Witching Time

In the first episode of HHofH, a narcissistic composer finds he's got a 17th century witch in the barn of his farmhouse. She's transported herself through time to escape the witchfinder and to wreak havoc in the present.

I should add that the witch has a quite wonderful "oh arrrr" West Country accent, which means she gets to go around saying things like, "You be MOIN now," while pawing her hapless male victim.

It's good fun, in a male-fantasy sort of way. Naturally this witch is a RUDE witch, floating about in a smock that doesn't come close to covering her cleavage. She's also quite keen on menacing the composer's wife in the shower, so if you are a teenage boy in the early 1980's, then this is the show for you.

Budget and time limitations being what they are, the conclusion isn't necessarily spectacular, but it's fine for 80's tv horror.

Composer David Winter (Jon Finch) is under stress. Working on some music that he needs to finish. His wife Mary (Prunella Gee) is always working late. In fact she is having an affair with his doctor.

Suddenly David discovers a strange woman in his barn. She is Lucinda (Patricia Quinn) and claims to be a witch from the seventeenth century. She managed to escape the witchfinders.

Is David going mad? Lucinda wants David for herself and away from his cheating wife by mesmerising him.

Mary is having none of it even if she thinks her husband is hallucinating.

It was strange to see a cheating spouse truen heroine and come to the rescue of her husband. You do think that David might be hallucinating Lucinda.

There is an unhinged performance from Quinn, something she rather specialised in. It is not the strongest of episodes in the Hammer Horror season.

While I can't say that I was especially looking forward to this series – considering the undeniable drop in quality during Hammer's last years (I did, however, catch at least one memorable episode from its follow-up, HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE [1984]) – this one certainly sets it off to a pretty good start. Incidentally, it was unusual to have nudity in a TV show of the era, even if – by now – this was pretty much a Hammer requisite. Here, we get a predictable but well-handled plot involving a strained relationship accentuated by the intervention of the supernatural. The 'attacks' on the heroine by the jealous witch and the latter's influence on her husband (causing his descent into near-madness) are, again, par for the course – as is, needless to say, the witch's eventual come-uppance by virtue of the elements (water and fire). The opening episode of this particular series is helped a lot by good casting (notably Patricia Quinn as the witch – alternating between hysteria, sensuality and menace) and the remote countryside setting.

Hammer House of Horror: Witching Time (1980)

*** (out of 4)

A workaholic composer (Jon Finch) is at home while his wife (Prunella Gee) is out having an affair. After the power goes out from a storm the composer walks out to the barn where he finds Lucinda Jessop (Patricia Quinn). The young woman says that she's a witch and she's certainly not used to any of the current electronics. Soon the composer begins to feel that he might just be losing his mind.

I was really surprised to see how much I enjoyed WITCHING TIME as it was a good throwback to the type of films that the studio were making in the early 70s. I think what I enjoyed most was some of the earlier, non-horror moments like the witch getting a walk through in the house and seeing all sorts of items that weren't invented yet 350 years earlier when she was burned for being a witch.

The film also boosts some good performances with Finch leading the way in a strong role. I thought he was good at showing the fragile mental state of this man. Quinn was good as the witch as was Gee as the wife. Ian McCulloch (ZOMBIE) is also fun in his role as the doctor.

Good suspense horror thriller, not complicated to get, not too long, but the ending is a bit predictable. Good directing and pulled by convincing performances. I was not bored by this story. Anyway, this Hammer TV series, anthology series, is a pretty effective one, and this episode opens the show in a promising way. Unless, I repeat, the ending which I would have imagined and prefer different. I won't spoil the story any further. The British tv industry was excellent on this anthology genre, better than any other industry, even American. Because, I guess, England brought some kind of touch, atmosphere.