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Post by asmodeus on Oct 29, 2009 15:56:38 GMT
im not biased or anything but i do feel that to be fair to the british they do..or maybe that should be did......produce some genuinely spinetingling horror for TV! So here.....and in no particular order ...is a top 10 of the best of brit tv horror
the woman in black. With a screenplay written by the legendary nigel kneale this 1989 granada production rates a 10 out of 10 for scariness for me! Sadly is not available on dvd
Panic. a horror short from the late 70s - its only about 20 minutes long - and based around the various creepy hitchhiker stories. Packs a genuinely surprise gut wrenching ending. Sadly not available on dvd.
Mrs amworth. Probably entirely forgotten by most people this 1975 htv west production features glynis johns as a vampitre haunting what seems like a idyllic english town with some genuinely scary scenes. Sadly not available on dvd.
West country tales. Early 80s sereis of 13 modern day supernatural and horror tales set in the west countryand allegedly based on peoples real life experiences...which makes for some very interesting and original horror tales. Not available on dvd so far as im aware.
a warning to the curious. arguably m r james' best ghost story and arguably the most chilling tv supernatural production ever made. Made in 1972 as part of the bbc's wonas seriesderful ghost stories for xmas series and thankfully avaiable on dvd!
The omega factor. A late 70s bbc scotland series that has snow become the stuff of legend thanks to complaints that it was 'too scary'causing a second series not to be commissioned. Revolves around the encounters of a small group university based paranormal investigators! Very original and very scary and thankfully available on dvd.
Casting the runes. Another gem adapted from the pen of the wonderful M R James. A 1979 yorkshire tv production that was actually made for 'children'. Nevertheless makes for exellent viewing. Is available on dvd .
The Exorcism. An episode of the exellent long disappeared 1972 BBC anthology series Dead of night. Four friends gather for Christmas dinner at an old cottage. Suddenly, there's a power failure and the phone goes dead. Then their wine turns to blood......makes for an original and highly frightening tale. Not available on dvd
The supernatural. Produced in the summer of '77 by the BBC.....made a great impressiion on this 11 year old...contributing to my lifelong love of the supernatural/horror gene....and .consisting of a series of hour long episodes of gothic horror as related by people who wished to gain access to a 'club of the damned' and featured stories on vampires and werewolves among others. Not available on dvd
the stone Tape. Probably not a very original choice but cant be left out of any list of best british tv horror !!! thankfully is available on dvd.
Hope people enjoy the list and it brings back some scary tv memories! Also i feel i should say to fellow british tv horror fans that while most of the above are not generally available on dvd they can sometimes be found on sites like ebay or some 'collectors' sites on the internet..thus im fortunate enough to possessing all of the above on dvd.
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Post by mattofthespurs on Oct 29, 2009 16:05:45 GMT
the woman in black. With a screenplay written by the legendary nigel kneale this 1989 granada production rates a 10 out of 10 for scariness for me! Sadly is not available on dvd It used to be but only on a region one DVD which is much sought after. I have a copy and it's not as pin sharp as you would expect from a DVD what with it originally being broadcast on video tape but it's good enough.
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Post by asmodeus on Oct 29, 2009 16:11:47 GMT
yes i believe the chief reason for it not being 'commercially' available in the uk is that theres some agreement that it wont go on sale here while the play is still running? shame because its a genuine classic......the scene at the end with the terrifying mrs drablow standing ON the lake ranks as amongst the most cilling ever on british tv
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Oct 29, 2009 18:28:58 GMT
Some great memories in there. I'd include Dickens the Signal Man - or perhaps its covered in one of the series. There was that utterly terrifying short of the two children with their hearts cut out. That was a nasty. Finally, and apologies for senility - was the Woman in Black the one where the succubus hovered over the bed staring at the hero for about a minute - one of the scariest scenes of all time.
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Post by mattofthespurs on Oct 29, 2009 18:50:11 GMT
Some great memories in there. I'd include Dickens the Signal Man - or perhaps its covered in one of the series. There was that utterly terrifying short of the two children with their hearts cut out. That was a nasty. Finally, and apologies for senility - was the Woman in Black the one where the succubus hovered over the bed staring at the hero for about a minute - one of the scariest scenes of all time. That'll be the one. The play is pretty good on a very spartan stage. The book was excellent.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Oct 29, 2009 19:06:20 GMT
Striking horror and endorses my view that mostly horror is slow not fast. Usually not seeing something is terrifying but when you do see it it can be utterly terrifying to see it for a long time. Good example is the madman who was the basis for one of the Erazerhead characters. Sorry rambling due to tiredness...
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Post by dem bones on Oct 29, 2009 19:29:13 GMT
One of the Thriller episodes scared me something terrible, i think it was Scream? A woman has been assaulted and the rapist hasn't been caught. Following the attack, she sees him everywhere (the moment that has stayed with me is when he shoves his hateful face against the windshield of her car). Eventually she grabs an axe (?) and confronts him in the cellar of her house - or at least, she thinks she does. Turns out, the episode has traumatised her to the point where she has been projecting the face onto that of every man she encounters. Which is very bad news for her husband. I'm not sure i'd want to watch it now and risk destroying my ugly memories of the thing.
