Hammer House of Horror

Last week, the Brazilian distributor London Films released a DVD with three episodes of "Hammer House of Horror".

1) "Witching Time":

This movie is independently listed in IMDb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090328/usercomments-3

2) "The Thirteenth Reunion"

Ruth, the reporter of the women page of a magazine, is assigned by her editor to participate of a ten weeks course of a new weight organization called "Think Thin". In accordance with the letter of a reader, the system would be very masochist and depressive, destructing the self-esteem of the patient. Ruth makes a friend in the course, and he dies in a car crash. In the funeral, an employee of the funeral house discloses weird events that are happening in his job. In her investigation, Ruth finds dark and macabre secrets.

Although being predictable in a certain moment, I liked very much this short story of "Hammer House of Horror". This film is very well played and directed, has many outdoors scenes, very unusual in Hammer's movies, and is very dark. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A 13a Reunião"("The Thirteenth Reunion")

3) "Rude Awakening"

The real state agent Norman hates his old wife and wants to divorce her to marry his secretary Lolly. When a new client wants to sell an old and isolated mansion, Norman begins to have odd nightmares, and he becomes confused between reality and dream. When Norman awakes, a surprise waits for him.

This intriguing episode has a deceptive conclusion, but anyway I liked it. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Despertar Repentino" ("Sudden Awakening")

My vote for the DVD is seven.

Title of DVD (Brazil): "A Casa do Terror" ("The House of the Terror")

This TV-series contains 13 episodes of 52 minutes, and all of them are worth to watch. Of course, not all stories are even, there are tops and flops. But all in all, there is no episode that is really bad.

First, the three weakest stories. The fourth episode, "Growing Pains", tells an interesting story about the ghost of a dead boy coming back from the grave to haunt his parents who haven't had enough time to look after him. But too slow paced and a tame ending make this episode rather a letdown. The ninth episode "Carpathian Eagle" boosts a very interesting serial killer story with a twist (and Pierce Brosnan in a small role as a victim), but it's also too slow paced and predictable towards the end. The weakest of all episodes is number ten, "Guardian of the Abyss". It's a not very original story about a Satan's cult, only the final twist is nice to watch.

But there are some exquisite horror stories in the series. For example, episode two, "The Thirteenth Reunion". It's a creepy story about a cannibalistic secret society, highly recommended. As is the sixth episode, "Charlie Boy", the goriest episode with the highest body count about an African voodoo fetish with deadly powers. Or the seventh, "The Silent Scream" starring Peter Cushing as an ex-concentration camp guard who makes a grueling experiment with an ex-convict. Psychologically very unnerving. "Visitor from the Grave", the eleventh episode, has also some creepy moments that are perfectly timed. But the most haunting story is the twelfth, "The Two Faces of Evil", which will make You shiver for quite a while. Atmospheric horror at its best.

The first episode, "Witching Time", starring Ian "Zombi 2" McCullogh, is mainly remarkable for being the only one with a happy-end. "Rude Awakening", the third, is the most (dark) humorous one with Denholm Elliott playing the lead role gleefully funny. The fifth episode "The House That Bled to Death" makes a seven year old girl suffer some really bad shocks, while episode eight, "Children of the Full Moon", tells a nice variation of the classic wolf man story. The final episode, "The Mark of Satan", is an interesting study of a man's paranoia and its unpleasant consequences.

For being a TV-series, the episodes boost surprisingly subversive and violent moments. They are mostly highly entertaining and creepy. Recommended to all who like to shiver while they're watching movies.

Curiously enough, this is only Hammer's second foray into Wolf Man lore after THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961); intriguingly, it's mixed here with a VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)-like brood of evil children – while the sinister procreation plot is a clear nod to ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968). An unsettling mood pervades this particular episode (helped by its central location, an English country-house situated deep into the woods) – even if, when finally glimpsed, the werewolf make-up is kind of goofy! The bewildered hero is played by Christopher Cazenove, his business partner by Hammer veteran Robert Urquhart, while Diana Dors is the deceptively genial housekeeper of the eerie mansion – who, apart from looking after the children by day, has the task of initiating the werewolf's female victims (the latest being Cazenove's wife) into their new 'role'. The final twist – concerning a woodsman Cazenove meets when he goes looking for his missing wife – is predictable, but nicely handled all the same. As has been the case with some other episodes in the series – which, I have to admit, has taken me by surprise overall – this presents a far more chilling, and subversive, concept (bestiality) than is usually associated with Hammer Films!

1000 words are not enough to review this entire series but I'll try my best. These are 13 one-hour stories with the usual horrific ending. Standard fare? No. Quality actors, great direction and superb scripts make a great series of stories that are long gone but definitely not forgotten. 25 years have passed since the original airing and upon review, they're still great! Madness, revenge, greed, jealousy and the occult are just some of the subjects covered by these stories. The effects are dated, the actors look unfashionable and the locations look dated but that isn't unexpected. This is the third decade since then and life moves on. You may recognise familiar faces from Peter Cushing (Famous Hammer Actor: From Beyond the Grave, Asylum, Top Secret) to Lucy Gutteridge (Top Secret, Secret Garden) and Denholm Elliott (Trading Places).

If you love British horror, made during the 'golden era' of British television, get the DVD and start watching!

For those of us of a certain age, this was the must-see Saturday night TV event. And out of the 13 (very apt number...) individual episodes, there are several that chill my blood and haunt my nightmares to this day.

The luridly titled 'House That Bled To Death' was an excellent take on the Amityville theme - new owners of a house discover its murderous past, 'Thirteenth Reunion' takes the cannibal-aircrash-survivors story to a scary extreme, and 'Charlie Boy' gives us the cursed voodoo effigy from hell.

But undoubted winner of the 'Scare A Thirteen Year Old So He Pees The Bed' Award - 'Two Faces of Evil'. For any thirtysomething who has passing hazy recollections of this series, think rotten teeth and one sharp, black fingernail...

I'm off - I need the loo.