The Thirteenth Reunion

This is yet another memorable episode of the classic Hammer TV series that illuminated our Saturday nights back in the final months of 1980.

This time, the action centers on young Fleet Street journalist Ruth (nicely played by the likable Julia Foster) - who's tasked with enrolling at a private slimming clinic in the countryside, in order to track her progress for the paper's women's page.

Ruth soon finds that the clinic's methods are a little unorthodox and, after a man whom she befriends on the course dies in mysterious circumstances in a car crash, finds herself investigating a local funeral parlor - along with a rather skeptical young employee of said parlor who suspects things aren't what they appear to be...

This story plays its macabre theme well, and keeps the viewer guessing right until the end. Julia does a fine job as Ruth - looking to step up her journalistic career - and we also see a fairly early appearance from Scottish actor James Cosmo.

Despite some rather dodgy 'day for night' filming at one point, the story progresses well - and the conclusion is genuinely shocking and surprising. All in all, an original and memorable story that does a new take on the usual horror themes - and one that ultimately leaves a nasty taste in the mouth!

Ruth is a journalist for a female magazine and gets hold of a new miracle diet from an organisation calling itself Think Thin . After the death of a friend called Ben in a car crash one of the funeral directors Andrew who buried Ben visits Ruth and tells her there's something amiss at work and also something that ties in with the Think Thin organisation

This is a fairly efficient episode of THE HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR . It's not exactly ground breaking but in its defence it doesn't contain any supernatural elements which makes it fairly credible . Okay it's not realistic drama but as a standard mystery thriller it just about works . The main problem is that once you know what is at the centre of the mystery involving the funeral directors and Think Thin the cat is let out of the bag and the impact is gone on repeat viewings . It also might work better if there's a fashionable diet in the news . The 13th Reunion was broadcast a few years before the F plan diet and if the cult of dieting had been in the news perhaps this episode might have been better remembered

One interesting aspect is the casting of a couple of Scottish actors in pivotal roles . One is James Cosmo who made a career playing ginger haired Scottish hard men and it's amusing seeing him reducing a dieter to tears " Have ya looked in the mirror recently ? No wonder your husband is working late " . The other actor is Gerard Kelly who would find fame in Scotland playing Willie Melvin in the long running Scottish sit com CITY LIGHTS and he gives a very understated performance here

This episode caps the entire anthology for me. It has genuine horror, thrills, spills and spooky moments to please the most hardened horror fan. Brilliant turns from all the cast, from a very youthful Gerard Kelly to the ever genteel Richard Pearson who for one departs from his usual 'old buffer' roles to a sinister and evil old gentleman. Careful use of locations, mainly in and around Hammer's former HQ of Bray and Windsor add to the atmosphere, especially that the production team showed the patience in this episode to allow for clear skies above so unlike on some other episodes in the anthology, there is little disruption from aircraft noise as Bray/Windsor were very much on the Heathrow flight path as there is in a few other HHoH episodes. Where some episodes fall flat or get swallowed up in trying to be overwhelming in the 'mindtrip' themes of madness or breakdown, this one stands alone and could well have been/Should be a standalone film under the Hammer banner....

The second episode to Hammer's short running series "Hammer House of Horror", "The Thirteenth Reunion" is a truly weird and morbid little tale filled with a great sense of humor - extremely dark humor, that is, I may add. Being a great fan of Hammer's Gothic Horror films, I wonder what took me until recently to start watching the series, but I sure do enjoy finally watching it now. Whereas the episodes I've seen so far (the first four) do not quite deliver the gloomy Gothic atmosphere that makes the films so great, they are all highly entertaining, creepy, and enjoyable, and should therefore not be missed by any true Hammer-enthusiast. This second episode follows reporter Ruth Cairns (Julia Foster), who is investigating undercover in a weight-watchers institution whose clients are brought to loose weight by rather unusual methods. After a fellow client with whom she has just got acquainted dies in a car-crash, his body mysteriously disappears. Ruth decides to investigate in a different direction... The episode was directed by Hammer veteran Peter Sasdy, whom fans should known for the Hammer classics "Taste The Blood of Dracula", "Hands of The Ripper" and "Countess Dracula". And Sasdy, who would direct three further episodes to this series, once again doesn't disappoint. Admittedly, this episode may not be the most unpredictable thing ever made, but it does deliver some surprises, some creepiness, and, above all, an ingeniously dark sense of humor. This dark humor is present from the beginning, when a cruel trainer (played by prolific Scottish actor James Cosmo) goes on an angry rant about a chubby lady. The film has many other moments remarkably dark and morbid humor, none of which I will give away here, since I do not wish to spoil anything. Overall, this second episode is probably my favorite of the first four that I've seen so far (all of which I enjoyed). I guess that I still have the greatest HHH episodes ahead of me, the one I am most looking forward to is the seventh episode, "The Silent Scream" starring Peter Cushing. Even if the series maintains the level of this episode, however, I will be satisfied.

A female journalist who works on the 'woman's section' of a magazine is sent on an assignment to check out a new diet club which uses controversial methods. A man she befriends there winds up dying soon afterwards in an accident. Before long she discovers that there is a strange arrangement between the funeral house where his body has been sent and the health farm she is investigating.

The Thirteenth Reunion is the second episode in the 'Hammer House of Horror' series and is a definite improvement on the opener, Witching Hour. It was directed by Peter Sasdy who helmed earlier Hammer feature films, such as the impressive Countess Dracula. This one works mostly due to its mystery/thriller set-up which ensures that the plot is quite intriguing throughout. A sinister atmosphere is maintained quite well as we get nearer and nearer to the truth of what dark secrets underlie the strange arrangement. I think the very fact that the script incorporates a weight watching organisation into the plot of a horror story makes it fairly distinctive as it's hardly the norm. Towards the end we discover that the macabre events all stem from a high profile plane crash, the fallout of which is somewhat disturbing. And it all ends on an agreeably dark note. Once again, Hammer have assembled a decent cast, with James (Trainspotting) Cosmo as a particularly nasty diet coach who berates a poor overweight woman in a memorably uncomfortable scene, Warren (A Clockwork Orange) Clarke is underused as the early victim and Gerard (Extras) Kelly is a young suspicious funeral house worker who initially raises questions about the strange events unfolding.