
Written by: Anthony Read
Directed by: Don Leaver
Starring: Jon Finch, Patricia Quinn, and Prunella Gee
Reviewed by: Brett Gallman (@brettgallman)
"Where be your fire now? Where be all of you? Dead. Dead!"
After struggling to keep up with the shifting winds of pop culture during the 70s, Hammer Films shuttered its feature filmmaking division towards the end of the decade, effectively ending one of the genre’s most storied runs. The studio wasn’t completely done, however, as it mounted a small screen coda in the form of Hammer House of Horror, a short-lived series that would be its last remnants until its resurrection decades later. In an era where horror would come to dominate airwaves, it’s perhaps fitting that Hammer itself would help to kick things off with “Witching Time,” a charming little opener that attempts to recapture the halcyon days of 70s British folk horror.


For a brief moment, it looks like an Amicus-style mean streak will resolve the drama in horrific fashion; instead, “Witching Time” features a relatively tame, conventional ending that would have been better served in the studio’s glory days, when the restraint on display here wasn’t a priority. Whether it was by design or mandated by British censors, the climax here is a bit too much of a subdued payoff for the episode’s manic energy. Something a little bit more show-stopping and outrageous would have been preferable, particularly if it could have found a way to recognize that Quinn’s Lucinda is the absolute best thing going for it. A shame she had to be burned at the stake for the sin of stealing the goddamn show here, apparently.



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