresh today.

We also look at the film’s eclectic cast. Sam J. Jones’ brief but memorable career, Melody Anderson’s move from acting to social work, and Ornella Muti’s headline-grabbing life and legal troubles. There’s Max von Sydow’s path from The Seventh Seal to The Exorcist and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Topol’s secret links to Mossad, Timothy Dalton’s long and winding journey to becoming James Bond, and Peter Wyngarde’s transformation from Department S to the gold-masked villain Klytus.

And, of course, the mighty Brian Blessed — mountaineer, Shakespearean thunder-god, near-astronaut, and national treasure. From I, Claudius to Doctor Who, Cats, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and beyond, he’s one of Britain’s most extraordinary performers.

In this episode, we unpack the layers of Flash Gordon as both cult classic and chaotic masterpiece: how its bright visuals masked a difficult shoot, how its camp sensibility influenced generations of filmmakers, and why it remains a cornerstone of British sci-fi fandom. Whether you’re here for trivia, nostalgia, or the Queen soundtrack alone, this is one of our most detailed episodes yet — and we’ll be back next week with part two to finish the adventure.

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Sorry this one’s a bit late — but to make up for it, we’ve gone all in with an extra-long episode of General Witchfinders, split into two parts. This week, we take you through the extraordinary, over-the-top world of Flash Gordon (1980) — the space opera superhero film that blended camp comedy, science-fiction spectacle, and Queen’s iconic soundtrack into something truly cosmic. The second half of this intergalactic adventure will land next week.

Flash Gordon was directed by Mike Hodges, the British filmmaker behind Get Carter and Pulp, and produced by the legendary Dino De Laurentiis. Based on the King Features comic strip created by Alex Raymond, the film stars Sam J. Jones as the all-American hero Flash, Melody Anderson as Dale Arden, Ornella Muti as the dangerous Princess Aura, Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, and Topol as the eccentric scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov. The supporting cast includes Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngarde, Peter Duncan and John Hallam — a line-up that reads like a who’s who of cult cinema.

We dig into the incredible production history of Flash Gordon, from De Laurentiis’ first attempts in the 1960s to his decision to turn down George Lucas — a choice that helped inspire Star Wars. The film’s troubled development included a scrapped version by Nicolas Roeg, with Debbie Harry once rumoured to play Princess Aura. Eventually, Hodges took the reins, working from a screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr., the same writer who brought Batman’s colourful POW! ZAP! style to TV in the 1960s. That influence is clear throughout, giving Flash Gordon its unmistakable comic-book tone.

The film was shot mainly at Elstree and Shepperton Studios, pushing British set design and visual effects to the limit. For the famous Hawkmen sequence, the crew built a sixty-foot-high, hundred-foot-wide blue screen powered by a million watts of light. The result is one of the most gloriously excessive moments in sci-fi history — a flying army, Brian Blessed shouting “Gordon’s alive!” and Queen blasting through the speakers.

Speaking of Queen, we explore how their soundtrack revolutionised film music, paving the way for rock bands to score major blockbusters. The combination of Freddie Mercury’s operatic flair and Howard Blake’s orchestral compositions gave Flash Gordon a sonic identity that still feels fresh today.

We also look at the film’s eclectic cast. Sam J. Jones’ brief but memorable career, Melody Anderson’s move from acting to social work, and Ornella Muti’s headline-grabbing life and legal troubles. There’s Max von Sydow’s path from The Seventh Seal to The Exorcist and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Topol’s secret links to Mossad, Timothy Dalton’s long and winding journey to becoming James Bond, and Peter Wyngarde’s transformation from Department S to the gold-masked villain Klytus.

And, of course, the mighty Brian Blessed — mountaineer, Shakespearean thunder-god, near-astronaut, and national treasure. From I, Claudius to Doctor Who, Cats, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and beyond, he’s one of Britain’s most extraordinary performers.

In this episode, we unpack the layers of Flash Gordon as both cult classic and chaotic masterpiece: how its bright visuals masked a difficult shoot, how its camp sensibility influenced generations of filmmakers, and why it remains a cornerstone of British sci-fi fandom. Whether you’re here for trivia, nostalgia, or the Queen soundtrack alone, this is one of our most detailed episodes yet — and we’ll be back next week with part two to finish the adventure.

