The studio behind such classics as Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Devil Rides Out is joining forces with Random Harvest, a British production and funding company, and Stan Winston Productions, a Hollywood-based effects house, to set up Harvest Pictures III to back new productions.

According to Screendaily Harvest Pictures III will support quality, low-budget horror projects from all three partners, capitalising on the low-cost, high-reward model that has generated tidy profits on the likes of 28 Days Later, Shaun Of The Dead, Cabin Fever and Saw.

Hammer projects in the pipeline already include Perfect Sight and The Beetle. Filming is expected to begin in the early summer, close to three decades after Hammer produced its final title, The Lady Vanishes, in 1978.

In recent years a raft of horror titles have stormed the US box office and enjoyed success further afield, including Asian adaptations The Ring and The Grudge, remakes of classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Saw, a low-budget nail-biter that came from out of nowhere to become a critical and commercial hit.

Hollywood studios are poised to unleash an onslaught of horror this year with a line-up that includes The Ring 2, The Amityville Horror remake, The Cave, Boogeyman, and video game adaptations Alone in the Dark and Doom.