Hammer Films released started building a horror empire in the 1950s and enjoyed its best years in the 1960s. While Hammer began to fall out of style in the 1970s, that does not mean there weren't some great movies during that decade. The best movies, though, stuck with the old formula with movies based around Dracula and Frankenstein.
While much of the 1970s output for Hammer included bringing back the same stories with different titles, but that does not mean there was no quality in those releases. IMDb allows fans to rate their favorite movies and when it comes to Hammer, there are several that rank with a 6.0 or higher, and while nothing in the decade hit a 7.0, the movies still remained popular.
10 Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) - 6.0
The Hammer vampire movie Dracula A.D. 1972 shares the same story as 1970s Taste the Blood of Dracula. In that previous movie, if Dracula's blood is mixed with water and taken as medicine, the person becomes infected with Dracula's essence. In this case, it is a young man who tries to gain power.
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing return for the movie in their roles as Dracula and Van Helsing, Cushing's first time in the role since 1960. While not as highly rated as other Dracula movies for Hammer, it was cheesy and looked great.
9 Hands of the Ripper (1971) - 6.2
One of the gorier Hammer horror movies of the 1970s was Hands of the Ripper. As the title suggests, this movie deals with the Jack the Ripper storyline and, in this case, brings out the Ripper's daughter and how she acts as an adult after witnessing her father's murders.
The movie has what most Hammer fans love, from the violent kills to the Victorian atmosphere. There is also a touch of psychological horror here, with a strong emphasis on Freudian analysis and how a parent's crimes can cause a child to never have a chance as an adult.
8 Scars of Dracula (1970) - 6.2
Scars of Dracula was one of two Dracula movies that arrived in 1970. If there is one thing that this movie has going for it, Hammer has the blood flowing freely from start to finish. Christopher Lee was back as Dracula and he turned in a performance that was closer to Bram Stoker's vision than the past few releases.
The movie saw village people charge Dracula's castle to burn it down only to return home to find their loved ones massacred. A few years later, Dracula is alive and well and out for vengeance, deadlier than ever.
7 Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) - 6.3
Hammer had a Frankenstein movie arrive in the 1970s with Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. This was also the last Frankenstein movie the studio made, as Hammer tried to pull everything from the past into one last big story.
When a man named Dr. Heider is sent to an asylum, he finds Victor Frankenstein there working as a doctor, with Peter Cushing back as Frankenstein. Here, the sympathetic monster is David Prowse as the ape-like creature, Herr Schneider. Director Terence Fisher created what could have been a perfect final entry in Hammer horror movies.
6 Vampire Circus (1972) - 6.4
One of the more underrated Hammer horror movies is Vampire Circus. This movie exists during a plague, which keeps the people in the small village the circus comes to mostly unable to leave their home for their own safety. When the circus arrives, the joy soon turns into horror.
This is because the circus is full of vampires. The movie has a great gothic atmosphere and also includes some great gore. The twist of why the circus is in town is great, and while there are no stars in the cast, they are all perfect as the circus misfits.
5 Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) - 6.4
Released in 1970, Christopher Lee was back for yet another Hammer Dracula movie with Taste the Blood of Dracula, the highest-rated of the 1970s for Lee's vampire according to IMDb. The movie saw devil worshippers trying to bring Dracula back to life, but when he returns he is out for blood.
This movie added a bit of satanism to vampire lore and helped Lee bring something new to Dracula's story. It also made sense, as much of the vampire legends are based on Christian iconography and the movie remains a dark look at the vampire lord that IMDb fans appreciated.
4 The Vampire Lovers (1970) - 6.5
The 1970 Hammer horror movie The Vampire Lovers is an adaptation of the short story Carmilla. The movie is a lot more than horror for Hammer as the company advertised the sexuality of the movie above even the scares.
Ingrid Pitt stars as Carmilla, a predatory vampire who seeks to build up her legion of women warriors, she has to face off with Peter Cushing, who returns as Van Helsing. Mostly, The Vampire Lovers is all about letting Pitt sizzle on the screen with an underwhelming script
3 Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) - 6.5
Throughout most of Hammer Films' horror output of the 1950s through the 1970s, the main course was the vampire legend surrounding Dracula. However, in the 1970s, there was another vampire-themed movie that took things in a different, more humorous direction. This was Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter in 1974.
Not only is this not about Dracula, but it stands out by being about the hunter, in this case, Kronos. He is a swashbuckling vampire hunter, making his exploits not only exciting but fun. A tongue-in-cheek horror movie, this could have created a new franchise if it had come out a decade earlier.
2 Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) - 6.6
One of the best Hammer horror movies according to IMDb voters is Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde, bringing another classic horror story to the big screen with a twist. Dr. Henry Jekyll believes he has created a formula that eliminates disease, but when he takes it, he transforms into an evil woman known as Mrs. Hyde.
The movie takes the interesting direction of combining Jekyll & Hyde with the murders of Jack the Ripper. It takes a gothic horror slant but it pays more attention to the philosophical aspects of Jekyll becoming Hyde over the pure horror of the original story.
1 Twins of Evil (1971) - 6.6
Twins of Evil is the best-rated Hammer horror movie of the 1970s with a 6.6 rating. What makes this vampire movie work so well is that viewers are stuck deciding whether they want to cheer for the vampires or the uptight hunters that want to kill them.
The heroes here are real-life twins, played by Madeleine and Mary Collinson and Peter Cushing is also back as Van Helsing. The movie takes the basic Hammer formula and adds some great thrills and eye-turning set pieces to make Twins of Evil the favorite Hammer horror for fans in the 1970s.
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