Customer Reviews

Hammer House of Horror - The Complete Set

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Annoyed that I couldn't find a listing of all the Hammer Productions included in this Box Set before buying it, I took the liberty of going and getting one. What I found was this set contained many great titles, some of them quite hard to find (and impossible to locate on DVD) mixed with some films that were adequate. For the price, for the quality of the DVD transfer that isn't the best but is pretty good, and for those great pieces, however, its well worth picking up.
And now for a listing of the 4 DVDs:

Volume 1
Witching Time
The Thirteenth Reunion
Rude Awakening

Volume 2
Growing Pains
The House that Bled to Death
Charlie Boy

Volume 3
The Silent Scream
Children of the Full Moon
Carpathian Eagle

Volume 4
Guardian of the Abyss
Visitor of the Grave
The Two Faces of Evil
The Mask of Satan

First of all let me start by saying that the whole box set of thirteen forty-five minute television programs has a total running time of 670 Minutes! That is over 11 hours of viewing which works out at a cost of just over $4 per episode which is great value if you like a bit of horror entertainment for just under an hour a day for 2 weeks solid. Basically that is how my family watched it. We would do an episode a day and it helped fill that gap after work with a nice cup of tea and biscuits. Anyhow, onto the review.

The Hammer House of Horror Box Set is a must for any fan of Hammer Horror but it is not for everybody. It is more of a nostalgic item which brings back the memory of this old Hammer Horror series from the early 1980s. If you like Hammer Horror and have not seen this series then you should know that it contains more modern stories sort of in the vein of "Tales of the Unexpected" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" but with all the Hammer hallmarks - corny acting, daft plots and lots of women who are chosen for their looks over their ability to act - and what bad taste the casting directors have!... which is why we love it. There are many actors with bit roles who actually went on to become popular and mainstream like Pierce Brosnan and Brian Cox. Some of the shows are extremely experimental and most of the plots are silly but they are also highly original. It is a case of hit or miss with a lot of them, but you will laugh and enjoy them all the more for it with a sort of "What the hell was that I just watched?" grin.

There are 4 discs which break down into 3 + 3 + 3 + 4. The transfer quality is very good, but there are some artifacts in the image but if you do not look for them you will not see them. The only problem I have with the DVD is the fact that you can not just play each program directly. You need to basically choose the first scene in the selection that comes up and you can not help but notice what is in store for each show. It is a bit of problem that should not have been there. There is a small booklet with the box set and some extras like bios and slide show galleries.

I will divide each show into good or fair or bad.

DISK 1:
(1)The House That Bled to Death - GOOD
Basically a story about a haunted house that starts to spurt blood. Memorable kids party scene and a good twist ending.

(2)The Silent Scream - FAIR
Has Peter Cushing and Brian Cox in a story about imprisonment experiments. Good at times but also falls flat in some parts.

(3)The Two Faces of Evil - FAIR
Story about a hitchhiker that causes a car accident. Is her husband really her husband or the deranged hitchhiker? Good at times but falls flat in the end.

DISK 2:
(4)The Mark of Satin - BAD.
About a paranoid man that thinks there is a satanic plot against him. Very experimental piece.

(5)Witching Time - FAIR.
A witch arrives in the future and drives a man mad in his home. Not bad but a little corny at times.

(6)Visitors From the Grave - GOOD
Woman kills a man who tries to rape her - then she starts seeing him again. One of the better programs on this disk. Very good.

DISK 3:
(7)Rude Awakening - FAIR
About a man who keeps have a reoccurring nightmare about killing his wife. Very experimental but not bad.

(8)Charlie Boy - GOOD
Apart from the hammy acting this one is quite good. About a voodoo doll that gets out of control. Actually has a good plot.

(9)Children of the Full Moon - GOOD
You will remember this one if you are a fan of the series. Basically a run in with a werewolf family changes a couples life. Lots of fun.

DISK 4:
(10)The Thirteenth Reunion - GOOD
Starts off really bad and then turns into a great story that is very original. Excellent show.

(11)The Carpathian Eagle - BAD
A silly story about a killer femme-fatal. Has a few moments of Pierce Brosnan with his Oh-irish accent.

(12)Guardian of the Abyss - GOOD
Not a bad story about a cult that uses a mirror to incarnate a demon.

(13)Growing Pains - FAIR
Silly ghost story about a scientist family and an adopted boy. Some good scenes though but a silly ending.

