Growing Pains

Soon after the death of their son, Scientist Terrence Morton and his busy wife Laurie adopt James from a children's. From the very moment that James enters their lives, all manner of accidents and mishaps begin.

Unfortunately, this is one of the weakest entries, it is surely one of the least memorable. It actually has some fine ideas, the thought of a scientist trying to cultivate a protein rich plant, to feed a planet is a good concept.

The main issue I had here, the characters, at no point do any of them seem realistic, they're all caricatures, even during the shocking conclusion, they all just behave in the most bizarre fashion.

There is a certain amount of atmosphere, and there are one or two decent scenes, that sequence in the car was a good one, and instantly tells us that something is up with James, but sadly it doesn't amount to much.

The scene with poor Nipper, as he goes on a doggy attack is absolutely hilarious, it's like something from a Carry on film, with the 'savage' Rotty joining in the jaunt up the garden path.

Matthew Blackstad does a decent job here, making James a little odd, a little creepy, he certainly needles his new parents, but let's get honest, he's no Damian.

Some of the acting is a little below par, there are some very experienced actors here, at times it doesn't show.

5/10.

A couple lose their son due to an accident. They end up adopting a boy who turns out to be evil.

Growing Pains was the fourth episode from the 'Hammer House of Horror' series and up to this point is the weakest so far. It clearly was an offshoot of the 'evil children' horror films which were particularly popular in the 70's, typified by films such as The Omen. The problem with this one is mainly that it's poorly written and pretty badly acted. I honestly didn't think that its story really made an awful lot of sense to be perfectly honest. And the potential that the evil children sub-genre of movie has was pretty much squandered in a messily told narrative. To add insult to injury, I constantly had to ask myself why any couple would ever have decided to have adopted such a monumentally annoying replacement son. He was more irritating and smug than evil. On the whole, not a very good episode.

Storywise, the fourth episode to "Hammer House of Horror", "Growing Pains" is the weakest of the first five I've seen so far. This is not to say however, that the film has no redeeming qualities. On the contrary, it does feature many creepy moments and it builds up atmosphere and a certain level of suspense. After the death of their own son, successful married couple Laurie (Barbara Kellerman), a diplomat, and Terence Morton (Gary Bond), a scientist, adopt a boy named James (Matthew Blakstad). Even tough the boy is polite and well-behaved, something seems to be wrong with him, however. Shortly after he moves in with his new parents, mysterious thing begin to happen... The child-possession theme had been made vastly popular in the 70s by films like "The Exorcist" or "The Omen", and it is therefore clear that the Hammer Studios would devote at least one episode of their short-running 1980 TV-series to a similar theme. Which is all fine, of course, but it is also obvious that this particular episode looses a lot of its impact due to sloppy writing. The episode is quite atmospheric and there are some genuinely creepy moments. Furthermore, it has to be appreciated when a child actor succeeds in playing a sinister part, and Mathew Blackstad does here, without exaggerated overacting. Yet this does not fully excuse the weak story which is full of holes and inconsistencies. You won't hear me complain that the concept, which had been used many times by 1980s, is unoriginal, but merely that it could have been thought through a little better. Yet, "Growing Pains" isn't all bad, and while it is the weakest H.H.H. episode I've seen so far, it is still entertaining enough for its approximately 50 minutes.

ooooooooooh this is one with bad acting. For me only the child gives a good performance. The story is okay but also the editing and sonorisation could have been done much better. Watch the part with barking dog. You see that the dog doesn't bark but you hear him bark. And he bites, but hey, they are pulling the dog away but even that is bad edited. It isn't that bloody or scary. Even the beginning of the episode is sadly acted by another child. He's dying but what the hell, he's choking, no no he's doing the Sint Vitus dance, in fact it's so bad that they explain what is going on. Anyhow, it has been aired as number 4 in the series, just enjoy it as it is....

After the death of their son William Morton (Christopher Reilly), the diplomat Laurie Morton (Barbara Kellerman) and her husband, the scientist Terence Morton (Gary Bond) adopt a boy, James (Matthew Blakstadt). From the moment James moves to Morton's house in the country on, weird things happen with the family.

"Growing Pains" is a scary tale of Hammer House of Horror, and in many moments I felt nervous with the happenings in the house. Unfortunately, I found the conclusion very disappointing for such a good story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Dor Intensa" ("Intense Pain")

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