Entertainment One has inked a multi-year, first-look film agreement with U.K.-based production company Hammer, which includes financing, distribution and production.

Hammer first opened in 1934, and has produced classic genre films such as Dracula, The Vampire Lovers and Frankenstein Created Woman.

Recent releases from Hammer include Antti Jokinen’s The Resident and John Pogue’s The Quiet Ones. Prior to signing the first-look deal, eOne had coproduced and co-financed two films with Hammer: The Woman in Black and its sequel Woman in Black: Angel of Death, which is currently slated for a January 2015 release.

This prior relationship with Hammer, in addition to its unique heritage film brand, prompted eOne to sign a first-look agreement with the company, said Xavier Marchand, president of film production at eOne.

“Hammer is defined more by thrills than horror with a history of filmmaking that straddles horror, dark scary thrillers, ghost stories, monster films,” Marchand told Playback Daily. “There is clear message in the audience consciousness, at least in the U.K., of what a Hammer film will deliver and this really helps in terms of marketing and awareness.”

He added that Hammer’s extensive library means a number of its titles can be reinvented, while at the same time developing new projects that fit into the company’s existing genre brand.

Through the agreement, eOne will also distribute Hammer films in Canada, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. The remaining international territories will be handled by eOne Films International, the company’s international sales arm.