Overall this is a fantastic box set with lots of different stories that vary in theme and type and will keep you entertained. Just remember that each show was produced with less funds than the Hammer Horror Movies and it shows, but all in all great stuff and I am very happy that I bought this box set.

Role on with the DVD box set of "Hammer House of Mystery of Suspense"!.... or whatever that other series was called.

Bought this one on a whim. Looked interesting and I didn't know anything about the series. Basically, you get 10 hours of television episodes. The shows are very good. Like 10 mini-films. I wish they had TV shows of this quality in the United States. They seem a lot more open-minded, too, about what they censor in the U.K. Which is very refreshing. The shows don't get gory, but they also don't shy away from violence and nudity. A lot more humor in the writing, also, that you would not expect. I recommend this highly. Especially considering how much you get for the cost.

Only one thing can describe the picture quality of these discs: spectacular! A&E has done a superb job on these as well as all of their discs! Hammer is legendary for its use of gore and sexuality to weave tales of terror and suspense, and these discs do not disappoint. Hammer is paled only by the classic Universal horror titles as true masters of the genre. This collection is the full run of the TV series (13 episodes). Any fan of horror owes it to themselves to view these discs! If you've never experienced Hammer Horror, this would be an excellent foray into their particular brand of horror: you get a good variety of what Hammer has to offer. Again, I was amazed at the picture quality of these disc!

Hammers House of Horror (1980) - barely scene is US - was a great series for those with the Hammer style of film making. This was a weekly series. Some were really good ones, some so so but they were always well worth the viewing. Most are rather tame fair by today's standards in horror. Still great fun for those Hammer Addicts.

#1 - Witching Time, The Thirteenth Reunion - Rude Awakening (with Denholm Elliot)
# 2 - Growing Pains, The House That Bled To Death, Charlie Boy
# 3 - The Silent Scream (with beloved Peter Cushing - also have a very young Brian Cox, the first Hannibal Lector from Manhunter), Children Of The Full Moon, Carpathian Eagle (didn't Hammer already do this one as a B&W film in their earlier days?) Pierce Brosnan
4 - Guardian Of The Abyss, Visitor From The Grave, The Two Faces Of Evil, The Mark Of Satan (isn't this a rehash of the old Chris Lee "Alfred Hitchcock presents episode form the late 50s?)

While we have to patiently wait for Warner Brothers to decide to release the original Hammer Dracula and Frankenstien entries on DVD (AN ABLSOLUTE CRIME), this will have to do.
An excellent collection...fun and enjoyable, often full of, get this, ideas that have not been rehashed over and over again (remind you of the current theatre releases?).
Some are better than others, with the Silent Scream rising above the rest riding Peter Crushing's performance. Solid quality, fun, and enjoyable.

Note: Not for the MTV horror crowd...it actually attempts to tell a story behind the violence.

Thanks A&E.

Now if only they would come out with a complete Tales from the Crypt collection. Any word, HBO? Pllllleeasssee?

I remember when this was first aired on British TV. I was around 6 years of age at the time and remember always getting to watch the first 5 minutes then being sent to bed - 9pm on Saturday night was very late for me then!!

Anyway, a few episodes were repeated around 5 years later, must have been around 1985 and I managed to watch some of them in whole. The one I remember vividly was Witching Time. The thing that I liked about these short films was they were set in England which was a change from all the US stuff we get all the time over here. There are some good twists and I dont think any of them have a happy ending. Each episode is completely individual and with the running time of 50 minutes alot is packed in and gets straight to the point. There are a couple of shady episodes however but the good ones more than make up for these.

I remember watching these the first time around on British television, as a young teenager, and I found them quite frightening at the time! I was so pleased to find them available on DVD (oddly, not yet available in the UK on DVD)

My favourite episodes are: "Rude Awakening" where Denholm Elliot plays the part of an Estate Agent called Norman Shendley caught in a never ending nightmare with a bizarre twist at the end. This episode is also a bit of a black comedy with some dark humor in too!

"Silent Scream" features veteran Hammer actor Peter Cushing playing the part of the owner of an strange pet shop that has no customers..and very strange pets! This episode also features a lead role for young rising star Brian Cox.

These short films are now some 20 years old, and probably not as scary as they were originally, however I still think most of them would be unsuitable for young children.

