Hammer House of Horror (TV Series) Children of the Full Moon (1980) User Reviews

Decent Hammer House of Horror episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 10 May 2007]

Hammer House of Horror: Children of the Full Moon starts as married couple Tom (Christopher Cazenove) & Sarah Martin (Celia Gregory) are driving down to Tom's bosses cottage deep in the English countryside, however en-route their car breaks down. They have no choice but to get out & walk, they come across a dirt track which leads to a large house where they are invited to stay the night by Mrs. Ardoy (Diana Dors). At first things seem nice but the large amount of children unnerves them as does the howling outside & when Tom is attacked by a mysterious creature they come to the conclusion something sinister might be going on...

Children of the Full Moon was episode 8 from this unfairly short lived British horror anthology TV series produced by Hammer studios, this originally aired during November 1980 here in the UK & was the second of two Hammer House of Horror episodes to be directed by Tom Clegg (along with The House that Bled to Death) & is far from the series finest 50 odd minutes but I still thought it was alright none the less. The script by Murray Smith starts off at a cracking pace & feels like classic Gothic Hammer horror as a couple break down on a isolated country road & end up in a spooky English mansion that hides a shocking secret & are invited to stay the night but about half way through it changes direction & tone significantly as the story revolves around the supposed mystery of whether Sarah is a Werewolf or not & whether Tom dreamt the whole incident but to be honest it doesn't take a genius to work it out. The short 50 odd minute duration helps keep things moving along & it entertains to an extent but it's just that compared to other's in this series it's not that great, it's worth a watch but nothing particularly special.

The low TV budget doesn't help things here, luckily the experience in making feature films probably helped the boys at Hammer turn in a surprisingly cinematic looking show obviously shot on 35mm film & if you keep an eye out during the series you will notice the same locations & props crop up on a regular basis. The locations are nice enough & it's generally well made except for the Werewolf masks which are OK I suppose but not that great an effect. There's not much gore here except a lamb with it's throat bitten out & some blood splatter on an axe. The acting is OK & I love the accents including Diana Dors who made this towards the back end of her career & didn't deserve the 'English Marilyn Monroe' tag anymore when she appeared in this.

Children of the Full Moon is a decent way to spend 50 odd minutes especially if your a horror fan or have an interest in Hammer studios, for me I liked it for sure but considering the other surprisingly excellent episodes in this series Children of the Full Moon pales a bit in comparison.

One of the best Hammer House of Horror episodes

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 18 February 2015]

A young newly-wed couple with car trouble wind up at a creepy old house in a forest. It is inhabited by a woman and a large group of odd children. In the night, the couple experience strange dreams of werewolves…

'Children of the Full Moon' is instalment eight in the Hammer House of Horror TV series and is very possibly the scariest episode of them all. For my money it ties alongside 'Rude Awakening' and 'The Silent Scream' as being the best the series has to offer. Like a few other entries did, this one ticks a specific horror box, in this case werewolves. In some respects, this one is closer to the kind of output Hammer feature films tackled, in that it has more of a Gothic horror feel to it. It's the atmosphere that really gives this one plus points. The setting in the woods and the odd inhabitants of the house are really quite effectively sinister. All-in-all, this is a very decent entry in the werewolf sub-genre.

Predicable and Flawed But Entertaining Werewolf Tale

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 15 July 2006]

While driving in a lonely road with his wife Sarah (Celia Gregory) for their honeymoon in the cottage of his partner, the just-married lawyer Tom (Christopher Cazenove) has mechanical troubles with his car almost losing control. He parks the car and decides to walk in the woods with Sarah trying to find a telephone. They arrive in an isolated mansion and are welcomed by the bizarre Hungarian owner Mrs. Ardoy (Diana Dors), who lives with two dogs and eight foster children. Sarah and Tom are lodged to spend the night, when weird events happen. On the next morning, Tom is in a hospital recovering from a car wreck with Sarah and concludes that he had dreamed. When they return to their daily life, a pregnant Sarah has an intense sexual appetite and cooks only meat, while Tom is intrigued with his dream.

This episode of "Hammer House of Horror" has a promising premise, but in the end limits to be predictable and flawed. The first scene, with the blonde little girl in the woods with the dogs, discloses the secret of the plot. Tom has an inconsistent behavior, afraid while escaping from the beast, and climbing the window to investigate the surrounding area. Further, he initiates a discussion unarmed about werewolf with an odd woodsman with an ax in his hands. Anyway, this werewolf tale entertains. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa do Terror 3: Filhos da Lua Cheia" ("The Houses of Terror 3: Sons and Daughters of the Full Moon")

Note: On 04 Aug 2020, I saw this film again.

Short, but twisted

[cellomaster · 31 March 2002]

I don't think I will ever forget the first and only time I saw this mini horror movie. It was when I was 12 or 13 years old, and I was up late one night because I just couldn't sleep. I was watching the boob-tube around 1 or 2 in the morning, and I saw the start of this movie on TBS. I am not a big fan or horror movies, but for some reason I stuck around and watched it.

I remember the plot vividly. A young married couple are traveling through a remote part of England when their car stalls. They go in search of help in the woods, and find a mansion filled with children and a kindly old lady (maybe a little TOO kindly). They spend the night at the mansion, and learn that all of the parents of the children living their died mysteriously. One little girl even proceeds to tell about her own mother, who was just a beautiful as the visiting lady. Although the family living there is odd, the lost couple gives in to their agressive hospitality. During the night, a horrific event takes place and the young wife is raped by a werewolf.

