Hammer House of Horror - Complete Set

Amazon.com

Witches. Deadly nightmares. Werewolves. Dagger-wielding authors. Body-snatching hitchhikers. For American horror buffs, this collection is something of a holy grail: the complete rarely seen 1980 anthology series produced by England's famed Hammer Studios, the masters of their gothic domain. Hammer aficionados will want to start with "The Silent Scream," which stars studio icon Peter Cushing in a terrifying story of captivity and comeuppance. Veteran character actor Denholm Elliott stars as an unhappily married real estate agent in the grips of a recurring nightmare in "Rude Awakening." As for rising stars, that's Pierce Brosnan in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as Last Victim in "Carpathian Eagle," a story about a homicidal author who beds her victims. More Night Gallery than Twilight Zone, this series recalls Hammer's gory--I mean, glory--days as the premier producer of elegantly disreputable horror films that were a cross between Masterpiece Theatre and Herschell Gordon Lewis. There's nothing campy in this baker's dozen of episodes--just blood, dread, and fears (and a little nudity). --Donald Liebenson

Description

The legendary Hammer Studios is recognized as the high-water mark of the gothic macabre, spinning some of the most suspenseful and chilling horror films of all time, including Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula -Prince of Darkness, and Curse of the Werewolf. Hammer gave the world ivons of horror with tales that seduced their way into our darkest spaces and our deepest nightmares. In 1980, Hammer produced a series of 13 short horror stories for television, each episode providing a completely new and individual tale of terror and suspense. Now, A&E Home Video presents the complete run of HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR - every episode ever made - in this special collector's set for the very first time. All episodes are complete, uncut an digitally remastered for the first time and presented in the original transmission order.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Complete Series Set!.......2007-01-27

This set is awesome. The picture and sound are great considering when and where this series was made! Fair price too, but buy it from an Amazon seller instead of Amazon--Amazon's price is way too high!!!!

great little horror vignettes.......2004-09-24

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?)

A Very Good Bang for your Buck - Collectors Item.......2003-10-24

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.

2 ½ stars actually.......2003-01-24

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.

Inclusively Appealing.......2002-07-27

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

DVD:

DVD

DVD