Rude Awakening

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.

This was a hoot!

"Norman Shendley" (Denholm Elliot, of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" fame), plays a man both haunted and delighted by his dreams. The dreams are so real that he, and we, aren't sure what's reality and what isn't. However, we can see the purpose of the "dream" as the story goes along: getting a man to murder his wife and run off with his hot secretary! The dreams are a combination of sexual fantasies and nightmares.

Regarding the fantasies, Lucy Gutteridge is the most fun to watch and gives a perfect demonstration on how wigs and clothes can make a woman look totally different. In each dream sequence, she's always "Lolly" but with a totally different look and character, although always the bimbo until the real and normal Lolly appears at the end. She does a great comedic job with this role.

James Laurenson's facial expressions as "Raburn" are funny and Pat Heywood gives a realistic performance as Norman's wife "Emily." She reminded me a bit of Anne Ramsey in "Throw Momma Off The Train," but not as gruff. Actually, the more the story went on, the less of a villain she appeared. She and Norman, frankly, deserved each other! I won't say more because I don't want to give away everything in this very inventive episode. I've only seen a few of these Hammer TV episodes, but this is my favorite so far.

This was a great mix of horror, comedy, fantasy and suspense, with a heavy emphasis on the humor.

A real estate agent has a series of inter-connected dreams where mysterious events happen. The only constants are him having an affair with his secretary, being informed from various sources that he should not have killed his wife, which he insists he hasn't and the presence of a mysterious stranger called Mr Rayburn.

Rude Awakening is the third episode of the 'Hammer House of Horror' TV series and it's the best so far. What really works most in its favour is its imaginatively told storyline. Its dreams within dreams framework allows for an agreeably surreal approach to the material where strange events can happen and nothing ever needs to entirely make 100% sense. In this way its dreamlike nature ensures that it has quite a nicely off-kilter atmosphere. It begins very oddly with a series of clips showing a montage of events yet to come not unlike a trailer for the episode and then it kicks into its strange plot-line.

There are several interesting vignettes in this one including scenes in a remote mansion, a telephone box and in a block of flats about to be destroyed by a wrecking ball. The really impressive thing is that unlike some much bigger budgeted movies it actually quite often successfully captures the weird abrupt absurdity of dreams. Director Peter Sasdy definitely needs to be given a fair bit of credit here, he was quite experienced in genre film-making at he shows a sure hand with this material. Also of note is Denholm Elliot who starred in a few other Hammer and Amicus productions in the 70's. He's very good here as the central character and the whole film revolves around him really, seeing as it's a psychological horror film in essence. He is also ably supported by Lucy Gutteridge who has fun playing an array of character types in her role as the secretary. She appears in various costumes and haircuts and is a constantly surreal presence. Anyway, events are eventually resolved in a somewhat satisfying manner, with a prologue that neatly ties everything together rather well.

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.

I really like where the Hammer House of Horror series is going, as the quality level increases with every episode I watch! The first one – "Witching Time" was nothing spectacular but still fun to watch, number two – "The Thirteenth Reunion" – already featured the more typically Hammer trademarks and suspense and this third installment "Rude Awakening" is actually very good! The plot may not be entirely original and plausible, but it's incredibly fast-paced and rich on atmosphere as well as tension. Denholm Elliot, the cool bloke from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", stars as a middle-aged estate agent haunted by a series of hallucinating nightmares… Or perhaps it's just one giant nightmare? Or maybe he's not even asleep to begin with! On Friday the 13th, Norman Shenley is lured to a remote and supposedly abandoned mansion where an uncanny voice tells him that he shouldn't have killed his wife. Suddenly the idea of murdering his wife and run off with his attractive secretary Lolly becomes very tempting, but Norman can't tell anymore whether his thoughts are real or all just dreamed. Peter Sasdy's directing is as surefooted as ever, as he creates confusion even among the viewers by implementing a bizarre dream/reality structure. The secretary's looks and attitude, for example, change in every dream and you never get to know the real her until the short movie's climax. "Rude Awakening" is low on explicit violence and bloodshed, but it oozes a dark atmosphere and most of the characters – especially the supportive ones – are pretty disturbing. It's a fantastic little film that'll keep you glued to the TV-screen for a good fifty minutes.