It's safe to say that The Abominable Snowman raised public consciousness about the legendary yeti way back in 1957. Produced by the British company Hammer Films, the movie starred Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker as adventurers searching for a mythological creature in the Himalayas. Now the beast, which has been referenced in countless films, television shows and Looney Tunes cartoons, will be brought back to life in a new movie version.
Hammer Films, in association with producer Ben Holden (The Woman in Black), will present a 21st-century take on the story, according to Screen Daily, in which "a scientific expedition’s illegal ascent up a peak of one of the world’s most formidable mountains accidentally awakens an ancient creature that could spell certain death for them all." Last year's The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe gave Hammer Films its first full-fledged success since it restarted production about five years ago.
The company began inauspiciously with Beyond the Rave (2008), made the much better Wake Wood (2009), which deserved more attention than it received, partnered on the quite good remake Let Me In (2010), and then moved on to the poorly received The Resident (2011). The gloomy, gothic and atmospheric The Woman in Black delivered the type of chills longtime horror buffs expected from Hammer, and Daniel Radcliffe brought in new fans. The film earned more than $120 million at the box office worldwide. Now Hammer needs to build on that success, and its upcoming projects sound very promising.
The Quiet Ones is heading to theaters on April 11, 2014. The movie follows a professor (Jared Harris) and his students as they attempt to create a poltergeist; the first trailer is moody and charged with tension.
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, currently in production, picks up the tale 40 years later, as a group of children and their teachers are evacuated from London during World War II to the same house that was featured in the first film. Of course, no one knows that it's still haunted.
After two more ghost stories, albeit ones in vastly different settings, a modern creature feature sounds like a marvelous choice by Hammer Films.
