Child's Play

'Hammer House of Mystery' was one of my favorite TV series (British). And this episode stands out as one of the best, as well as the creepiest. see the entire series if u can, and DON'T miss this one. Actually, there is a pretty basic existential question at the heart of this film, but it is rarely handled with such precision or finesse.

British TV movie, made by Hammer Films for their second series "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense", does a good job slowly building up the characters' fear without making it feel like things are moving at a snail's pace. Nearly all of its 70 minute run time is spent on the characters attempting various methods of escape and theorizing on who (or what) has trapped them and why.

Other occurrences soon indicate their predicament is even stranger than it appears, such as a mysterious slime oozing into one area of the house, characters suddenly losing feeling/use of a limb for no apparent reason, and total memory loss of major life events.

Always the pessimist, I fully expected the coda to all this to drop the ball. All I'll say is that it definitely does not. If you want to see something a little different and actually driven by its story (something increasingly rare) this is well worth checking out and a perfect example of how horror can best utilize the made-for-TV format.

"I see a trademark." Stretched out to around 90 minutes with adverts "Child's Play" is an episode from the 1984 TV series "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense". And a good one it is too! A married couple and their young daughter wake up at 04:10 am to find themselves trapped inside their modern home, all of the doors and windows have been sealed with a hard mysterious substance that they cannot penetrate. Furthermore the temperature inside is rising, the couple are losing their memories, a strange symbol is appearing everywhere (including as a tattoo on the man's arm), a green slime is oozing down the chimney and time has stood still. In lesser hands this episode may have felt stretched out at 75 minutes in length but director Val Guest maintains the claustrophobia, tension and mystery throughout. Small cast but well acted. There is a clue in the title but never in a million years did I see the twist at the end coming. And there's not a Good Guy doll in sight!

"Child's Play" is indisputably the best installment of the overall - do I daresay it - disappointing "Hammer House of Mystery & Suspense" series. It's tense, claustrophobic, compelling, and uncanny. It's also original and unpredictable unless you are familiar with the early 60s hit series "The Twilight Zone" and one dazzling episode of the third season. Around 1/3 into this short film, I began wondering where I had seen the same set-up and storyline before. It was in the marvelous episode entitled "Five Characters in Search of an Exit". Here, it's three people, a married couple and their 7-year-old daughter, who are trapped inside their own house with a wall of seemingly indestructible concrete blocking every possible exit. While the temperature is increasing and the oxygen levels are decreasing, there's also a nasty type of goo sipping in via the chimney. If you haven't seen the aforementioned "Twilight Zone" episode, it's absolutely impossible to predict the outcome, and you are in for a genuine surprise-ending. Should you have seen it, "Child's Play" is still a very gripping tale, professionally directed by Hammer veteran Val Guest and featuring strong performances of Mary Crosby and Nicholas Clay.

I am just revisiting the whole of the hammer series and I have got to say this really is top notch! It grabs your attention straight away and is miles better than any of the Hollywood junk being churned out today.