John Gilling
Director
b. 1912, d. 1984After Terence Fisher, Gilling was perhaps Hammer's most sophisticated director. His two masterworks were The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile, made back-to-back in 1966. Both were complex critiques of power, authority and imperialism, with stories revolving around monsters from the East terrorizing small, rural communities.
He was surprisingly prolific outside Hammer, with his best work probably being The Flesh and the Fiends, a retelling of the story of Dr Knox (Peter Cushing) and the body-snatchers Burke and Hare.
Hammer Filmography
Shadow of the Cat (1961); Pirates of Blood River (1962); The Brigand of Kandahar (1965); The Plague of the Zombies (1966); The Reptile (1966); The Mummy's Shroud (1967).
