‘Incense for the Damned’ Joins Hammer Presents Collection

A cult vampire film that spent decades lurking on the fringes of British horror is set for a long-awaited return this autumn. Hammer has announced that Robert Hartford-Davis’ Incense for the Damned will join its Hammer Presents line on 16 November, bringing the 1971 feature to UK Blu-ray for the first time in a new 2K restoration.

Released under several titles over the years, including Bloodsuckers, Freedom Seeker and Doctors Wear Scarlet, the film occupies an unusual place in British genre cinema. Adapted from Simon Raven’s 1960 novel Doctors Wear Scarlet, it combines vampire mythology with the changing social attitudes of the late 1960s, placing its supernatural horror against a backdrop of academic privilege, sexual liberation and counterculture excess.

Patrick Mower stars as Richard Fountain, an Oxford scholar whose research trip to Greece takes an increasingly sinister turn after he falls under the spell of the enigmatic Chriseis, played by Imogen Hassall. Concerned by his disappearance, friends and colleagues travel overseas in search of him, only to uncover a trail leading towards ritual sacrifice, vampirism and an ancient evil hidden far from the university halls he once called home.

The cast features a number of familiar faces from British film and television, including Patrick Macnee, Peter Cushing, Edward Woodward, Johnny Sekka, Madeleine Hinde and Alexander Davion.

Although Incense for the Damned has gradually earned a dedicated following, its production proved anything but straightforward. Filming in Greece and Cyprus was interrupted after funding ran dry, forcing production to halt before additional finance allowed work to resume. The delays resulted in new material being written and fresh cast members joining the project, contributing to a final cut that director Robert Hartford-Davis ultimately distanced himself from.

Its original theatrical life was similarly complicated. Following an X certificate from the British Board of Film Censors after unspecified cuts, the film received only a limited UK release before slipping into relative obscurity through double bills and alternative international titles. For many years it remained one of the less widely seen British vampire films of its era, despite boasting an impressive cast and an atmosphere quite distinct from many of its contemporaries.

The new release forms part of Hammer Presents, a label dedicated not to Hammer’s own productions but to significant British horror films from other studios and filmmakers. The collection has been created to highlight overlooked titles that helped shape the wider landscape of British genre cinema, extending beyond the studio’s own celebrated catalogue.

Presented from a new 2K restoration, the release offers UK audiences their first opportunity to own Incense for the Damned on Blu-ray. It’s available to pre-order now before it’s release on 16 November 2026. For more information and to pre-order yours, visit: hammerfilms.com

Incense for the Damned trailer

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