User Reviews

The second installment in Hammer's House of Horror is a silly and predictable story, but it nonetheless breathes a sinister atmosphere and the ending is quite shocking! The plot centers on a female journalist who goes "undercover" in a brand new weight reducing aiding group to investigate their supposedly unorthodox methods. Following the mysterious death of a fellow member in a car crash, Ruth finds out that the amateur Weight-Watchers murder their clients and pay the local undertakers to deliver the corpses at a remote countryside mansion. Ruth, along with the mortuary's assistant Andrew, tries to discover why this organization is so interested in fresh obese cadavers… It doesn't require the mind of a genius to realize we're dealing with a bunch of cannibals here, still the development of the plot is compelling and there's a neat twist at the end regarding the background of the organization. Julia Foster is adequate in the lead, but veteran actor James Cosmo gives the most memorable performance as the harsh and brutal 'coach' Willis. In the short film's most remarkable scene, he literally crushes the spirit of a chubby woman by constantly assuring her she's an ugly, useless and pathetic bag of fat. The final sequence perhaps comes a bit abrupt, but it's deliciously sick and even a bit disturbing. "The Thirteenth Reunion" is the first of three Hammer House of Horror episodes directed by Peter Sasdy; a great yet underrated filmmaker who made some long-feature movies for Hammer, like "Hands of the Ripper" and "Countess Dracula" as well as the incredibly chilling TV-movie "The Stone Tape".

Reporter Ruth (Julia Foster) is assigned to write up a new weight loss program started by a medical institute. While there, she takes a fancy to Ben (Warren Clarke) but it is short lived after he dies in a car accident. While at the funeral, she is approached by young mortician Andrew (Gerard Kelly), who tells her something strange is going on between the institute and the funeral home he works with. This is a fun little episode, but chances are you'll figure it out well before the reveal (the episode title mixed with some plot points practically give it away). There is solid work from the entire cast and director Peter Sasdy manages to offer some gruesome imagery without being overly graphic.

Ruth (played by TV veteran Julia Foster) is a reporter eager to move beyond fluff pieces. Given that she's put on a bit of weight lately, she's encouraged by her editor (Dinah Sheridan, "The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan") to investigate a weight-loss clinic that seems somehow dubious. After some reluctance, Ruth takes the assignment, and really gets involved when she realizes that there really is something nefarious going on here.

'The Thirteenth Reunion' was written by Jeremy Burnham, and directed by Peter Sasdy, a Hammer veteran who'd guided feature films such as "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "Hands of the Ripper". Ultimately, you do guess where this is headed early on, and the script doesn't deliver any surprises at all. That said, it's still quite a bit of ghoulish fun; the concept at the core of the story was not a common one for Hammer and so you enjoy watching them tell this kind of tale. It's punched across by a solid British cast also including Richard Pearson ("Scrooge"), Norman Bird ("Cash on Demand"), George Innes ("The Italian Job"), James Cosmo ("Highlander"), Warren Clarke ("A Clockwork Orange"), and Gerard Kelly ('City Lights'). The ending is a little rushed, but some viewers may appreciate the dark turn that the tale eventually takes.

All in all, this was a solid second episode in this series.

Seven out of 10.

It was called the Miracle of the Andes. Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes Mountains on October 13th, 1972, and after all trace of food was gone, the survivors of the crash resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. This episode is almost certainly based on that real life event, although I doubt that those passengers ever met again to celebrate their survival in the manner described in this story. And it's a grisly story when you come right down to it, even if it's not as gory as one might expect. The gruesome discovery is made by a magazine reporter named Ruth (Julia Foster) after investigating what a mortuary attendant (Gerard Kelly) considers suspicious behavior on the part of brothers who run a funeral home. Once inside, she's found lurking about by one of the owners, and is invited to their annual dinner party. She's just about to join them when one of the attendees describes how they all survived a plane crash of their own. When she bolts from the gathering, she stumbles across her accomplice who's already been prepped for the next celebratory meal. Obviously, this episode won't appeal to everyone, because just like the plane crash victims who had to resort to eating human flesh, it winds up being something of an acquired taste.

'The Thirteenth Reunion' starts fairly straightforward as Julia Foster is sent to report for her women's magazine on a dieting club - but soon it becomes apparent that the club isn't all it seems as accidents start to happen and bodies over a certain size are removed from their graves.

A bit predictable, this one. It becomes clear early on that we're dealing with a cannibal sect who, after eating their fellow passengers while waiting to be rescued after a plane crash, have developed a taste for human flesh.

Not much gore in this one - the killings are off-camera and the dinner party with the plane survivors is almost comic in a black way. Foster is a bit flat as the lead character who will inevitably come to a sticky end, and other cast members (Dinah Sheridan, Warren Clarke) are underused.

