The House That Bled to Death (1980)

Purely Joyful Movie!

People are voting emotionally.

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

William (a solid performance by Nicholas Ball), his wife Emma (well played by the fetching Rachel Davies), and their daughter Sophia (the adorable Emma Ridley) move into an old rundown house where a brutal murder occurred years ago. Strange and upsetting things start to happen immediately thereafter.Director Tom Clegg keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, adroitly crafts a creepy atmosphere, makes nice use of the titular crumbling abode, grounds the premise in a believable everyday reality, and tosses in a few nice bits of gore that include a hideously mangled cat and a pipe that sprays blood on a bunch of folks celebrating Sophie's birthday party. David Lloyd's crafty script pulls off a doozy of a surprise twist and concludes on a shockingly nasty note. The sound acting by the capable cast keeps this episode on track: Patricia Maynard as friendly neighbor Jean, Brian Coucher as Jean's helpful husband George, and Milton Johns as smarmy real estate agent A.J. Powers. Norman Warwick's crisp cinematography and James Bernard's robust ooga-booga score further enhance the sturdy quality of this nifty show.

A struggling young family moves in to a fixer-upper house, unaware of the brutal murder committed there by the previous owner. And of course the plot thickens as the blood flows ...I read a good review of the series, which said this was the best episode - so I gave it a lash. O.M.G. An appalling piece of trash. Very poorly written, with a story nicked from Amityville that finishes in a ludicrous rush, plus the most ham-fisted dialogue and characterisation. They even get the maths wrong in the end. The direction is barely present, with no sense of the house as a character, and the photography is dull dull dull.The actors are OK, but they had zero to work with. And the camera lingering on the children seemed a bit creepy to me. The only thing I can praise is the music - only because it's not as bad as the rest.Overall - just don't.

If you are familiar with the Hammer TV series you'll most probably know this one or have heard about it at least. "The House that bled to Death" is probably the creepiest of all the TV episode's that Hammer released. If you are watching the DVD box-set of the TV series this one marks the 5th title for your viewing pleasure and is undoubtedly the most out and out horror shorts of the box-set. A young couple and their daughter (William, Emma and Sophie Peters played by Nicholas Ball, Rachel Davies and Emma Ridley) move into a new house at 42 Coleman road in which the previous owner has killed his wife for no explained reason. After moving in and settling down creepy things start to happen, first for young Sophie but soon enough William and Emma experience spooky events too. The straw which broke the ratings for me is the end - I won't spoil it but after a great build up the last few minutes is a bit of a weird twist and ultimately a let down - especially after the amazing birthday party which had been thrown for Sophie. If this wasn't branded and packaged as a Hammer production I'd have some serious concerns about messages of child abuse from watching this as everything that Sophie is dear to gets destroyed or killed off by the end - you'll see! Directed by Tom Clegg and written by David Lloyd this short featured a fairly unknown cast but all manage to deliver excellently. There is a creepy atmosphere throughout the feature, genuinely scary moments with clever twists and turns as well as the occasional moment of dark humour. I'll happily give this 5 out of 10, not the best Hammer production, not the worst, but certainly creative one and manages to bring a flood of crimson to the screen like only Hammer can.

Definitely one of the best of the "Hammer House of Horrors" series it starred the current (1980) heart throb Nicholas Ball who was just enjoying being the star of the top rating series "Hazell". He plays William who, along with Emma and little girl Sophia present themselves as a struggling young family with just enough for a deposit on a house with a murky past. They move in and start redecorating, friendly neighbours lend them a helping hand but all at once ghastly things start to happen. The pet cat dies in a horrific accident, a bloodied hand is found in the fridge and a huge knife turns up in odd places. The neighbours know the history - an old man went berserk and dismembered his wife, it's a house of horrors!!I didn't see this when it was released but as an older lady, wow it scared the living daylights out of me the first time I saw it, a couple of years ago!! There is the awful birthday party where the house literally bleeds to death all over the children's table!!Something is not quite right with the couple - for all their affection it seems they sleep in separate rooms and when they disappear - shock! horror! it seems they weren't actually married!! Then the truth is revealed - they are in league with the slimy real estate agent who has commissioned them to write their own version of "The Amityville Horror", where they clean up with a best seller and are able to live the good life in California!! But no-one thinks of the effect it all had on little Sophia - especially the death of her beloved cat Timmy!! You watch it, then you immediately want to watch it again to observe Sophia!!