Brilliant and touching

A different way of telling a story

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Anthology series featuring stand alone episodes centered around supernatural and horror themes weren't all that common in television in the 60s 70s and 80s and the longest running one was the often dire TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED sarcastically referred to by some people as Tales Of The Bloody Obvious . They do however stick in the mind of a people of a certain age often down to the fact we remember good ones and quickly forget he bad ones . they're often very variable and my personal opinion is that the best anthology show was JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN a syndicated British show produced by Hammer films . Hammer were the world kings of horror film making in the 60s and 70s and mindful of their output they produced this well remembered show which was broadcast in 1980 What struck me about watching this series after a gap of many years is how parochial everything is . Unlike JTTU which due to finance constraints had to shoe in a American lead in to each and every episode , and to a lesser degree Brian Clemens THRILLER from the mid 1970s there's no real attempt to make characters identifiable to an audience outside Britain and the cast are almost exclusively those actors and actresses who you instantly recognise even though their names don't come readily to mind . Possibly the best known actor - and with a nice touch to the studio's past - is Peter Cushing in THE SILENT SCREAM where he appears with a totally unknown Scottish actor called Brian Cox . . This parochial thinking shouldn't be taken as a criticism however and the stories do have a strong though slightly quaint feeling of Britishness rather than trans Atlantic gloss The episodes themselves are some what variable the outstanding episode being The House That Bled and the clear wooden prize winners jointly being held by the very predictable Visitor From Beyond The Grave and demonic child Growing Pains according to opinion here but my own opinion is Children Of The Full Moon being the worst down to it's rather silly storyline . Interesting too that episodes seen divided between macabre mystery and out and out horror tale . Watching the show you're struck by how limited the horror genre is . We thankfully don't get any horny teenagers in peril type stories but much of the themes here have been done before and probably better . This seems to have split opinions on this page quite markedly judging by the comments and I suppose to enjoy this series in the spirit it was meant you'd have to be home every Autumn Saturday in 1980 . A second series was planned for broadcast in 1982 but a behind the scenes production deal led the series to mutating in to HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE which was financed by 20th Century Fox which meant we had shoe horned American characters and very hap hazard scheduling in Britain which meant that show became very obscure

It was a good idea to make these one hour episodes brought to us from the famous Hammer house film company,but it would of been even better had they kept up a high standard and not got predictable.The small budget doesn't make a difference if the writing and script are top notch but in some episodes we are left feeling quite bored and "yeah didn't see that coming" The episode "CARPATHIAN EAGLE" is a fine example of what i have just mentioned,its totally predictable has no shocks or twists in it and feels down right padded at times,but look out for 007 himself Pierce Brosnan sporting quite big hair.From a bad episode to a classic "THE SILENT SCREAM" is one of the best,in part because the story is original but also because of Hammer veteran Peter Cushing who effortlessly injects depth and a sinister feel to his Character. That will teach thieving Brian Cox to go near his safe!My personal favourite is "RUDE AWAKENING". Denholm Elliot turns in a fine performance as a seedy estate agent who goes to look at a disused country house and finds himself caught up in a endless surreal dream...or does he?There seems to be a story amongst the batch of 13 that will appeal to most peoples tastes and on the whole the acting is to a good standard. If nothing else, these are good to watch to spot future big names before the money rolled in.

i recall watching this as a kid and when it came out on DVD, i was amazed at how much of this i remember. not really as good as the hammer films of the old days, but worth a watch if ur a fan of the hammer genre. my fav stories where 'the silent scream' with peter cushing & brian cox, 'charlie boy' and 'children of the full moon' with diana dors. the funniest story was 'the carpathian eagle' where suzanne danielle played the killer. the scene where she's in the singles cocktail bar, sitting at the bar exposing her leg and drinking her cocktail, while wearing a blonde wig, white dress. was hysterical..all that was missing was a big sign saying 'MURDERER' above her head, it was so obvious. this episode also had a young pierce brosnan as 'final victim'

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.