Hammer House of Horror: The Thirteenth Reunion starts as investigative journalist Ruth Cairns (Julia Foster) is told by her editor Gwen Cox (Dinah Sheridan) to join & write a story about a diet club called Think Thin situated at the Chesterton Clinic which uses rather harsh methods. Ruth joins the club & witnesses how the organiser humiliates & verbally abuses the overweight in an attempt to almost shame them into losing weight. While there Ruth meets a man named Ben Faraday (Warren Clarke) who later that night has a car crash & dies, Ruth then gets a visit from a young mortician named Andrew (Gerard Kelly) who claims that something funny is going on at the funeral home where he works. Andrew suspects that his bosses may be orchestrating death's & the stealing bodies of fat people & they should check Ben's coffin, inside they find a wire frame shaped like a man wrapped in bandages & the chase is on as Ruth becomes determined to find out what's going on...

The Thirteenth Reunion was episode 2 from the unfairly short lived British horror anthology series produced by Hammer studios for TV & this originally aired here in the UK during September 1980, the first of three Hammer House of Horror episodes to be directed by Peter Sasdy, Rude Awakening & Visitor from the Grave being the other's, this is another great story from a quality series. The script by Jeremy Burnham plays out like some macabre mystery with various bits & pieces revealed as it goes along, not enough for it to become too predictable but enough to retain ones curiosity as to where the stories going. I found it a pretty intriguing & engaging episode, I loved the final outcome & the abrupt shock twist ending as well. The character's are decent as is the dialogue & at only 50 odd minutes in length it zips along at a nice pace, it never bores, there's not much unnecessary talk & it provides some nice creepy chills. I could have done with a bit more gore in this one but the strong story compensates pretty well.

The low TV budget doesn't help here & the boys at Hammer were forced to shoot stories set in contemporary England as opposed to the lavish Gothic 19th century that many of it's Dracula & Frankenstein films were, this actually isn't a problem as you can relate to the stories a bit more. There's a disappointing lack of gore on show here, there's a bit of blood & a headless body but nothing else. Having made numerous films for the cinema Hammer obviously used their experience to turn in very good looking, cinematic & polished episodes, it was shot on location, is well made & has decent production values. The acting is alright here.

The Thirteenth Reunion is a great Hammer House of Horror episode & if your a fan of the series or like twisted mysteries this is a must, if your not & don't like the horror genre in particular then give it a miss. Personally I think it's great & it's as simple & straight forward as that.

Eager reporter Ruth (a winningly spunky portrayal by Julia Foster) discovers that the weight loss organization Think Thin are using brutal and degrading methods in the implementation of their agenda and in turn are a harboring a dark secret concerning their ulterior motives.

Director Peter Sasdy keeps the entertaining story moving at a snappy pace and adroitly crafts an intriguing sinister atmosphere. Jeremy Burnham's smart script not only offers amusing touches of witty humor and lots of zingy dialogue, but also delivers one doozy of a ghoulish surprise twist at the end. The sound acting by the sturdy cast keeps things humming: Dinah Sheridan as hard-nosed editor Gwen, Richard Pearson as amiable host Sir Humphrey Chesterton, Norman Bird and George Innes as a pair of pernicious body snatching undertakers, Warren Clarke as the hapless Ben, Gerard Kelly as the suspicious Andrew, Barbara Keogh as the chatty Joan, and, in a memorably nasty turn, James Cosmo as vicious physical education instructor Willis. The sharp cinematography by James Watts provides a nice bright look. John McCabe's shuddery score hits the shivery spot. A worthwhile show.

Only about 3 of the HHoH episodes were below par but this one just may be about top, although it's a close run thing with a few others. It's theme of cannibalism something that was virtually totally uncatered for (pun intended) at the time certainly in British TV horror. It's a story of a health farm which seems to be making news with it's 'Think Thin' campaign. This hastens Ruth (Julia Foster), a reporter for a ladies magazine, to be sent to discover more. After a chance encounter she is led to believe that things may not be as they seem.

The Thirteenth Reunion moves sweetly and mysteriously through the gears before the moment when Julia Foster let's rip with her shocked and repulsed cries. Suspense is the main game, and it sustains that throughout, but the undercurrent of a horror tale all too real in it's once forbidden taboo theme. Excellent if typically nihilistic conclusion to another quality HHoH episode.

This is a very good episode from this not less good TV series from UK. But this story of body snatchers, stealing corpses in order to enhance science, and I would go far by saying that they literally help the corpses to come more rapidly...See what I mean? Remember John Gilling's FLESH AND THE FIENDS, Bob Wise's BODY SNATCHER or a couple of other features speaking of this topic. And the scheme of the reporter investigation around a mysterious institute where people miss from is also not a new story. Although this episode is excellent even if, I repeat, there is nothing really new here. I highly recommend it. Such a shame that there was no more épisodes for this series. It would have deserved at least twenty or thirty of this kind. Hammer was a specialist of this kind of tales. A master company. Among the best in the horror industry.