(1961)
Dir - Anthony Bushell
Overall: MEH
A step down from the film that it is essentially a remake of, (down to re-casting Doctor Who's The Master Roger Delgado once again as a right-hand, evil second in command), The Terror of the Tongs is The Stranglers of Bombay just in a different country. Once again being a Hammer production and switching from India to China of course means having lots of English actors in yellow face. Also unfortunately, Jimmy Sangster's script, while campy and fun, is still dated and just as politically incorrect to Chinese culture. This makes it pretty similar to the Fu Manchu series which also depicted the Chinese as either terrified peasants or mindless henchmen, all addicted to opium, money, and scantily clad women in equal amounts. Speaking of Fu Manchu, Christopher Lee of course is on hand to essentially play the exact same character and though the offensive make-up is unintentionally goofy, Lee still could not be an ineffective villain if he tried, making him just as solid here as in any of his multitude of bad guy roles. Elsewhere, the movie is occasionally fun, but it still goes through the motions in recycling the plot from Bombay which becomes increasingly impossible not to compare it to. Even with Lee here, it is an inferior effort overall.
(1964)
Dir - Michael Carreras
Overall: MEH
A bit embarrassingly silly at times and downright boring in others, Michael Carreras' written, (under the pen name Henry Younger), produced, and directed The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb still ends up being above mildly entertaining at times. A sequel to Hammer's 1959 The Mummy only in the fact that it features such a monster, (and maybe because George Pastell returns, even though he plays a different character), Mummy's Tomb tells virtually the same story of a cursed Egyptian expedition and a resurrected son of a Pharaoh who is getting controlled by someone. There is a stronger emphasis on humor, particularly with American character actor Fred Clark as a charming yet sleazy showbiz promoter. Carreras, (who mostly worked as a producer on a number of Hammer outings), stages some unique, music-less monster movie moments for the day that deserve some props, but he also waits until there are only about thirty-minutes left in the movie to unveil his title monster. In the meantime, it is the common complaint of "too much talking, too little horror". Even though the mystery is pleasantly resolved, the ending falls apart rather cartoonishly with a hysterical woman simply standing motionless as a slooooooooow mummy pursuers her and then said mummy pulls a string and rocks fall on him. Preeeetty lame Milhouse.
(1965)
Dir - Freddie Francis
Overall: MEH
Freddie Francis' follow-up to arguably the finest Amicus anthology horror production Dr. Terror's House of Horrors was Hysteria, a rather straight-forward thriller scripted once again by Jimmy Sangster, who wrote virtually everything for Hammer at the time. The only problem with the film is really that we gather from the very beginning that no supernatural or even psychological elements are truly at play and it is rather easy to predict what characters will be involved in the inevitable plot twist. While this keeps the story from becoming as engaging as it should, Sangster still sets up an excellent premise of a guy who wakes up in a hospital with no memory and all of his bills plus a luxury penthouse for him funded by unknown persons. In addition, Francis directs with a tight control, deepening the mystery with a lot of clever, confusing details that keep both Robert Webber's main protagonist and the viewer on edge. The attempts at humor work rather well too, with Maurice Denham's private investigator and his no nonsense tactics standing out the most. It is certainly not bad or forgettable, but it does not quite grab you enough and the uninspired "yeah sure whatever" payoff is a let down of sorts.
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