The phrase “they don’t make films like they used to anymore” is a hackneyed concept usually brought out to disparage contemporary works, which are often unfairly compared to those of yesteryear, particularly by people who tend to look at previous decades through rose-tinted glasses. Yet, there are some genres where this phrase is not only relevant, but entirely truthful and objective, such as is the case of horror, where it isn’t used to criticise but rather to plainly state that it has undergone major changes over the years, neither for better or worse, but rather developed in fascinating ways as time has progressed. One era that we have unfortunately lost when it comes to the genre is the period of studio horror, where names such as Amicus and Hammer House of Horror were associated with a very particular kind of terror, producing multiple films a year and usually enlisting some of the greatest actors of their generation to participate in these daring and unconventional yarns. In the case of the present discussion, we have The Gorgon, an original work in which director Terence Fisher (one of the more notable names work in the genre at the time) travels back to Germany at the turn of the 20th century, exploring the trials and tribulations of a small village who are being terrorized by a sinister force that they claim is turning locals into stone – the authorities attempt to cover it up as being suicides cause by mental strife, but a young man and his mentor are insistent on unearthing the truth, which leads them down a rabbit hole that takes them into the antiquity, realizing what they are dealing with is a force brought forward from the ancient world, and which can only be destroyed through the most violent of means. A harsh, daring and unconventional horror film that features all of the best elements of a classical Hammer production, The Gorgon is a terrific work, and one that is aimed at being a well-crafted, meticulously detailed period film that captures both the spirit and tempo of a particular era in the past, as seen through a very peculiar lens that has always been the hallmark of this specific era in horror filmmaking, and which the director mastered throughout his career.

The charm of a film like The Gorgon is that we can step into it without any sense of expectation and know that what we are going to receive is something at least somewhat entertaining, at the very least. Hammer rarely made films that were not at least partially worth watching, even if they were telling stories that were hopelessly banal and simplistic. Fisher had the challenge of telling an original story here, and thus didn’t have the benefit of pre-existing material, or at least not to the extent where he could depend on very traditional narrative structures such as those of conventional monster films, such as vampires or werewolves, which were far more frequent at the time and which lent filmmakers some kind of structure. Here he was working with a creation that had its roots in Ancient Greek mythology, which he chose to bring forward to the early 20th century in Germany, completely detaching it from the time and place in which it was previously associated. This lends the film a unique tone that indicates that Fisher is not entirely interested in the story itself, but rather the elements that surround it – this is a film that is driven primarily by the tone and atmosphere, and he spends most of his time developing the specific mood – the story moves at a slow, steady pace in which the narrative is actually not all that important, and it is instead the surrounding circumstances, with the build-up to the reveal of the titular monster, that makes the profound difference. It’s a very simple premise and one that the director ensures is well-maintained throughout, developing a fascinating approach to the material that is both quintessentially compelling but also mysterious, proving that it is not always about having the strongest story but rather one that leaves an impression in the mind of the view, which we find is certainly the case throughout The Gorgon, an actively engaging and profoundly captivating masterpiece of early atmospheric horror.

Arguably, a film like The Gorgon is not always going to be celebrated for its more narrative-based qualities, but rather the design, which is certainly part of the appeal and the reason these films managed to withstand the test of time and become such beguiling works. The filmmaking itself is beyond impeccable – filmed on a combination of locations throughout Europe and sets built specifically for the purpose of replicating this particular place and time, the film launches us back in time to the German countryside at a much simpler time in the past. Hammer may not have always made films that could be considered entirely cohesive in terms of their narratives, but they were consistently beautiful and engaging in terms of their aesthetics, and considering Fisher was perhaps their most prolific and acclaimed regular director – or at least the one who did the most to define their signature style – it makes sense that every one of their collaborations would bring forward something quite special. There are undeniably a few tacky elements, since this is a film produced sixty years ago, so some of the special effects are somewhat dated (such as the design of the titular gorgon, particularly when she is decapitated – the shot of her dismembered head is laughable, but in a way that is actually very charming, reminding us of a time when filmmaking was earnest and a genuine craft made by real people, rather than a lucrative industry driven by the most progressive technology that supersedes the human touch), but like with any horror film from this era, there is some degree of suspension of disbelief required to entirely embrace the film, which is a far more entertaining experience once we simply surrender to the surrounding madness and embrace it for what it is, rather than just viewing it through a contemporary lens, which very rarely yields particularly positive results.

Many have remarked on the fact that, despite being decidedly low-budget efforts that were rarely particularly lucrative or challenging, Hammer (and other major horror studios at the time) frequently managed to not only attract a substantially notable number of major stars to appear in their films, but convinced them to recur throughout their work, adding them to their repertoires and seeing them frequently recur throughout their films. The reason behind this is extremely simple – these films are effortlessly fun, and allowed many actors the chance to play these larger-than-life characters that were not limited by the boundaries of cinema in the traditional sense. Many of them were classically trained and inclined towards broad performances, but this is not a medium that always rewards theatricality. However, Hammer not only allows for it, it actively encourages these delightful hams to play to the rafters, which we can imagine was very alluring for the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, who are the genre legends selected to bring The Gorgon to life. What makes them such an impeccable pairing (which we saw on many other occasions, both past and future) is that they play off each other splendidly – they both have such incredibly distinct styles of theatricality, with Cushing’s most stoic, patrician allure being perfectly matched by Lee’s off-the-wall eccentricity, and they’re equally adept at playing into these qualities here. Arguably, neither of them is the de facto lead of this story (instead, the central roles are played by the decidedly less-interesting Richard Pasco and Barbara Shelley, who are solid but unremarkable), but they remain the main attraction from which the film builds most of its reputation. No one is particularly revolutionary, but everyone is doing their best and having as much fun as they can given the constraints of the story, and it is clear that making these films is are enjoyable experience for the actors as much as they are for the audience, which is reflected in absolutely every frame of the narrative.

The Gorgon is certainly not a major work in the traditional sense, but it does offer us exactly what we would expect from a film of this nature – a solid, entertaining series of moments shared between various characters as they set out to solve a mystery that has been plaguing their community. It’s a wickedly entertaining film with a great sense of humour and a lot of tremendous insights into the artistic process, with the director crafting an unexpectedly engaging horror film that represents the very best this era of the genre had to offer – the bold, over-the-top style, coupled with the unique approach to the underlying material that is rooted firmly within a very strong set of historical concepts proves that this film is far from trivial. In fact, it is a daring and bold examination of the past, as seen through a genre that many tend to not take very seriously when it comes to this precise kind of subject matter – it is indeed quite silly at some points, but this is the entire modus operandi of Hammer, a studio built on inane concepts that are somehow reconfigured into unexpectedly profound statements on the nature of the human condition and the reality of the world in which we live, usually filtered through a lens of the past. Not particularly serious, but still wickedly entertaining in a way that is wildly subversive and genuinely very entertaining, The Gorgon represents the best the studio has to offer, and some of the most intriguing aspects of the entire genre as a whole.