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Moria

The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Victorian Gaslight Milieu

Victorian Gaslight Milieu concerns works set in and around the Victorian period (1837-1901), usually taking place in England and London. This was a period that produced a great many key genre works, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865), J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872), Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey (1890), and H.G. Wells’ classics like The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898), all of which have been multiply filmed.

Not to mention this is also the period in which Sherlock Holmes operates, where the Sweeney Todd story and the works of Charles Dickens – in particular A Christmas Carol (1843) – are set and the real-life Jack the Ripper murders occurred. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) falls outside of this period but is frequently treated as belonging to the Victorian era. The works of Jules Verne take place during this period and screen depictions frequently use a gaslight setting.

Film treatments have created a fantasy realm of fog-laden London streets, aristocrats in hansom cabs, street urchins, ladies in full-length dresses and cheeky Cockney barmaids/dancehall girls, not to mention a whole period design scheme. Many of the efforts from The Anglo-Horror Cycle in particular from Hammer Films prefer this setting. This is also the realm where Steampunk, the fantastical vision of an alternate technology based on Victorian steam inventions, takes place. It is also the period where a number of Age of Exploration Adventure Films take place.


Abbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1953)

3 December 199911 February 2020

Rating: ★★

Two Idiots Meet Dr Jekyll

Director: Charles Lamont
Actors: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens, …
Category: Horror

The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box (2014)

24 February 201423 April 2020

Rating: ★★

Victorian Young Adult Adventure

Director: Jonathan Newman
Actors: Michael Sheen, Sam Neill, Aneurin Barnard, Mella Carron, …
Category: Fantasy

The Amazing Mr Blunden (1972)

11 May 19993 January 2022

Rating: ★★★

Children’s Ghost Story/Time Travel

Director: Lionel Jeffries
Actors: Lynne Frederick, Diana Dors, Lawrence Naismith, Rosalyn Landor, …
Category: Fantasy

Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

21 August 20149 January 2022

Rating: ★

Jules Verne Comedy Adaptation

Director: Frank Coraci
Actors: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cecile De France, Jim Broadbent, …
Category: Science Fiction

Batman: Gotham By Gaslight (2018)

11 February 201815 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Victorian Era Batman

Director: Sam Liu
Actors: Bruce Greenwood, Jennifer Carpenter, Scott Patterson, Anthony Head, …
Category: Fantasy

Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing (2021)

2 July 202112 May 2023

Rating: ★★

Dracula Adaptation Without Dracula

Director: Steve Lawson
Actors: Mark Topping, Charlie Bond, Tom Hendryk, Joe Street, …
Category: Horror

The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002)

2 April 200624 March 2020

Rating: ★

Sherlock Holmes Mystery

Director: Rodney Gibbons
Actors: Matt Frewer, Kenneth Welsh, Neville Edwards, Michel Perron, …
Category: Horror

A Christmas Carol (2019)

25 December 202023 December 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Miser’s Redemption/Dark Adult Retelling

Director: Nick Murphy
Actors: Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Joe Alwyn, …
Category: Fantasy

The Creeping Flesh (1973)

9 December 200113 July 2021

Rating: ★★★

Evil Prehistoric Skeleton

Director: Freddie Francis
Actors: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Lorna Helbron, Kenneth J. Warren
Category: Horror

Crimson Peak (2015)

31 October 201523 May 2020

Rating: ★★½

Ghost Story

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Actors: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, …
Category: Horror

Dolittle (2020)

29 February 20204 April 2021

Rating: ★★★

Doctor That Can Speak to Animals

Director: Stephen Gaghan
Actors: Robert Downey Jr, Harry Collett, Carmel Laniado, Michael Sheen, …
Category: Fantasy

Dorian Gray (2009)

28 January 201127 August 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Eternally Youthful Libertine

Director: Oliver Parker
Actors: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, Fiona Shaw, …
Category: Horror

Dr Jekyll and His Women (1981)

18 December 20125 December 2022

Rating: ★★★

Erotic Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Adaptation

Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Actors: Udo Kier, Patrick Magee, Marina Pierro, Gerald Zalcberg, …
Category: Horror

