Rude Awakening

While not exactly the stuff of nightmares, it is good English macabre fun.

And nightmares are what it's all about. Denholm Elliot has a recurring dream about visiting a house, and hearing someone ask "Why did you do it?" before things all go pear-shaped for him.

But the dream recurs so often, he starts to wonder if he ever actually wakes up from it..

This imaginative conceit is played mainly for larfs. Denholm plays a swinging real estate agent who may or may not be having an affair with the woman of his dreams, his secretary Lolly. Lolly is a hoot, changing appearance with her every iteration, from Marilyn lookalike to Naughty Schoolgirl. And the phrase, "Why did you do it?" does become rather spooky after a while.

It won't necessarily chill the blood, but it may give you an early-80's chuckle.

An odd, dream-like episode of the HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR TV series. RUDE AWAKENING stars the late, great Denholm Elliott in a role that seems to have been tailor-made for the actor. He plays a sleazy estate agent who can't keep his hands off his secretary and who harbours fantasies of butchering his nagging wife. He's disturbed by a recurring nightmare involving a body concealed in a posh manor house and a building falling down, and in the day to day course of his life that nightmare begins to come true.

Director Peter Sasdy contributes an effective dream-like atmosphere to the whole episode even if the plotting is a little vague. It's best watched as a series of sinister vignettes involving bizarre characters and haunting situations. I think my favourite scene involves the one being trapped on a building about to be demolished, which is effectively realised on what is obviously a very low budget.

Elliott is unsurprisingly strong as the lead, but the supporting cast also features some solid players, including Lucy Gutteridge who seems to get through more costume changes than Mr. Benn! There's a minor role for the ever-weird James Laurenson (THE MONSTER CLUB) and strong direction throughout which makes the slight story watchable.

The real state agent Norman Shenley (Denholm Elliott) hates his old wife Emily Shenley (Pat Heywood) and wants to divorce her to marry his secretary Lolly (Lucy Gutteridge). When a new client wants to sell an old and isolated mansion, Norman begins to have odd nightmares, and he becomes confused between reality and dream. When Norman awakes, a surprise waits for him.

This intriguing episode has good screenplay, mixing reality with dream, but unfortunately a deceptive conclusion. Anyway this film entertains and I liked it. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Despertar Repentino" ("Sudden Awakening")

Note: On 02 Aug 2020, I saw this film again.

Norman Shenley, an estate agent, has a dream about murdering his plain, bad-tempered wife, which leaves him free to chase his secretary, Lolly. Later that day, at a scary old house called Lower Moat Manor, Norman hears a voice say ""You shouldn't have done it, Mr Shenley... You shouldn't have killed your wife"". That evening Norman kills his wife for real - but then he wakes up and finds it was all a dream again. Somehow, real life and fantasy are becoming intertwined...

Quite a bizzarre, wacky and humorous episode that boasts a fine performance by Denholm Elliott as the Estate Agent who is confused - as we viewers are - whether dreams are real or not, Lucy Gutteridge as his secretary who dons various garbs in the dreams, and Pat Heywood as the nagging wife. The ending is quite a hoot, though a little predictable.

After the morbid second "Hammer House of Horror" episode, "The Thirteenth Reunion" already delivered a generous dose of dark comedy, this third episode "Rude Awakening" is yet another creepy tale with a delightfully macabre sense of humor. Out of all the H.H.H. episodes I've seen thus far (the first five), all of which I enjoyed, this one is probably the one with the wittiest and most original storyline. Denholm Elliot plays estate broker Norman Shenley, who finds himself caught in what seems to be a never-ending nightmare. On a Friday the 13th, Norman, who is having an affair with his sex secretary Lolly (Lucy Guttenridge), gets a call from an eerie voice telling him that he shouldn't have killed his wife (who is alive). This is when his nightmare begins... The episode has moments of genuine creepiness, but, predominantly, it is a bizarre dark comedy. The episode's ingenuity is, to a large part, due to Denholm Elliott, who is, as always, eccentric and great in his role. New Zealand actor James Laurenson is sinister in the role of the mysterious Mr Rayburn, and Pat Heywood fits well in her role as Norman's somewhat annoying wife, as does beautiful Lucy Gutteridge, who plays the foxy secretary/mistress. As the foregoing episode, "Rude Awakening" was directed by Peter Sasdy, who is known to Hammer fans for directing "Taste the Blood of Dracula" (1970), "Countess Dracula" (1971) and "Hands of The Ripper" (1971). Sasdy once again succeeds here, delivering an atmospheric, eerie and witty tale that Hammer fans should enjoy. Out of the first five episodes of "Hammer House of Horror", none has really delivered the chilling Gothic atmosphere that I love about Hammer's Horror films that they made between the mid 50s and late 70s. The episodes all had a certain charm of their own right, though, and they all were highly enjoyable to watch. Having seen the first five episodes, I have a feeling that the best of "Hammer House of Horror" is yet to come. I am especially looking forward to Episode 7, "The Silent Scream", both because it is reported to be the best episode, and (mainly) because it stars the immortal Peter Cushing, one of the very main reasons to love Hammer. This third episode is funny, bizarre and original and highly recommendable for Hammer fans.