Freddie Francis (1917–2007)

Classic, old-school science fiction shocker. After an unexplained and spectacular meteorite shower blinds everyone who looks at it, naval officer Bill Masen (Howard Keel) finds himself amongst the very few people who retain their sight. He struggles through a chaotic London in search of sanctuary and to make things worse giant, mobile carnivorous plants are hunting down and preying on survivors. "The Day of the Triffids" is an interestingly constructed film with the first third playing out show more as a straight ahead disaster movie, with London falling into fiery chaos, a train smashing at speed into a station and a plane, its crew blinded, crashing into the docks. The film thereafter turns into a standard survival story with Masen and the various stragglers he picks up along the way fleeing across Europe. The triffid attacks are few and far between but are good when they do arrive. The creature effects are primitive, but quaintly effective although the shambling plants look as if they could be easy enough to outrun. Director Steve Sekely (and an uncredited Freddie Francis) provides a well developed air of mystery and some effectively eerie sequences in between some dialogue heavy exposition and travelogue vignettes. Howard Keel is good as the macho man at the centre of the action with Janette Scott and Kieron Moore provide excellent support in a subplot as an alcoholic husband and wife conducting scientific experiments in a remote lighthouse island. "The Day of the Triffids" is enjoyable throughout and has become a hugely influential SF classic - for its influence you need look no further than Danny Boyle's 2002 horror shocker "28 Days Later" which is a straight-forward remake (at times almost a shot-for-shot remake) with "zombies" substituted for triffids. show less

A grim, revisionist take on the Burke and Hare story that revolves around the figure of Doctor Rock, whose attitude of "the ends justify the means" leads to grisly murder. The original screenplay was by Dylan Thomas and is full of questions of morality and presents Rock as a two-dimensional figure rather than a one dimensional traditional villain - although driven by good intentions Rock is blind to the consequences of his actions. Produced by Mel Brooks and directed by Freddie Francis the show more film has a gothic Hammer-like feel, full of nice period detail and a cleverly muted colour palette. Despite these positive elements, the overall film is overly dreary, serious and realistic and as thus lacks any real excitement. show less

There are a few decent moments but this is a rather weak and uninspired anthology. The four stories and the wraparound are predictable and fail to deliver any real shocks or twists. That said the film looks good throughout, with director Freddie Francis providing plenty of zip and a droll, tongue-in-cheek approach. Similarly, with Donald Pleasance, Joan Collins and Suzy Kendall on hand things can never be too bad. Overall a fun if rather anaemic effort.

The first film is by far the best, the second is also good, and it's more or less downhill from there. Hammer was the house of horror in the 50s and 60s, and even the later films are watchable.