The Witches Hammer
Encyclopedia
The Witches Hammer is a 2006
low budget English
action
/horror film
written and directed by James Eaves, produced by British production company Amber Pictures, and starring Claudia Coulter
and Stephanie Beacham
with George Anton as an antagonistic vampire
.
) is attacked in the streets, she is awakened by agents from "Project 571". She wants to return to her husband and son, but the agents inform her that she cannot because they have "altered" her to be a genetically modified vampire. Coercing her by promising that she might see her family again, they train her into a highly skilled assassin.
Returning from an assignment and discovering that everyone at Project 571 has been slaughtered, Rebecca is rescued by a warlock named Edward (Jonathan Sidgwick) and taken to Madeline (Stephanie Beacham
), the witch who heads "Project 572". She is told that they need her expertise to retrieve "The Witches Hammer", a spellbook written by the Russian witch Katanya. The book is required to kill the vampire Hugo Renoir (Tom Dover), whose only vulnerability is one of its spells. As Rebecca and Edward begin their quest, they are set upon by both rival vampires and Hugo's minions, each whom wish the book for themselves.
on May 22, 2006, the film had its theatrical debut in Japan
on December 22, 2006, and its DVD
premiere on March 7, 2007, in the UK
. The film received a nomination for "Best Feature Film" at the 2008 Swansea Film Festival
.
and, Underworld
where vampires and werewolfs have an eternal malice toward each other. He summarized by writing "The story is great and engrossing, the characters are interesting and the acting is very good – especially the ice-queen performance of Stephanie Beacham
". Alexxus Young of Evil Dread praised the film and made special mention of Of Stephanie Beacham's as the witch Madeline in how she'd "deadpan her lines in a demeanor that invokes Henry Daniell
and the fun is infectious". Fatally Yours praised the low-budget film, finding it to be well paced with adequate action and character driven scenes, making special note of "great" character development and that the action sequences were "extremely well done". Of Stephanie Beacham's performance as Madeline, they wrote "Her polished, commanding performance was a treat to see and lends a lot of credibility to the film". They closed by writing that "The Witches Hammer is a fun, entertaining horror film". Zombie Review found the film a passable and "worthwhile effort" that might appeal to those into non-gory Vampire or Witch lore. Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review most enjoyed the way writer/director Eaves crafted a "back mythology" and appreciated that the background of the supporting characters was treated with depth and imagination. Noting that the action scenes felt like they were "boiler-plated in as set-pieces at regular intervals", they felt that they were "convincingly done and come with a stylish, well-choreographed kick".
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
low budget English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
/horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by James Eaves, produced by British production company Amber Pictures, and starring Claudia Coulter
Claudia Coulter
Claudia Coulter is a model and actress of Argentinian descent who has appeared in a number of British Television programs as well as short and full length films....
and Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
with George Anton as an antagonistic vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
.
Plot
After Rebecca (Claudia CoulterClaudia Coulter
Claudia Coulter is a model and actress of Argentinian descent who has appeared in a number of British Television programs as well as short and full length films....
) is attacked in the streets, she is awakened by agents from "Project 571". She wants to return to her husband and son, but the agents inform her that she cannot because they have "altered" her to be a genetically modified vampire. Coercing her by promising that she might see her family again, they train her into a highly skilled assassin.
Returning from an assignment and discovering that everyone at Project 571 has been slaughtered, Rebecca is rescued by a warlock named Edward (Jonathan Sidgwick) and taken to Madeline (Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
), the witch who heads "Project 572". She is told that they need her expertise to retrieve "The Witches Hammer", a spellbook written by the Russian witch Katanya. The book is required to kill the vampire Hugo Renoir (Tom Dover), whose only vulnerability is one of its spells. As Rebecca and Edward begin their quest, they are set upon by both rival vampires and Hugo's minions, each whom wish the book for themselves.
Release
First screened at CannesCannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
on May 22, 2006, the film had its theatrical debut in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on December 22, 2006, and its DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
premiere on March 7, 2007, in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The film received a nomination for "Best Feature Film" at the 2008 Swansea Film Festival
Swansea Film Festival
The Swansea Bay Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes places in Swansea, Wales.Catherine Zeta-Jones has resigned as patron of the Swansea Bay Film Festival and Michael Sheen has resigned as vice president following criticism of the festival....
.
Reception
Don Sumner of Best Horror Movies in praising the film, wrote that one can see the "influences of several other popular movies in the way the film’s story progresses and how the scenes are shot", making note of influences from Blade, where the protagonist is skilled in martial artsMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
and, Underworld
Underworld (film series)
Underworld is a series of vampire/werewolf films directed by Len Wiseman and Patrick Tatopoulos. The first film, Underworld, was released in 2003, and the second film, Underworld: Evolution, was released in 2006. A prequel, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, was released on January 23, 2009...
where vampires and werewolfs have an eternal malice toward each other. He summarized by writing "The story is great and engrossing, the characters are interesting and the acting is very good – especially the ice-queen performance of Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
". Alexxus Young of Evil Dread praised the film and made special mention of Of Stephanie Beacham's as the witch Madeline in how she'd "deadpan her lines in a demeanor that invokes Henry Daniell
Henry Daniell
Henry Daniell was an English actor, best known for his villainous movie roles, but who had a long and prestigious career on stage as well as in films....
and the fun is infectious". Fatally Yours praised the low-budget film, finding it to be well paced with adequate action and character driven scenes, making special note of "great" character development and that the action sequences were "extremely well done". Of Stephanie Beacham's performance as Madeline, they wrote "Her polished, commanding performance was a treat to see and lends a lot of credibility to the film". They closed by writing that "The Witches Hammer is a fun, entertaining horror film". Zombie Review found the film a passable and "worthwhile effort" that might appeal to those into non-gory Vampire or Witch lore. Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review most enjoyed the way writer/director Eaves crafted a "back mythology" and appreciated that the background of the supporting characters was treated with depth and imagination. Noting that the action scenes felt like they were "boiler-plated in as set-pieces at regular intervals", they felt that they were "convincingly done and come with a stylish, well-choreographed kick".
Cast
- George Anton as Vampire
- Stephanie BeachamStephanie BeachamStephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
as Madeline - Claudia CoulterClaudia CoulterClaudia Coulter is a model and actress of Argentinian descent who has appeared in a number of British Television programs as well as short and full length films....
as Rebecca - Tom Dover as Hugo
- Jonathan Sidgwick as Edward (as Jon Sidgwick)
- Tina Barnes as Edward's Wife
- Sam Smith as Masked Man
- Jason Tompkins as Oscar
- Miguel Ruz as Victor Ferdinand
- Magda Rodriguez as Kitanya
- Harold Gasnier as Le Cardinale
- Sally Reeve as Charlotte Apone
- Tom Dover as Hugo Renoir
- Andrew Cullum as Polite Man
- Adrian Johnson as Linda
- Beryll Nesbitt as Nana
- Liza Keast as Aggressive Woman
- Neil Little as Terrified Night Clubber
Additional sources
- Far East Films interview with The Witches Hammer cast and crew
- Beyond Hollywood
- Horror 101
- Eat My Brains
- DVD Resurrections
- Cinema Crazed
- Razor Reel