Nostalgia can be a terrible thing and having revisited the early eighties television series, Hammer House of Horror during one of the lockdowns, I realised some of the episodes had aged badly. What still remains great, however, is the episode The House that Bled to Death.
An elderely couple having a simple cup of cocoa takes a sinister turn during the pre-credits scene. For your host, it's perhaps the most disturbing scene to carry the Hammer tag. It was bad enough seeing a poor old dear being poisoned, but made all the worse when her awful husband retrieved a sharpening stone and a knife off the wall to dispose of her. The scene has forever haunted me ever since.
The House that Bled to Death wasn't just a one trick pony either as it also featured the infamous birthday party scene; turning a regular semi-detached in High Wycombe into the show's namesake. The most fondly remembered sequence from the entire series never instilled the same level of fear as that cold opening scene for me, but it's still an entertaining moment, regardless:
LOL @ the Hammer House of Horror theme reminding someone of Parisienne Walkways in the YouTube comments:
That sneaky pipe in the birthday party clip is like a precursor to Final Destination.
ReplyDeleteSecond film was the best of the lot.
ReplyDeleteFifth film had a dope twist ending too.
A remarkably consistent franchise imho.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Got to admire the franchise for having Death as the big bad.
ReplyDeleteUsed to hate on the third one for ripping off The Omen regarding the photograph predictions, but the film has aged well, regardless.
Tanning salon scene is one of the best deaths in the whole franchise. Forever changed the way I listen to Love Rollercoaster 🔥
ReplyDeleteFalling window pane from Final Destination 2 is one of my faves from the franchise.
ReplyDeleteThere’s a new one in the works, apparently.