Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense

This 1984 TV series co-produced with Fox was Hammer's creative swan song, 13 mini-thrillers reuniting some of its 1970s creative personnel, importing US guest stars and occasionally lacing the stories with a dash of the supernatural.

When first broadcast they seemed divorced from the studio's characteristic ambiance but time's been kind to them and, retrospectively, their period tics and stylings make them feel more like 'proper' Hammer movies.

They range from straight crime thrillers such as The Sweet Scent Of Death and the outstanding Czech Mate (a tale of paranoia in the Eastern bloc starring Susan George) through to a man haunting his own past in A Distant Scream, sixties rock stars hiding a ghastly secret in Black Carrion and the suspenseful In Possession and The Late Nancy Irving.

Excepting the odd plot contrivance and red herrings so unsubtle they might as well arrive on a bed of crushed ice, these are very entertaining, small screen dramas.

A series of thrillers from the 1980's, featuring a mix of British and American stars.

Generally around the seventy minute mark, every story is very different.

I can't help it, I hear the name Hammer, and I instantly associate it with horror, and some episodes do have that vibe, but largely they're straight up thrillers.

Episode quality does vary somewhat, for me the standout piece is Czech Mate, which features the wonderful Susan George, as a British woman who gets caught up in a murder in Prague. A terrific, cold war thriller, which benefits hugely from location filming.

I also thoroughly enjoyed The Sweet scent of Death, Last video and testament, and unlike some, I enjoyed Child's Play, I thought it was quite an unnerving storyline, one I imagine has inspired a few horror movies.

Tennis court is the only one I didn't care very much for, despite a very good showing from Hannah Gordon. A Distant scream isn't a favourite either, but I get why people like it.

Plenty of names to watch out for, including David McCallum, James Laurenson and Carol Lynley.

It wasn't the easiest series to obtain, I ended up buying it from Germany, a Pidax release, sadly it missed out the two best episodes.

Worth tracking down.

8/10.

An enjoyable anthology series from Hammer House of Horror. I believe it was their final production and I think it 's one they can be proud of. The series is quite original in it's approach so you can forget about stories with vampires and instead watch a more modern take on horror which concentrates on, as the title suggests, mystery and suspense rather than blood and gore.

There were no bad stories, they all ranged from very good to average in my view.

If I'm picking my favourite episode it would have to be In Possession, followed closely by The Corvin Inheritance. Both episodes had you gripped throughout and were very well written and acted.

Then I'd pick The Sweet Scent of Death. When I look at the ratings each of the episodes have received on IMDB I think this episode is the most deserving of a higher score than it's received. It's a clever story where the suspense continues throughout and is a great setting for horror.

I'd put Mark of the Devil fourth, whilst the lead character has brought the predicament on himself, I was still routing for him and you're on edge every time he takes his shirt off or attempts to hide his markings from his fiance.

Joint fifth and Sixth I have A Distant Scream and The Late Nancy Irving. They're very clever stories but lack the pace that those stories I rate higher have.

From seventh through to tenth I'd have the following episodes all tied - Black Carrion, Last Video and Testament, And The Walls Come Tumbling Down and Czech Mate. All episodes I enjoyed to some degree or other but they didn't quite have that something my higher ranked episodes had, be it a less plausible story or a weaker ending.

In Eleventh place I'd have Paint Me A Murder. Again a good story but I just felt it deserved a more engaging ending. In Twelfth place I'd have Tennis Court, it's not bad but there are simply more stronger storylines than this. In Thirteenth place I'd have Child's Play. I think this is a bit of a marmite episode (probably only UK readers will now what I mean by this), but basically you'll either love it or dislike it. I still thought it was ok and I liked the ending but the lack of depth in the characters was such that I didn't really care what would happen to them at the end. I'm obviously going against the grain here as Child's Play is the episode reviewers rate the highest but there you go. Ultimately there isn't one of the 13 episodes that isn't worth a watch in my view.

As I was a teenager in the 80's there was a nice sense of nostalgia here looking back at the fashions, decor, cars etc.. and I think for those that remember the 80's they will get that too. It was also nice to see some familiar actors and admire their craft.

All in all I enjoyed the Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense and if you like this type of genre it's worth a watch.

For the most time. This is the sequel to "Hammer House Of Horror" (80). I actually likes HHOH a bit better than this series. Both TV-series can be bought on DVD from Amazon.UK.

I saw this TV-series for the first time 3-4 years ago. Last year, i began seeing the episodes for the second time. I think this series has generally good acting, suspense, twists and story.

My favourite episodes are: Last Video and Testament, Czech Mate, The Corvini Inheritance and The Sweet Scent of Death. I think some episodes had potential to be great, but turned out to be only okay.

Like these: Mark of the Devil, In Possession, Paint Me a Murder and Black Carrion. And i think these was just poor. A Distant Scream, The Late Nancy Irving, Tennis Court , The Wall Came Tumbling Down and Child's Play.