Another really rotten one; God knows what it was, but it began with some poor bloke being tortured by - can't recall; leopard-men maybe? - by having a flaming torch pressed against his face. This, needless to say, didn't do much for his looks but it left him with a really huge ski-slope of a nose .... can't remember anything beyond that except maybe he used to peer through spyholes a lot, but it sure gave me the creeps at the time, whatever it was.
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Post by carolinec on Oct 29, 2009 20:05:18 GMT
There was that utterly terrifying short of the two children with their hearts cut out. That's "Lost Hearts", Craig - definitely in my top 10 UK TV horror, that one. No-one's mentioned Nigel Kneale's "Beasts" yet - some top stories in that one. My particular favourite is probably "After Bartie's Party" - the one with the couple in the house terrorised by this rat-like scratching around the walls. You never see anything scary, but the scratching noises and the way it's done is truly terrifying. Then there's YTV's "Chiller" series - particular favourite there is Stephen Gallagher's "Mirror Man" - a sort of schizophrenic one. And there are several which spring to mind from Hammer House of Horror - the one starring Diana Dors with the kids/little werewolves in the woods was one which made me jump a few times. Back to Nigel Kneale again with "The Stone Tape" - dated but still creepy. One I saw at the Fantastic Films Weekend a couple of years ago was "Schalken, The Painter". I think this was actually part of the "Omnibus" arts series? Very creepy stuff about the supposed origins of a real painting which this real artist had done. Hmmm, going to have to have a further think about this one - I'm sure there must be more ....
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Post by asmodeus on Oct 29, 2009 20:57:24 GMT
hey everyone .......some good suitably spinetingling suggestions there! fraid not everything could make a 'top 10' but yes the signalman - superbly played by denhom elliot - is one i regretably couldnt find room for ! so too the kneale 1976 series 'beasts ' and yes hammer's 1980 tv offering included a couple of gems............the aforementioned children of the full moon and a creepy tale of 'health club' cannibals! Yeah the mid 90s offering 'chiller' is among the best of british tv horror in the last 20 years or so. Others i ommitted of course were sapphire and steel....which at times was very scary indeed eg the episodes set around a train station? Id also give children of the stones a honourable mention too! And just to show im not entirely stuck in a time warp ....of the modern offerings i feel sea of souls was in the best scary taditions of british tv horror!.....hmm.....looks like i'll have to compile another list lol
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 29, 2009 22:36:13 GMT
Dem, that "Thriller" episode is called "Screamer", and is very good, though I found it hard to get past the fact that the "rapist" was played by Jim Norton, now best known as Bishop Brennan in "Father Ted". Pamela Franklyn should have kicked him up the arse!
Asmodeus, that 79 version of "Casting the Runes" wasn't made for children, but the version of "Mr Humphreys and his Inheritance" on the same DVD was - a schools programme about music.
I love "The Woman in Black", (which Susan Hill hates, so she's quite happy it's unavailable) but I'm even more of a fan of the stage play.
I'll need to think hard about this one... So many memorably creepy shows to choose from.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Oct 29, 2009 23:01:35 GMT
to drop into a completely inappropriate Americanism the short programme about the doppelganger hitchhiker freaked me out big time...typically can't remember its name but it was probably a house of hammer
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Post by carolinec on Oct 29, 2009 23:54:09 GMT
Ooo, and how could I forget this one - especially when I'd already mentioned the writer? Stephen Gallagher's TV adaptation of his own novel "Chimera". I think it went out either as a one-off or perhaps as a two-parter? Really creepy that one. ;D
And if we're going for programmes made for kids too, don't laugh but "Doctor Who" has had some really scary episodes in its time. It has - honest!
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 30, 2009 1:25:22 GMT
Craig, you're right, it was a "Hammer House of Horror" - "The Two Faces of Evil", one of the best of a mixed bunch, I have to say.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 30, 2009 9:53:42 GMT
Dem, that "Thriller" episode is called "Screamer", and is very good, though I found it hard to get past the fact that the "rapist" was played by Jim Norton, now best known as Bishop Brennan in "Father Ted". Pamela Franklyn should have kicked him up the arse! Thanks Lurks. i've a feeling it was you who identified that episiode for me on the BHF board a few years ago! At least i remembered most of the title. i was very disappointed it wasn't included in either of the Brian Clemens Thriller paperback tie-ins. Very vague memories of another spooky Thriller episode, Quiet As A Nun, or at least the bit everyone remembers it for, when the camera focus's on the sinister sister's face to reveal ....
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Post by ripper on Oct 30, 2009 13:59:56 GMT
Dem, I think the "Quiet as a Nun" episode was from Armchair Thriller. I don't remember too much about the series apart from that one famous scene in "Quiet as a Nun."
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