ABSTRACT
Concentrating on Hammer’s period films and Roger Corman’s Poe cycle, this chapter explores the advent of the gradual application of colour to the Gothic, as well as the connections between its widespread cinematic implementation and other forms of visual stimulation, from gore to eroticism. Starting with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958), the chapter also explores the impact of Hammer on other British studios, namely Amicus and Tigon, as well as how these sought to differentiate their films from Hammer’s Gothics. The chapter argues that Hammer’s unique formula also proved its eventual downfall when tastes started to shift towards horror set in modern times. Roger Corman’s Poe films, Hammer’s main competitors, are analysed for the connections they drew between mise-en-scène, colour and warped psychologies, especially in House of Usher (1960). It also considers other Gothic colour experiments from outside Britain and America, such as the French-Italian …Et mourir de plaisir (Blood and Roses, 1960).
