Day started out with a double feature of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland. These movies are incredibly stupid and fun body count flicks. Grab a beer, some popcorn and laugh it up. Part 2 was one of the first horror movies I ever saw. I wouldn't change that. Also some of the best kills in any slasher movie happen in part 2. I strongly prefer Unhappy Campers to Teenage Wasteland but they were both a big part of my young self falling in love with horror movies. I don't deny that nostalgia inflates the scores of these 2 a bit but they're worth it.
It came time to finally dig into some Hammer films and I did just that. I was really excited to dig into these first time viewings because I love Hammer and still get a little giddy when I see their name during the credits. First up was Brides Of Dracula which was directed by the great Terence Fisher and stars Peter Cushing. How could this go wrong? It can't and didn't. A very worthy follow up to 1958's Horror Of Dracula and it had one of the more creative endings I've seen in a vampire movie. All around good stuff here.
Next up is the studio's version of Phantom Of The Opera from 1962. Herbert Lom is the Phantom in this version and it is a pretty good one. Great sets and performances from top to bottom. The main problem I had is that the Phantom never came across as all that threatening.
The Kiss Of The Vampire closed out the first full week of the challenge right around the stroke of midnight. The Hammer-thon came to a satisfying close with another quality gothic horror despite the lack of any of Hammer's big name stalwarts. A very nice score and excellent set design along with a creepy (for a reason I can't quite put my finger on) masquerade scene make this a satisfying end to day 7.
Today's Rundown -
Sleepaway Camp 2 - 9/10
Sleepaway Camp 3 - 6/10
Brides Of Dracula - 8/10
Phantom Of The Opera - 7/10
Kiss Of The Vampire - 7.5/10
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