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

13 February 200914 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Evil Personality Within Unleashed

Director: John S. Robertson
Actors: John Barrymore, Brandon Hurst, Charles Lane, George Stevens
Category: Horror

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

18 July 200114 May 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Evil Personality Within Unleashed

Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Actors: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Halliwell Hobbes, …
Category: Horror

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941)

9 May 200118 August 2020

Rating: ★★

Evil Personality Within Unleashed

Director: Victor Fleming
Actors: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp, …
Category: Horror

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (2002)

24 June 200718 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Evil Personality Within Unleashed

Director: Maurice Phillips
Actors: John Hannah, David Warner, Gerard Horan, Elodie Kendall, …
Category: Horror

Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)

28 May 20008 April 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Dr Jekyll Becomes a Woman/Hammer Film

Director: Roy Ward Baker
Actors: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander, …
Category: Horror

Dracula (1958)

1 February 20012 July 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Hammer Dracula Adaptation

Director: Terence Fisher
Actors: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, John Van Eyssen, …
Category: Horror

Dracula (1974)

30 January 200129 December 2019

Rating: ★★

Dracula Adaptation

Director: Dan Curtis
Actors: Jack Palance, Nigel Davenport, Simon Ward, Fiona Lewis
Category: Horror

Dracula (1979)

27 May 200212 July 2022

Rating: ★★½

Dracula Adaptation

Director: John Badham
Actors: Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Kate Nelligan, Donald Pleasence, …
Category: Horror

Dracula (2006)

19 May 20072 July 2021

Rating: ★★

Dracula Adaptation

Director: Bill Eagles
Actors: Marc Warren, Sophia Myles, Dan Stevens, Stephanie Leonidas, …
Category: Horror

Dracula (2020)

18 January 20203 January 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Dracula Adaptation

Director: Johnny Campbell, Damon Thomas, Paul McGuigan
Actors: Claes Bang, Dolly Wells, Lydia West, Jonathan Aris, …
Category: Horror

Edge of Sanity (1989)

8 August 199930 September 2020

Rating: 0­

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Adaptation

Director: Gerard Kikoine
Actors: Anthony Perkins, Glynis Barber, Sarah Maur-Thorp
Category: Horror

Eliza Graves (2014)

22 November 201512 March 2020

Rating: ★★★

Victorian Asylum Taken Over by the Inmates

Director: Brad Anderson
Actors: Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, Kate Beckinsale, David Thewlis, …
Category: Horror

The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958)

20 September 201213 November 2021

Rating: ★★★★½

Jules Verne Adaptation/Steampunk

Director: Karel Zeman
Category: Science Fiction

Frankenstein (1973)

16 December 20056 November 2022

Rating: ★★★

Frankenstein Adaptation

Director: Glenn Jordan
Actors: Robert Foxworth, Bo Svenson, Susan Strasberg, John Karlen
Category: Horror

Frankenstein (2004)

27 May 200722 April 2023

Rating: ★★

Frankenstein Adaptation

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Alec Newman, Luke Goss, Donald Sutherland, William Hurt, …
Category: Horror

Frankenstein (2011)

21 September 201214 September 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Frankenstein Stage Adaptation

Director: Danny Boyle
Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller, Naomie Harris, Karl Johnson, …
Category: Horror

Frankenstein: The True Story (1974)

5 September 200222 April 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Frankenstein Adaptation

Director: Jack Smight
Actors: Leonard Whiting, Michael Sarrazin, Jane Seymour, James Mason, …
Category: Horror

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

24 November 200221 May 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Disney Animation/Mouse Sherlock Holmes

Director: Ron Clements, Bunny Mattinson, Dave Michener, John Musker
Actors: Barrie Ingham, Vincent Price, Val Bettin, Alan Young
Category: Fantasy

Hands of the Ripper (1971)

24 December 200216 March 2020

Rating: ★★½

Jack the Ripper’s Daughter/Hammer Film

Director: Peter Sasdy
Actors: Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Norman Bird, …
Category: Horror

