Get Your Reps In: Cinemagic Scares Up a Creature Double Feature

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Horror of Dracula (1958)

For enjoying one of the great off-screen friendships in movie history, when on camera, horror icons Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing sure did strangle, torch, stake, and reanimate each other a lot. Such antics are especially well represented in Cinemagic’s Nov. 14 double feature of The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula.

In these two early Hammer Films, which launched the company’s 20-year run reinterpreting gothic horror, Lee takes his only turn as Frankenstein’s monster and his first of 10 go-arounds as Count Dracula. Across from him, Cushing makes his sharp, stately debuts as Dr. Frankenstein and Van Helsing.

Synonymous with low-budget, high-toned, midcentury horror, these Hammer depictions marked the first time the Dracula and Frankenstein stories were told in color. (We were only guessing the Monster was sickly green and the fangs were bloody red before that.) But more memorably, Lee and Cushing both bring a captivating malevolence to their villain roles. Two of the great enunciators in movie history chew their wicked dialogue right into pulp.

It bears mentioning as well that The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula, both directed by Terence Fisher, resemble their source material even less than the 1930s Universal Studios classics. On the contrary, both are reimagined as taut thrillers that made international stars (and lifelong friends) of two struggling English character actors. Cinemagic, Nov. 14.

Also Playing:

5th Avenue: The Double Life of Véronique (1991), Nov. 14–16. Academy: Purple Rain (1984), Chinatown (1974) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Nov. 12 and 13. The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and The Wizard of Oz (1939), Nov. 14–20. Cinema 21: Boogie Nights (1997), Nov. 14 and 15. The Clock (1945), Nov. 15. Cinemagic: Lady Vengeance (2005), Nov. 12. Dragon Inn (1967), Nov. 13. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Nov. 15 and 18. True Lies (1994), Nov. 15 and 17. Clinton: The Story of the Fox (1930), Nov. 12. Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015), Nov. 14. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Nov. 15. Cult Classics: Son in Law (1993), Nov. 16. Hollywood: Ex-Lady (1933), Nov. 13. The Killer (1989), Nov. 14–16. A League of Their Own (1992), Nov. 15. Hard Boiled (1992), Nov. 15 and 16. A Better Tomorrow II (1987), Nov. 16. Jeffrey (1995), Nov. 17. Basic Training (1985), Nov. 18. Tomorrow: Crooklyn (1994), Nov. 13. The Fifth Element (1997), Nov. 16.