10 Hammer Horror Movies You NEED To See

10. The Plague Of The Zombies (1966)

By 1966, Hammer were on top of their game, yet with multiple vampire and Frankenstein movies already in the can, it was time to take on a different threat to humanity - ZOMBIES! In a remote Cornish village, local doctor Peter Tompson is baffled by series of unexplained deaths, so he brings in help in the form of Sir James Forbes. Forbes and his daughter Sylvia go on to uncover a deadly plot to zombify the local population by evil aristocrat, Squire Clive Hamilton. Cues bodies rising from the grave, voodoo black magic and lots of screaming.

This is a surprisingly tight film with some impressive sets and costumes, all shot at the Bray backlot of course, with classic 'day for night' sequences that became a staple for Hammer horrors. Berkshire doubles as remote Cornwall, evil fox hunting minions of Sir Clive make for great secondary villains and even the female characters get ample screen as well as scream time, despite the outdated values of the setting and production, that are thankfully funnier than they are outdated to modern audiences.

Stand out moments include a rare Roger Corman style dream sequence, which has the best zombie attack of the film (grey faced proto-Romero revenants waddle through angular framing as Peter screams like Ash Williams). The Temple Of Doom-esque finale is simply a riot, as Forbes battles his way through the burning tin mines to freedom, in one of the most original zombie films ever made.