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

27 February 200229 October 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Sherlock Holmes Film/Ghostly Dog Mystery

Director: Sidney Lanfield
Actors: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene, Lionel Atwill, …
Category: Horror

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

25 August 20094 July 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Hammer Sherlock Holmes Film/Ghostly Dog Mystery

Director: Terence Fisher
Actors: Peter Cushing, Andre Morell, Christopher Lee, Francis de Wolff, …
Category: Horror

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983)

13 September 201729 October 2020

Rating: ★★★

Sherlock Holmes Film/Ghostly Dog Mystery

Director: Douglas Hickox
Actors: Ian Richardson, Donald Churchill, Martin Shaw, Denholm Elliott, …
Category: Horror

The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)

25 May 200829 October 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Sherlock Holmes Film/Ghostly Dog Mystery

Director: David Attwood
Actors: Richard Roxburgh, Ian Hart, Matt Day, Richard E. Grant, …
Category: Horror

House of Wax (1953)

18 January 20102 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Mad Waxworks Curator

Director: Andre de Toth
Actors: Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Phyllis Kirk, Paul Cavanagh
Category: Horror

I, Monster (1971)

5 July 200226 August 2021

Rating: ★★★

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Adaptation

Director: Stephen Weeks
Actors: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Hurndall, George Merritt, …
Category: Horror

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2013)

21 December 201418 November 2021

Rating: ★★

Animation/Boy With a Cuckoo-Clock Heart on a Quest

Director: Stephane Berla, Mathias Malzieu
Category: Fantasy

Jack the Ripper (1959)

6 February 20131 June 2021

Rating: ★★

Jack the Ripper Killings

Director: Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman
Actors: Lee Patterson, Eddie Byrne, Ewen Solon, John Le Mesurier, …
Category: Horror

Jack the Ripper (1976)

13 August 20151 June 2021

Rating: ★★

Jack the Ripper Killings

Director: Jess Franco
Actors: Klaus Kinski, Herbert Fux, Lina Romay
Category: Horror

Jack the Ripper (1988)

27 October 201318 December 2019

Rating: ★★

Jack the Ripper Killings/TV Mini-Series

Director: David Wickes
Actors: Michael Caine, Lewis Collins, Armand Assante, Michael Gothard, …
Category: Horror

Jack the Ripper (2016)

1 June 202115 October 2022

Rating: ★★

Jack the Ripper Killings

Director: Sebastian Niemann
Actors: Sonja Gerhardt, Falk Hentschel, Nicholas Farrell, Sabin Tambrea, …
Category: Horror

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

12 April 200320 September 2021

Rating: ★★½

Underground Adventures/Jules Verne Adaptation

Director: Henry Levin
Actors: James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Thayer David, …
Category: Science Fiction

Jules Verne’s Rocket to the Moon (1967)

24 June 200722 December 2021

Rating: ★

Victorian Rocket Launch Comedy

Director: Don Sharp
Actors: Burl Ives, Terry-Thomas, Gert Frobe, Troy Donahue, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

16 September 202316 September 2023

Rating: ★★½

Vampire Aboard a Ship Voyage

Director: Andre Øvredal
Actors: Corey Hawkins, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Aisling Franciosi, …
Category: Horror

The Limehouse Golem (2016)

25 September 20171 March 2019

Rating: ★★

Victorian Serial Killer

Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Actors: Bill Nighy, Olivia Cook, Douglas Booth, Daniel Mays, …
Category: Horror

The Living and the Dead (2016)

9 May 20239 May 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Ghost Story

Director: Alice Troughton, Sam Donovan
Actors: Colin Morgan, Charlotte Spencer, Nicholas Woodeson, Malcolm Storrey, …
Category: Horror

Mary Reilly (1996)

17 July 200914 May 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Dr Jekyll’s Maid

Director: Stephen Frears
Actors: Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Glenn Close, …
Category: Horror

Missing Link (2019)

27 July 20198 October 2019

Rating: ★★½

Bigfoot Comedy/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Chris Butler
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, …
Category: Fantasy

Murder By Decree (1979)

