'Hammer Horror' revived by de Mol

Endemol founder John de Mol is investing £25 million in a revival of the British horror studio, Hammer Film Productions.

The Dutch private equity firm Cyrte Investments, the management company for de Mol's capital, has acquired the rights to the studio's 300-title library, which includes the Christoper Lee Dracula series.

Founded in 1934, and based at Bray Studios, near Windsor, the company dominated the horror film market at its peak. It was last bought by a private investment consortium in 2000.

The new studio will be headed by former Liberty Global executives Simon Oakes and Marc Shipper and will work across film and television productions. A UK broadcaster is believed to be in discussion with them about a Hammer Horror TV series.

Oakes said: "Hammer is a great British media brand that has lain dormant but lived on in people's imaginations. It is more intelligent and character-driven than traditional American 'goreography,' and we intend to capitalize on this and make it a global brand."