Hammer House of Horror: Guardian of the Abyss starts as small time antiques dealer Laura Stephens (Barbara Ewing) buys an inconspicuous box of junk at a local auction house for the princely sum of £3.50, there doesn't seem to anything of any great worth until she notices an antique scrying mirror. Laura is then offered a lot of money for it from another dealer named Simon Andrews (Paul Darrow), she refuses & lets her friend Michael Roberts (Ray Lonnen) take it to be appraised who happens to be, yes you've guessed it, an antiques dealer as well. However his day soon takes a turn for the worse when while driving Michael almost runs over a young girl named Allison (Rosalyn Landor) who is on the run from the sinister Corinson society who just so happen to need the mirror because it serves as a gateway to call a powerful demon called Corinson the Guardian of the Abyss & the protector of the gates to hell...
Guardian of the Abyss was episode 10 from the one & only season of this made-for-TV British horror anthology series produced by Hammer studios, directed by Don Sharp I must admit I thought this was average at best & after episode 9 which was Carpathian Eagle I've lost a little faith in the show since both have been pretty standard & forgettable fare. The script by David Fisher tells a tale of devil worship & black magic which is fine but I felt there wasn't anything new here, the tight 50 minute running time didn't actually help matters here & it felt a bit rushed with a frustrating ending as the film just finishes. The basic premise is good, it moves along at a reasonable pace, there are a couple of nice scenes but I thought the twists were way too predictable & it's nothing I haven't seen before. The character's are OK as is the dialogue but when all said & done Guardian of the Abyss didn't really do much for me & considering the excellent episodes of Hammer House of Horror I'd seen before Carpathian Eagle & this I can only feel a sense of disappointment.
Like the other 12 episodes Guardian of the Abyss was shot entirely on 35mm film & on location which means it looks pretty damned good especially when you compare it to other British TV show's at the time. I doubt the budgets were that big, in fact the entire series cost just under $4,000,000 to make which when divided between 13 episodes comes out as about $300,000 each. Many of the same locations & props are used throughout the series but they do look very good & could almost be cinematic features. There's no real gore in this one but there is a decent make-up job on Corinson demon. This has a good atmosphere about it & a few creepy moments. The acting is OK, if you take Paul Darrow's first name & his character Simon Andrews last then you'll get Paul Andrews which is my name! How pointless was that? Sorry.
Guardian of the Abyss is an OK episode dealing in black magic rituals but I thought it was just too predictable, too scatter-shot & uneven for my liking. Average at best & there are better Hammer House of Horror episodes out there waiting to be seen...
Guardian of the Abyss was episode 10 from the one & only season of this made-for-TV British horror anthology series produced by Hammer studios, directed by Don Sharp I must admit I thought this was average at best & after episode 9 which was Carpathian Eagle I've lost a little faith in the show since both have been pretty standard & forgettable fare. The script by David Fisher tells a tale of devil worship & black magic which is fine but I felt there wasn't anything new here, the tight 50 minute running time didn't actually help matters here & it felt a bit rushed with a frustrating ending as the film just finishes. The basic premise is good, it moves along at a reasonable pace, there are a couple of nice scenes but I thought the twists were way too predictable & it's nothing I haven't seen before. The character's are OK as is the dialogue but when all said & done Guardian of the Abyss didn't really do much for me & considering the excellent episodes of Hammer House of Horror I'd seen before Carpathian Eagle & this I can only feel a sense of disappointment.
Like the other 12 episodes Guardian of the Abyss was shot entirely on 35mm film & on location which means it looks pretty damned good especially when you compare it to other British TV show's at the time. I doubt the budgets were that big, in fact the entire series cost just under $4,000,000 to make which when divided between 13 episodes comes out as about $300,000 each. Many of the same locations & props are used throughout the series but they do look very good & could almost be cinematic features. There's no real gore in this one but there is a decent make-up job on Corinson demon. This has a good atmosphere about it & a few creepy moments. The acting is OK, if you take Paul Darrow's first name & his character Simon Andrews last then you'll get Paul Andrews which is my name! How pointless was that? Sorry.
Guardian of the Abyss is an OK episode dealing in black magic rituals but I thought it was just too predictable, too scatter-shot & uneven for my liking. Average at best & there are better Hammer House of Horror episodes out there waiting to be seen...