13 December 200212 April 2023

Rating: ★★★

Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper

Director: Bob Clark
Actors: Christopher Plummer, James Mason, Donald Sutherland, Genevieve Bujold, …
Category: Horror

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

22 February 201912 August 2019

Rating: ★★

Fairytale Adaptation

Director: Lasse Hallström, Joe Johnston
Actors: Mackenzie Foy, Jayden Fowora Knight, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, …
Category: Fantasy

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

29 July 200210 January 2020

Rating: ★★

Eternally Youthful Libertine

Director: Albert Lewin
Actors: Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Donna Reed
Category: Horror

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973)

11 February 20201 November 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Eternally Youthful Libertine

Director: Glenn Jordan
Actors: Shane Briant, Nigel Davenport, Vanessa Howard, John Karlen, …
Category: Horror

The Prestige (2006)

30 November 20065 December 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Rival Victorian Stage Magicians

Director: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987)

1 June 20149 January 2022

Rating: ★★

Sherlock Holmes Unfrozen in the Present

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Michael Pennington, Margaret Colin, Nicholas Guest, Lila Kaye, …
Category: Science Fiction

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

1 January 201018 April 2023

Rating: ★★½

Sherlock Holmes vs Black Magic

Director: Guy Ritchie
Actors: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, …
Category: Fantasy

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

26 November 201224 November 2020

Rating: ★★½

Sherlock Holmes Steampunk Adventure

Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Actors: Ben Syder, Dominic Keating, Gareth David-Lloyd
Category: Science Fiction

A Study in Terror (1965)

17 July 201026 January 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper

Director: James Hill
Actors: John Neville, Anthony Quayle, Donald Houston, Robert Morley, …
Category: Horror

Sweeney Todd (2006)

15 December 20073 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Murderous Barber

Director: David Moore
Actors: Ray Winstone, Tom Hardy, David Warner, Essie Davis, …
Category: Horror

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936)

20 April 201610 May 2021

Rating: ★★

Murderous Barber

Director: George King
Actors: Tod Slaughter
Category: Horror

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

3 February 200822 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Murderous Barber Musical

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, …
Category: Horror

The Time Machine (1960)

19 January 20012 July 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Time Travel/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: George Pal
Actors: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Sebastian Cabot, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Time Machine (2002)

9 April 20023 May 2020

Rating: ★★

Time Travel/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Simon Wells
Actors: Guy Pearce, Samantha Mumba, Orlando Jones, Mark Addy, …
Category: Science Fiction

Victor Frankenstein (2015)

5 December 201527 October 2021

Rating: ★

Frankenstein Adaptation

Director: Paul McGuigan
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Andrew Scott, …
Category: Horror

The War of the Worlds (2005)

3 July 20102 November 2021

Rating: ★★½

Period Alien Invasion/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Timothy Hines
Category: Science Fiction

The War of the Worlds (2019)

13 December 20193 June 2023

Rating: ★★

Period Alien Invasion/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Craig Viveiros
Actors: Eleanor Tomlinson, Rafe Spall, Rupert Graves, Robert Carlyle, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Water Babies (1978)

10 March 20047 July 2023

Rating: ★★½

Children’s Adventure/Magic Underwater World

Director: Lionel Jeffries
Actors: James Mason, Billie Whitelaw, Tommy Pender, Samantha Gates, …
Category: Fantasy

The Wolfman (2010)

15 February 201018 December 2022

Rating: ★★★

Werewolf Film

Director: Joe Johnston
Actors: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, …
Category: Horror

The Wolves of Willougby Chase (1989)

31 July 201022 October 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Victorian Children’s Fantasy

Director: Stuart Orme
Actors: Stephanie Beacham, Mel Smith, Richard O'Brien, Geraldine James, …
Category: Fantasy

The Woman in Black (2012)

12 February 20121 February 2023

Rating: ★★

Ghost Story

Director: James Watkins
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Shaun Dooley, …
Category: Horror

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

2 September 200328 November 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Teenage Sherlock Holmes/Adventure Film

Director: Barry Levinson
Actors: Nicholas Rowe, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Alan Cox, …
Category: Fantasy

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