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Hammer horror reaches peak gothic chills with The Plague of the Zombies (1966), a Hammer Film Productions classic that defines British horror cinema. Shot at Bray Studios from 28 July 1965 and filmed back-to-back with Hammer’s The Reptile (see episode 19), it used the same eerie Cornish village set designed by Hammer’s celebrated production designer Bernard Robinson. Director John Gilling – the so-called “gentleman pig farmer” behind The Shadow of the Cat and The Mummy’s Shroud – stages a story of graveyards, curses and the undead that became a template for Hammer zombie horror. Writer Peter Bryan, who joined Hammer Film Productions in 1948 as a camera operator before turning to screenwriting, provided the script and left the studio shortly after completing A Challenge for Robin Hood in 1967. When The Plague of the Zombies was submitted to the BBFC it was heavily trimmed: André Morell’s Sir James Forbes originally decapitated a zombie with four shovel blows in the graveyard sequence, reduced to one for the censors.

Heatherden Hall at Pinewood Studios doubles as the Forbes mansion, better known to James Bond fans as SPECTRE Island from From Russia With Love. Diane Clare, cast as Sylvia, had been one of the best-paid child “film babies” of the 1940s, appearing in The Ghosts of Berkeley Square and The Silver Fleet before leading roles in Hammer horror such as The Haunting, Witchcraft and The Hand of the Night. Her entire performance in The Plague of the Zombies was dubbed by South African actress Olive Gregg without her knowledge, a practice Hammer repeated when re-voicing Ingrid Pitt in Countess Dracula. André Morell himself had turned down both The Quatermass Experiment and Quatermass II on television before finally playing Professor Bernard Quatermass in the BBC’s Quatermass and the Pit. When Hammer Film Productions made the feature version the role went to Andrew Keir. Morell also played O’Brien opposite Peter Cushing’s Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Dr Watson in Hammer’s Hound of the Baskervilles, voiced Elrond in Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings and appeared in Doctor Who. Quiz fans: Morell appeared in three films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar – can you name them?

John Carson, born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), plays Clive Hamilton. He spent time in Australia and New Zealand before settling in Britain, later featuring in Doctor Who’s Snakedance, Tales of the Unexpected and Hammer House of Horror. IMDb longlists even connect him to Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (episode 39) though he got none of the roles. With this episode we complete a Hammer horror hat-trick of his films: Captain Kronos (episode 51), Taste the Blood of Dracula (episode 60) and now The Plague of the Zombies. He later emigrated to South Africa with his second wife, Luanshya Greer – formerly Pamela Greer, who became a TV writer for Dixon of Dock Green, Thriller and Triangle. Dr Peter Tompson is played by Brook Williams, a lifelong friend of Richard Burton who appeared with him in Where Eagles Dare, The Wild Geese and The Sea Wolves. Michael Ripper appears as Sergeant Swift; Hammer’s most prolific supporting actor with 33 Hammer Film Productions credits, seven films alongside Peter Cushing and nine with #BigChrisLee. Ripper also starred in all four original St Trinian’s films, .

For a deeper dive into Jacqueline “Servalan” Pearce, check back to our episode on The Reptile (episode 19). This discussion of The Plague of the Zombies cements its place as one of Hammer horror’s boldest British horror releases of the 1960s

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This time on General Witchfinders, we’re heading into deep space — and hell itself — with the notorious 1997 science fiction horror film Event Horizon.··

Directed by Paul Anderson and written by Philip Eisner, Event Horizon is set in 2047. A rescue crew investigates the ship Event Horizon, which vanished years earlier and is now orbiting Neptune.··

After Mortal Kombat (1995), Anderson was suddenly in demand, linked to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and even X-Men. Instead, he wanted a darker R-rated project. Paramount gave him Eisner’s script, first about alien creatures, but Anderson reworked it into a haunted house in space, drawing on The Haunting and The Shining.··

Filming was rushed when Titanic slipped its release. The first 130-minute cut was heavily trimmed after poor test screenings. One infamous scene, a Bosch-inspired vision of Hell using amputees and adult performers, survived only as brief flashes but fuelled the film’s cult status.··

The gravity drive began as a floating black hole but was redesigned as rotating spiked rings, echoing Clive Barker’s Hellraiser and biblical Ophanim. Built to really move, it rattled so much that dialogue was re-recorded later. Eisner admitted Warhammer 40,000’s “Warp” also influenced the idea.··

At the time Anderson was credited as “Paul Anderson.” He later added the W. S. to avoid confusion with Paul Thomas Anderson. His later films include Resident Evil entries and Alien vs. Predator.··

