Saturday 23 April 2011

Hammer House of Mystery & Suspense: Black Carrion








'Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense' was a TV series from 1984 which unleashed thirteen circa 70 minute films onto a largely unwilling public in both the UK and the US. Unfavourably received, it was to be the last original production Hammer made for 25 years until bursting back into life in 2009.

'Black Carrion' is the tale of a famous pop duo, the Verne Brothers, who seemingly disappeared at the very height of their fame. A music journalist (Leigh Lawson) tracks them down to an eerie and abandoned village in the heart of the country, and proceeds to uncover a horrible secret. Totally ridiculous in every respect, the tale introduces the various component parts of a decent story and then squanders them all one by one until all the viewer is left with is amusement and the feeling of being gently conned. That said, I’m extremely fond of it.

3 comments:

  1. I watched this a couple of weeks ago... absolutely diabolical! Perhaps if the music hadn't been so god-awful it might have been a partial success. The Mystery and Suspense series did start off well but I'm nearing the middle of the run now and the quality's tailing off a bit; unlike it's close cousin Thriller, which maintained a high standard right 'til the end.

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  2. My new EP is based on this episode:

    https://briarsfrome.bandcamp.com/

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  3. Ignore the negative comment by Anonymous, this is a great entertaining film. The music in it is not bad either. It is not the most scary horror film by far and if you are looking for a really scary film this will disappoint you. But if you like 60s nostalgia and 60s style music then you will like this. It is similar to a film from the same year called Forever Young about an Everly Brothers tribute duo which incidently is not a horror. Infact if you watch and like this check Forever Young as well.

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