Revival (2007–present)
In the 2000s, although the company seemed to be in hibernation, frequent announcements had been made of new projects. In 2003, for example, the studio announced plans to work with Australian company Pictures in Paradise to develop new horror films for the DVD and cinema market.
On 10 May 2007, it was announced that Dutch producer
John De Mol had purchased the Hammer Films rights via his private equity firm Cyrte Investments. In addition to holding the rights to over 300 Hammer films, De Mol's company plans to restart the studio. According to an article in
Variety detailing the transaction, the new Hammer Films will be run by former Liberty Global execs
Simon Oakes and Marc Schipper. In addition, Guy East and
Nigel Sinclair of L.A.-based Spitfire Pictures are on board to produce two to three horror films or thrillers a year for the U.K.-based studio.
The first output under the new owners is
Beyond the Rave, a contemporary vampire story which premièred free online, exclusively, on Myspace in April 2008 as a 20 x 4 min. serial.
The company began shooting a new horror/thriller film in
Donegal in 2008, backed by the
Irish Film Board. The film is titled
Wake Wood and was scheduled for release in the United Kingdom in the Autumn of 2009.
[38] The film was produced in collaboration with the Swedish company Solid Entertainment, makers of the vampire film
Frostbiten, which pays homage to the Hammer vampire films among others. It was given a limited UK/Ireland theatrical release in March 2011.
In the summer of 2009, Hammer produced in the U.S.
The Resident, a thriller directed and co-written by
Finnish filmmaker
Antti Jokinen and starring
Hilary Swank,
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and
Christopher Lee.
[39][40] It was released in the US and UK in March 2011.
In 2010, Hammer, in partnership with
Overture Films and
Relativity Media, released
Let Me In, a remake of Swedish vampire film
Let the Right One In.
[41]
In June 2010, it was announced that Hammer acquired
Wake, a script by Chris Borrelli for an action feature to be directed by Danish filmmaker
Kasper Barfoed.
[42]
In February 2012, the Hammer and Alliance Films adaptation of
The Woman in Black was released.
Daniel Radcliffe stars as lawyer Arthur Kipps.
Jane Goldman wrote the film's screenplay, with
James Watkins in the director's chair.
In April 2012, the company announced it was to make a sequel to
The Woman in Black titled
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death. Also in 2012, Hammer and Alliance Films announced two more films going into production during 2012, entitled
The Quiet Ones and
Gaslight.
[43] The Quiet Ones tells the story of an unorthodox professor (
Jared Harris) who uses controversial methods and leads his best students off the grid to take part in a dangerous experiment: to create a poltergeist. It was released on 10 April 2014 in the UK and 25 April in the USA.