I love Hammer Horror. Actually in truth I just love the horror genre in general but there’s something extremely pleasurable about watching movies from the Hammer studio that I don’t think can be beaten by anyone else. If you haven’t read Tom Fallows great article proclaiming his memories of the Hammer Horror productions then what are you waiting for? If your a fan of Hammer then the article is a great way to re-visit some memories and if your not then I guarantee it will entice you into becoming a fan!

Now, we’ve heard about Hammer Horror making a return for many years now only for it to never come to fruition and for our hopes to be dashed quicker than we would like. Last May though there looked to be some real movement on this thing when a Dutch producer not only acquired the whole Hammer back catalogue but also announced plans to release 1 or 2 films every year.

Which got me excited. Sure it’s a British institution but hell, this Dutch guy seemed to be a big fan and it wasn’t like anyone else was doing anything with the name.

Now there’s a gem of news found by Film Ick (originally by Dread Central) today from an unofficial Hammer Horror site which claims that production is to start on the first movie under the banner for over twenty years in just a few short weeks. They also point out to us a casting sheet that went online in mid-August which was looking for actors for the production titled Beyond the Rave where it’s claimed filming will begin on September 15th and finish on October 2nd.

Sadly the biggest news of all is that it will be an online and mobile phone exclusive with my guess being that they couldn’t secure the funding to make it a theatrical release which might not be because the material is bad per-say but because the Hammer name isn’t really marketable in 2007 like it was in the 70’s. After a couple of hit movies then maybe but not at this point.

In the great tradition of the studio, Beyond the Rave will be a full length vampire yarn which will also incorporate a rave culture theme. 36 year old British actor Rick Warden is said to have already been cast. You will have seen his work in Rome, Band of Brothers and he’s on the cast list for Neil Marshall’s apocalyptic movie Doomsday.

Although it’s great to know that Hammer are producing something again, it’s really sad to think that it’s going to be an online exclusive. It’s hardly the revival we were expecting back in May when producer Jan de Mol supported promises of t.v. shows and the like.

But still, as long as movies are being made under the banner then that’s a good thing right?