These 13 episodes are kind of a cross between "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Twilight Zone", with some of that British predilection for black magic and Satanism thrown in. Over half the episodes have no supernatural element, being displays of paranoia, delusion, sociopathy and horror. Of course such displays are not limited to those episodes! Episode content for half of these is pretty weak: I had to refresh my memory on individual plots too often while writing this review - not a good sign. DVD production values like picture quality, sound and packaging are satisfying.

Three episodes, "The Thirteenth Reunion", "The Silent Scream", and "Visitor From The Grave" suffer from Protagonist Deficiency Syndrome (PDS): In PDS, the protagonist(s) display reasoning deficiencies that are so mind-boggling that one starts rooting for the evil antagonists instead. Here are brief discussions of the episodes and ratings (5 stars possible).

Disc #1 - Witching Time - 2 stars -First episode out of the box, leaving one with lingering dissatisfaction and apprehension that the remaining episodes will be as weak. (Unfortunately too many are!)
Disc # 1 - The Thirteenth Reunion - 1 star. Classic PDS, but viewers hungering for satisfaction will be satiated.
Disc # 1 - Rude Awakening - 4 stars. Grand prize for series originality and quality.

Disc # 2 - Growing Pains - ½ star. What's the point? Entertainment also needs a plot going somewhere, doesn't it?
Disc # 2 - The House That Bled To Death - 3 stars. Clever twist.
Disc # 2 - Charlie Boy - 3 stars. "Charlie" is apparently some sort of voodoo/hex doll.

Disc # 3 - The Silent Scream -2 stars. Classic PDS obstructs an interesting but hardly original idea. (e.g."Most Dangerous Game", etc.)
Disc # 3 - Children Of The Full Moon - 3 stars. It was a dark and stormy night...This episode has the only totally unexpected (to me) jolt in the series, thus some merit here!
Disc # 3 - Carpathian Eagle - 3 stars. A moderately good plot, thoroughly executed.

Disc # 4 - Guardian Of The Abyss - 3 ½ stars. Lots of apparent good old-fashioned British black magic and Satanism ala Dennis Wheatley.
Disc # 4 - Visitor From The Grave - zero stars. PDS Syndrome personified. This episode's plot line is a well-worn rut and has been presented far better elsewhere.
Disc # 4 - The Two Faces Of Evil - 3 ½ stars. The two faces: evil and evil. Lots of good old fashioned paranoia and other elements here to satisfy almost everyone!
Disc # 4 - The Mark Of Satan - 2 ½ stars. Talk about paranoia! Quality wise, this episode is right at the series' norm.

I've long been a fan of Hammer Films and even got to see many of the later ones when they were first released but I had never heard of these TV films. Originally made in 1980, they came along at a time when my life was going through a transition phase and I was moving from place to place, so I missed them altogether. Now that I've caught up with them after 30 years, they are definitely a mixed bag. I was expecting them to be like NIGHT GALLERY whose visual style copied the original Hammer look of rich colors and stylized lighting but this set had the look and feel of any British TV show of the period. The programs are solid but undistinguished. In keeping with the later Hammer offerings, there is plenty of Kensington Gore (Hammer's special fake blood mix) and some occasional nudity on display which should have kept this show off of American TV. Supposedly they aired this series on ABC Mystery of the Week sometime in the 1980s but I don't see how unless they were heavily cut or ABC was very selective. These DVDs come from A&E.

The stories were uneven to say the least with the good ones (GUARDIAN OF THE ABYSS, THE SILENT SCREAM, RUDE AWAKENING) being very good, the bad ones (THE CARPATHIAN EAGLE, THE 13TH REUNION, VISITOR FROM THE GRAVE) being very mediocre, and the others falling somewhere in between. GROWING PAINS, THE TWO FACES OF EVIL and THE MARK OF SATAN were remarkable for the unease they generated much like Hammer's old psychological thrillers of the 1960s. The best episodes had Hammer alumni such as actors Peter Cushing, Jon Finch and John Carson and directors Don Sharp, Peter Sasdy, and Alan Gibson. There are also strong performances from Anna Calder-Marshall and Denholm Elliot that lift their respective stories out of the ordinary. I'm glad I have this collection but I can't say that I'll revisit it anytime soon. Probably a must for Hammer fans but definitely not a complete success. The episodes don't have the staying power of the original films and in fact I've already forgotten some of them.