Hammer House Of Horror - Complete Collection [DVD] [1980]

Hammer House of Horror, one of the best horror collections you can buy, quite often at a bargainous price, is not to be missed. Allowing for personal tastes the consensus seems to be that there are 10 or 11 of the episodes which are good or very good with 2 or 3 not so good but worth a watch. Personally I would say there is only one real duffer 'Growing Pains' but a few other reviewers have expressed their like for this episode so as I said it all boils down to personal preference.
I'll quickly run thru the episodes in their chronicological order on the disc for ease though as one reviewer stated this was not the order in which they were originally aired.

The House that Bled to Death - A lot of peoples favourite episode concerning a family who have moved into a house where a gruesome murder had taken place. Good solid episode with an appropriate and deserving conclusion!

The Silent Scream - Excellent episode with Peter Cushing as the proprietor of a pet shop with a difference. Incredulous that one reviewer here doesn't like it!

The Two Faces of Evil - Enjoyable, slows to a crawl occasionally but good story and good finale concerning evil doppelgangers.

The Mark of Satan - I'm a little bit ambivalent about this one, interesting though strange exploration of demonic possession.

Witching Time - A 17th century witch returns to haunt the occupants of her old farmhouse. Unremarkable but fine.

Visitor From the Grave - Lots of people don't like this one, I do however. The episode most guilty of staging set pieces which are far fetched if not impossible in light of what is really happening in the story. A woman is haunted by the ghost of a man she has killed. Great ending I thought.

Rude Awakening - Estate Agent Denholm Elliot struggles to differentiate between dreams and reality. Don't bother watching the intro sequence before the music with this episode as it just shows excerpts of what happens in the forthcoming programme.

Charlie Boy - Voodoo doll with a bad attitude, good.

Children of the Full Moon - Great episode, Diana Dors puts in a suitably sinister performance as the mother figure of a whorde of children in a large isolated house who put up stranded unwary travellers.

The Thirteenth Reunion - Another strong episode concerning bizarre deaths and happenings between a health centre for the overweight and a funeral parlour. Nice story.

The Carpathian Eagle - Suzanne Danielle, if you can remember her from the 70's and 80's, dispatches men who fall for her considerable charms. No guesswork required in this one as she is revealed early on and nice that the programme doesn't try to con you otherwise. Good in a typical Hammer, sexy kind of way.

Guardian of the Abyss - Quite good devil worship/sacrifice episode

Growing Pains - Didn't think much of this one. Annoyingly posh child actors and all a bit silly really.

The series stands the test of time incredibly well and provides a great legacy for Hammer as an institution, very very recommended; even if you don't like every episode there are enough truely classic episodes here for any fan of well written horror.

At last, some proper old-fashioned hammer horrors! They don't make them like this anymore. Just the actors are enough to terrify you, no special effects necessary! The stuff that childhood nightmares are made of! Brilliant buy!! These are a one off, only one of this series was ever made. Well worth the price for 13 episodes of British horror!

At its best, this imaginative series was capable of sending a shiver down the spine and, particularly in the case of 'Two Faces of Evil' and 'Children of the Full Moon', it still does. With high production values and some top talent both in front of and behind the cameras, this was an admirable experiment in contemporising traditional horror themes. Almost every genre is represented here, some more effectively than others.

I recall watching most of these shows when they were first broadcast. Although I'm not easily scared, I have to say that 'Two Faces of Evil' has remained with me ever since. It's a mini-masterpiece, played to perfection. Gary Raymond is tremendous as both the gentle dad and the monstrous doppelganger.

Other classy episodes include 'The House That Bled to Death', with a twist ending that's endlessly foreshadowed yet tremendously effective; 'Carpathian Eagle' is an entertaining feminist romp featuring the gorgeous Mrs Sam Torrance and a laughably plain and seedy Pierce Brosnan in his first screen role; 'Rude Awakening' maintains its Dead of Night recurring nightmare theme remarkably well and reminds us what a great actor we had in Denholm Elliot; 'Children of the Full Moon' is flawless from start to finish and has the added bonus of featuring the very beautiful Celia Gregory; 'The Silent Scream' is a taut little story that's fairly gripping without being particularly scary; 'The Thirteenth Reunion' is a refreshingly gruesome tale of everyday cannibals; 'Witching Hour' is reassuringly nasty with plenty of gratuitous nudity; 'Guardians of the Abyss' is intriguing enough to overcome a somewhat faltering finale and some dodgy special effects.

On the minus side, 'The Mark of Satan' never really goes anywhere - it's mildly interesting but all rather pointless; 'Charlie Boy' is funny rather than scary, as various contrived calamities befall everyone who comes into contact with the eponymous idol; 'Visitor from the Grave' features some well-known actors making fools of themselves - including 'Howard' from Ever Decreasing Circles' 'Howard & Hilda' as an attempted rapist! - and it's easily the most predictable of the whole series: so predictable, indeed, that the DVD sleeve-note writer seems to have felt compelled to get his synopsis completely wrong. 'Growing Pains' is a fairly uninspired season climax.

As with any series, we're talking about a mixed bag here, but it's well worth tolerating the odd turkey and revelling in the gems. What's particularly refreshing here is that these tales are largely downbeat in tone - they've got the courage of their convictions and carry them through to their logical conclusion. No happy endings here.

So dim the lights, draw the curtains and experience 'Two Faces of Evil' in all its glory. Believe me, you'll never pick up a hitchhiker again.