Ferdy Mayne Archives

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Rating: ★★

Mar 9, 2001Vampire Hunter Comedy

Roman Polanski misfired with this vampire comedy intended as a spoof of Hammer Films. Beautifully produced but comedy is not Polanski's forte and the film seems to consists of much slapstick running around

Director: Roman Polanski

Actors: Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Ferdy Mayne, Fiona Lewis, …

Category: Horror

9 March 200114 February 2026 by Roog

The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Rating: ★★

Jun 19, 2001Lesbian Vampires/Hammer Film

The first in Hammer’s trilogy of lesbian vampire films, an adaptation of the classic story Carmilla. Unfortunately in Hammer’'s hands, the story’s subtlety is killed by an emphasis on softcore titillation

Director: Roy Ward Baker

Actors: Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, Madeleine Smith, Harvey Hall, …

Category: Horror

19 June 200119 March 2020 by Roog

The Vampire Happening (1971)

Rating: ★

Oct 29, 2025Vampire Comedy

Freddie Francis was one of the finest stylists of the Anglo-horror cycle. Here he makes a comedy spoofing the vampire film that comes out feeling like Benny Hill routines running around a big castle

Director: Freddie Francis

Actors: Pia Degermark, Ferdy Mayne, Ingrid Van Bergen

Category: Horror

29 October 202513 November 2025 by Roog

The Formula (1980)

Rating: ★★

Apr 23, 2014International Thriller/Hunt for a Nazi Fuel Substitute

Dull big-budget thriller about Nazi fuel formulas and Big Oil conspiracies. This seems intended as a copy of The Boys from Brazil centred around George C. Scott and Marlon Brando trying to out over-act one another

Director: John G. Avildsen

Actors: George C. Scott, Marlon Brando, Marthe Keller, John Van Dreelen, …

Category: Science Fiction

23 April 201411 March 2026 by Roog

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Rating: ★

Jan 25, 2003Sword and Sorcery

British-made sword and sorcery adventure in the early 80s fantasy cycle. This suffers from a cheap and impoverished budget that makes everything look tatty

Director: Terry Marcel

Actors: Jack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw, Morgan Sheppard, …

Category: Fantasy

25 January 20035 July 2021 by Roog

Knight Moves (1992)

Rating: ★★

Aug 3, 2000Chess-Playing Serial Killer

Christopher Lambert and Diane Lane star in a thriller about a serial killer who treats his victims like a chess game and has turned an entire isolated island into a chessboard

Director: Carl Schenkel

Actors: Christopher Lambert, Diane Lane, Tom Skerritt, Daniel Baldwin, …

Category: Horror

3 August 200013 June 2026 by Roog

Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)

Rating: ★★★½

Mar 11, 2025Hammer Films Documentary

The most exhaustive of the various documentaries about Hammer Films. This covers the history of the studio and crucially was made when most of the principals from Hammer’s heyday were still alive and able to be interviewed

Director: Ted Newsom

Actors: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Roy Ward Baker, James Bernard, …

Category: Horror

11 March 20256 February 2026 by Roog