'The Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films' DVD Review

An unexpectedly provocative treasure trove of overlooked thrillers from yesteryear.

The companion piece to the Icons of Horror: Hammer Films collection, The Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films gathers, as the name implies, suspense movies from the vault of Britain's Hammer Film Productions -- a company whose prolific gothic horror output has sadly rendered these six movies, ranging from 1958 to 1963 and all previously unavailable on DVD, largely forgotten.

Stop Me Before I Kill!: A race car driver discovers that a recent head injury causes him to have the uncontrollable desire to strangle his wife. This film establishes the twisty Hitchcockian nature that runs through most of the movies in this set, but while its scenic cinematography takes advantage of the southern French locale, the story takes too long to develop and is hurt by a marginally likable hero. Grade: C-

Cash on Demand: A criminal disguised as an insurance investigator manipulates a bank manager (Peter Cushing) into helping him rob his own bank. Great performances propel what's basically a predictable heist film with a touch of...A Christmas Carol? Grade: C

The Snorkel: A man commits what appears to be the perfect murder -- staging his wife's suicide via leaked gas while hiding beneath the floor breathing fresh air through a snorkel -- but his teenage stepdaughter suspects that he's to blame. It's up to her to not only figure out how he did it, but also convince everyone else that he's a killer. It's an engaging cat-and-mouse thriller with a suspenseful buildup and a satisfying outcome. Grade: B-

Maniac: An American man traveling through France has an affair with a woman whose husband has been locked up as criminally insane. Crosses and double-crosses abound in this twisty thriller that juggles multiple plot points, although the male lead is so gullible and impetuous that it's hard to root for him. Grade: B-

Never Take Candy from a Stranger: A couple tries to prosecute a powerful businessman for molesting their daughter, but they face the burden of proving that their child is telling the truth in the face of overwhelming public opinion. Departing from the Hitchcockian mystery mode, this is basically a courtroom drama, but it's surprisingly edgy and topical, involving child molestation, corruption and the sort of frustrating small-town politics that hindered social justice in the '50s and '60s. The harrowing climax is a powerhouse. Grade: B

These Are the Damned: The most original of the six, the plot of These Are the Damned begins as the story of an American tourist in England who falls for a local woman whose overprotective brother is the head of a violent gang, but midway through it switches the setting to a secluded cave inhabited by unusual children who are the subjects of a mysterious scientific experiment. It's a bit melodramatic, but the unpredictable and surprisingly dark storyline, coupled with the manic performance of a young Oliver Reed, make it frequently fascinating. Grade: B

The DVD

Special features include only trailers.

Movies: B-
DVD: D-

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.