I first saw HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR back in 2010 on the old A&E DVDs with the green covers. At that time I was disappointed in the series, the primary reason being that I had been really looking forward to HHOH and it was not what I expected. I thought the look of it would be more like the Hammer movies of yore, with moody photography and atmospheric use of color. Now that HHOH is out on Blu-Ray, I thought I’d revisit it for old times’ sake. What a difference! This time around I held no expectations and enjoyed the episodes as well crafted mini-movies with eclectic stories and solid performances.
The stories are a mixed bag but none are without interest. The only true disappointments were THE CARPATHIAN EAGLE and THE MASK OF SATAN. The former had an unsatisfactory revelation while the latter was just too confusing to follow. I also didn’t like the ending of THE 13th REUNION. My personal favorites were THE TWO FACES OF EVIL which is truly unsettling, GUARDIANS OF THE ABYSS with Hammer veteran John Carson, CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON with an interesting variation on werewolves, RUDE AWAKENING with Denholm Elliot and his ever-changing secretary, and Peter Cushing in THE SILENT SCREAM.
The remaining 5 episodes have their moments. There’s the notorious birthday party in THE HOUSE THAT BLED TO DEATH, the creepy child ghost of GROWING PAINS, an African fetish doll in CHARLIE BOY, the just desserts ending of WITCHING TIME, and finally the GASLIGHT theme of VISITOR FROM THE GRAVE. All 13 (!) episodes were done in 1980 and are well produced on a low budget They are well acted and well directed by such Hammer veterans as Peter Sasdy, Alan Gibson, and Don Sharp. There were also flashes of nudity which I found surprising in a TV show of this vintage.
Over forty years later they’re still entertaining and engaging. That would not be the case for those viewers who want special effects and excess gore over performance, dialogue, and story. While many familiar horror tropes are in these, they are handled cleverly with twists many won’t see coming. I’m happy I revisited HHOH. Apparently others agree with me, as the show has its own website with lots of background info and trivia. The series is also available online.
The Capsule Critic 