Children of the Full Moon

The eighth episode of "Hammer House of Horror" was lacking the usual gore that the series has had previously, but I wonder if it might be that I was watching a cleaned up version. Never the less it was a decent episode, with the typical dark resolution.

A newlywed couple, Tom (Christopher Cazenove) and Sarah (Celia Gregory), lose control of their car on the way to a West Country holiday cottage. Though they escape without injury, the car is unusable, so they wander the woods looking for some form of civilisation. They happen upon a large manor house, in which a cheerful matron, Mrs. Ardoy (Diana Dors) looks after a large number of young children. After accepting an offer to stay the night, Tom is attacked in the woods by mysterious assailant, and on his return to the house - the pair hear the howls of a wolf.

Actually, that's just the first half of the story, I was pleasantly surprised by the mid-episode shift that sees them dismiss all of the above, only for it to return in typical dark fashion. Though the best known stars are in minor roles, that being Robert Urquhart's Harry and Dors' Mrs. Ardoy, it's Cazenove and Gregory that carry the whole episode. Gregory in particular has lots to do and though I thought the scenes when she's being menaced weren't particular convincing, the rest of the time she's an alluring presence. (Although, again, I think the edited version I saw might have made her a little more chaste than I would usual expect from Hammer).

Other than that, it was an OK episode. It's a little unfortunate that the title and pre-credits scene give the Werewolf game away so early, it might have improved the manor house scenes had we not known what was coming. It's nicely done, but not so well that I'd recommend hunting it down.

It's that old plot device again, the one that has served many, many horror writers over the years ... a couple travelling through the countryside has car trouble, pulls over, and discovers a secluded house in the middle of nowhere. Either the house has no phone or they simply can't reach anyone, so they are forced to stay the night.

So cue the vampires, ghosts, demons ... or in this case a family of werewolves. The supposed owner of the house is an unnervingly friendly old lady played excellently by famous actress Diana Dors, just a few years before her death. She is step mother to eight creepy children. The couple become increasingly worried as strange things start happening. The husband is attacked by a strange creature in the woods, the wife has some odd encounters with the children, and eventually they are locked in their room. He tries to climb out of the window and ends up unconscious on the floor below while she is raped by a werewolf.

Already there's some pretty twisted stuff going on, enough to make me think this could be a great werewolf story. Anyway, the couple then end up in a hospital, the wife seems to have no memory of the events, claiming they simply crashed the car, and the husband thinks it was a dream. Over the next month or so she begins to act strangely, eating lots of meat and increasing her sexual appetite. However, just as it starts to get interesting ... it's the end of the episode. D'oh! I understand that there's only so much you can fit in to an hour-long episode, but if they'd just cut down on the boring scenes it could have all led to a great climax and ended up as a well-constructed, original werewolf story rather than just an interesting idea. Oh, well. I guess if you have nothing better to do, you might want to give this one a look, but don't go out of your way.

While driving in a lonely road with his wife Sarah (Celia Gregory) for their honeymoon in the cottage of his partner, the just-married lawyer Tom (Christopher Cazenove) has mechanical troubles with his car almost losing control. He parks the car and decides to walk in the woods with Sarah trying to find a telephone. They arrive in an isolated mansion and are welcomed by the bizarre Hungarian owner Mrs. Ardoy (Diana Dors), who lives with two dogs and eight foster children. Sarah and Tom are lodged to spend the night, when weird events happen. On the next morning, Tom is in a hospital recovering from a car wreck with Sarah and concludes that he had dreamed. When they return to their daily life, a pregnant Sarah has an intense sexual appetite and cooks only meat, while Tom is intrigued with his dream.

This episode of "Hammer House of Horror" has a promising premise, but in the end limits to be predictable and flawed. The first scene, with the blonde little girl in the woods with the dogs, discloses the secret of the plot. Tom has an inconsistent behavior, afraid while escaping from the beast, and climbing the window to investigate the surrounding area. Further, he initiates a discussion unarmed about werewolf with an odd woodsman with an ax in his hands. Anyway, this werewolf tale entertains. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa do Terror 3: Filhos da Lua Cheia" ("The Houses of Terror 3: Sons and Daughters of the Full Moon")

Note: On 04 Aug 2020, I saw this film again.

This is another excellent and well-loved episode of the Hammer series that illuminated our Saturday nights back in the autumn and winter of 1980.

This time, the story revolves around werewolves, and we're given a 'taster' in the pre-credit sequence of what's to come -as we see a young girl in the woods with a bloody mouth - surrounded by dead lambs!

The story then turns to a married couple, Tom & Sarah (ably played by Christopher Cazenove & Celia Gregory), whose car conks out on a remote country lane en route to their holiday cottage in the West Country.

Seeking help, they stumble across a desolate house, and are welcomed in by its owner Mrs Ardoy - excellently played by the wonderful Diana Dors. The house is also full of her family - 8 mysterious young children, whose odd behavior soon alerts the couple that maybe things here aren't quite right. When Tom attempts to retrieve the couple's baggage from their car, he returns terrified - saying he's been attacked by a large & viscous creature in the dark woods. Mrs Ardoy kindly lets the now rather anxious couple stay the night - but could it be their presence there isn't quite as arbitrary as they first thought...

This one plays out beautifully, as we soon realize the couple's benefactor has a bit more in store for them than her home-made red wine and mutton broth. There's a fabulously jumpy moment halfway through - whereby everything unravels for the couple and their fate appears to be sealed. The suspense and tension builds along nicely all the way through, and the viewer can soon sense that maybe things aren't possibly going to end too well for the beleaguered couple.

The house and children are delightfully creepy, and Diana Dors of course steals the show as the mysterious and devious Mrs Ardoy. The whole story is a real treat for Hammer fans who get plenty to howl about!

CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON is a well-plotted episode of TV'S HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR and one that packs a heck of a lot of narrative twists and turns into its short running time. The storyline involves a young couple whose car breaks down and who subsequently find themselves staying at the home of a friendly old lady who cares for a large brood of children. Before long they find themselves menaced in the woods by hairy beast-men and realise something very odd is going on.

I enjoy Hammer's reworking of traditional horror themes in this TV series and CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON is no exception. Expect dense plotting, dumb characters, cheap but cheerful make-up effects, and a general spooky atmosphere that works to the movie's advantage. The casting director did a good job with a central role for the effective Diana Dors, Christopher Cazenove playing the out-of-his-depth hero, and an appearance from Robert Urquhart (who starred in Hammer's first horror flick THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN all those years before).