Filming took place at Pinewood Studios with visual effects by Cinesite and the Computer Film Company. The interior design was inspired by Notre Dame, creating a cruciform gothic cathedral feel. An early space station shot of Dr. Weir took 10 weeks, a third of the FX budget, and was redone more than 20 times. Composer Michael Kamen worked with Orbital for a hybrid score.··

Laurence Fishburne plays Captain Miller of the Lewis and Clark. He later voiced the Silver Surfer, played Jack Crawford in Hannibal, and appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3.··

Sam Neill plays Dr. William Weir. Famous for Jurassic Park, he once auditioned for James Bond, losing to Timothy Dalton, and appeared in Possession and Omen III: The Final Conflict.··

Jason Isaacs appears as D.J., the medic. Early credits include The Tall Guy. He went on to play Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and Harry H. Corbett in The Curse of Steptoe. He recalled Event Horizon as “genuinely disturbing,” especially the “hell set.”··

Sean Pertwee plays pilot Smith. Son of Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor, he appeared in Cadfael, horror favourite Dog Soldiers, and later Gotham as Alfred Pennyworth, reimagined as ex-special forces.··

Event Horizon remains a cult 1990s sci-fi horror, combining gothic design, disturbing imagery, and a cast of future stars. Its lost footage and production stories keep fans returning to one of the most infamous horror films of the decade.·

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Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970).

We’re back to Hammer Horror, back to Christopher Lee, and back to Dracula. In this episode of General Witchfinders, we sink our teeth into Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), the fifth official film in Hammer’s Dracula series and our sixth Hammer Dracula review to date. You can find links to all previous vampire escapades at https://tinyurl.com/Witchdrac.

This British gothic horror classic, directed by Peter Sasdy and written by Hammer regular Anthony Hinds (under the alias John Elder), was nearly a Dracula-free affair. Christopher Lee had originally declined to return, and the script focused instead on Ralph Bates’s doomed Lord Courtley. But Warner Bros. insisted: no Dracula, no deal. So #BigChrisLee once again rises from the grave — bloodthirsty, silent, and furiously regretting his contract.

Taste the Blood of Dracula opens with a satanic ritual involving Dracula’s powdered remains, a trio of Victorian hypocrites, and the ill-fated resurrection of evil. It’s a moody, blood-soaked revenge tale packed with brooding graveyards and Hammer’s trademark blend of sex, sin and satin capes.

Cast Highlights:

• Christopher Lee as Count Dracula — in his fourth Dracula outing for Hammer.
• Ralph Bates as Lord Courtley — Hammer’s would-be replacement for Lee.
• Geoffrey Keen as William Hargood — a patriarch with a hidden penchant for brothels.
• Linda Hayden as Alice Hargood — the daughter turned devotee, previously seen in Baby Love and The Blood on Satan’s Claw.
• Peter Sallis as Samuel Paxton — yes, that Peter Sallis: Cleggy, Wallace, and voice of animated British melancholy.
• Roy Kinnear as Weller — bringing tragic optimism, as only Kinnear can.

There’s Hammer horror royalty in every frame, from Linda Hayden’s eerie innocence to Ralph Bates’s foppish devilry. And Geoffrey Keen? You may recognise him as Sir Frederick Gray, the Defence Minister across six Bond films — The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights.

Ralph Bates, meanwhile, would go on to star in Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, The Horror of Frankenstein, Lust for a Vampire, becoming one of Hammer’s key players. He also turned up in the final season of Secret Army (inspiring ’Allo ’Allo), and was once considered for major roles in Lifeforce — as discussed back in episode 39.

Peter Sallis, who we last touched on in our Nicolas Lyndhurst deep-dive (episode 54), had an extraordinary career in British television, from Doctor Who to The Wind in the Willows to Wallace & Gromit. His role in this film might be brief, but his CV is longer than Dracula’s cape.

And finally, Roy Kinnear: from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory to Help!, Watership Down, Blake’s 7, and beyond — always brilliant, always beleaguered.

Trivia for the diehards:

• This film was part of a double bill with Crescendo on release.
• The infamous brothel scene was trimmed from the theatrical cut but restored for later DVD editions.
• Released just 22 weeks before Scars of Dracula (covered back in episode 28).

Whether you’re a lifelong Hammer horror collector, a Christopher Lee completist, or simply a fan of vintage British horror with gothic flair, Taste the Blood of Dracula is essential viewing.

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