The couple leaves the next day. The young wife ends up pregnant (due to the rape) and strangly drawn back to the house. She cannot stop talking about it, which drives a wedge between the woman and her husband. Eventually, near the end of the her pregnancy, the wife goes back to find the house. Her frustrated husband follows. The wife finds the house and is invited back in, and by some odd coicidence she goes into labor. Instead of calling the doctor, the kindly old woman offers to help deliver the baby. The young wife dies in childbirth, and the old woman remarks how the baby, a daughter, will make a fine addition to the family. The husband, meanwhile, gets close to the house and never gets in; a werewolf tracks him down and kills him. As it turns out, the children are wolves, too, and the parents are their prey. The new baby will be a wolf, too.

This movie is very unusual. First, the plot is pretty twisted. The movie iteself is also virtually unknown, as I cannot find any information about it on any other website besides distribution and limited cast information. I don't even remember the names of the characters, and I remember only a little about the old women (I have seen her act before) and the name Simon MacCorkindale, who is one if my favorite actors. I also remember the movie ending just as quickly as it began- it's only 60 minutes long, which is unusually short for a movie.

Overall, I liked the movie and I hope to see it again someday in the future now that I have more information about it. I have no idea why, but I never forgot it.

Spooky werewolf effort

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 23 July 2015]

CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON is a well-plotted episode of TV'S HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR and one that packs a heck of a lot of narrative twists and turns into its short running time. The storyline involves a young couple whose car breaks down and who subsequently find themselves staying at the home of a friendly old lady who cares for a large brood of children. Before long they find themselves menaced in the woods by hairy beast-men and realise something very odd is going on.

I enjoy Hammer's reworking of traditional horror themes in this TV series and CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON is no exception. Expect dense plotting, dumb characters, cheap but cheerful make-up effects, and a general spooky atmosphere that works to the movie's advantage. The casting director did a good job with a central role for the effective Diana Dors, Christopher Cazenove playing the out-of-his-depth hero, and an appearance from Robert Urquhart (who starred in Hammer's first horror flick THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN all those years before).

Great cheesy werewolf fun

[Prof-Hieronymos-Grost · 6/10 · 30 April 2009]

Tom (Christopher Cazenove) and Sarah (Celia Gregory) are off on their belated honeymoon, after Tom's work delayed it, Tom's boss has kindly let them use his country home in Somerset for their romantic getaway. On their drive through the remote country lanes they discuss their plans, when suddenly the car strangely begins to speed up, Tom desperately tries to stop the car but the brakes don't work, they brace themselves for a high speed collision but the car eventually slows down and stops in a lay-by. Relieved they both set off to find some help, but as they haven't even passed a car for many miles, they are doubtful they will find help for some time. Walking down the sun drenched leafy lanes they eventually come across an old rusty gate that leads into the forest, as there hasn't been any houses on the way they decide to take the path, the dense wooded path leads them to a large old house where they meet a soft spoken lady of the house, Mrs. Ardoy (Diana Dors), a mother of 8 beautiful children, Mr Ardoy is strangely absent.. More than 20 miles from the nearest town and with night closing in, Mrs Ardoy suggests they stay the night, Tom goes to fetch their luggage from their car, but returns swiftly in a panic, claiming he has seen a hideous creature in the forest, half man half beast, Mrs Ardoy tries to calm him claiming it must have been a stag, as the forest is awash with deer. Tom is scared but tries to hide it from Sarah as they have little choice but to stay, so after some dinner they are shown to their room, Mrs Ardoy suggests they stay in their room in case they scare the children who will be up all night celebrating a Hungarian festival. Tom and Sarah find this a very odd request, but decide to have an early night, but closing the curtains Sarah sees a hideous face at their second floor window, Tom senses they are in danger and climbs out the window to look for the culprit, half way down the drain pipe he hears some bloodcurdling screams from Sarah, he desperately climbs back up to help her, but falls to the ground and is knocked unconscious.

Tom wakes up in a local hospital, with Sarah by his side, Sarah tells him they were both lucky that they had not been killed in the car crash. Tom is startled and questions her about the Ardoys, Sarah laughs at his obviously outlandish dream.

Some time later and back at home, Tom becomes aware of a change in Sarah, her appetite for sex has become insatiable as has her penchant for rare steak. Tom however overlooks it as Sarah has announced they are going to have a child, but when Sarah suddenly disappears, Tom has an inkling where she has gone, it must be to the Ardoys, but do they really exist, Tom sets off to find her and solve this mystery once and for all.

In 1980, Hammer films whose Gothic films had suddenly become less popular in the mid 70's, in a decade that saw extreme horror hold sway, Hammer decided to have one last stab at the genre, this time for TV. For this, They left behind their usual expensive period settings and brought the horror firmly into the present day. It was an instant hit with TV audiences. Children of the full moon is a simple tale of a family of werewolves, that lure unsuspecting people to their home for the purpose of procreating with Mr Ardoy and continuing their werewolf line…oh and of course a wee bit of lunch ,it ends up for the most part being fairly predictable, director Clegg giving away the plot in the first scene and does so again as Tom returns to see if the Ardoy house is there or not. Still though for fans of Hammer and Amicus its good cheesy fun and I guess its not easy to fit everything into an hour. . The leads are fine and look comfortable in their roles but its Diana Dors who steals the film, her calm, quietly spoken character has a twinkle in her eye that gives a repressed air of menace that lurks somewhere inside, that belies her regular iconic public image. The rushed ending also follows the de rigeur big twist finale, not so much with the plot as with the outcome, which I had forgotten, but I was pleasantly surprised with it. There's a nice scene too with a woodsman towards the end, that has the viewer thinking one way and then the other, before Tom finally comes to terms with the horrific reality of the situation he is in. The series is not for everyone, but for viewers of a certain age, Hammer House of Horror is pure gold.

Spooky children, werewolves, and a fun twist of Hammer Horror

[one9eighty · 7/10 · 30 September 2015]

Tom (Christopher Cazenove - "A Knights Tale") and Sarah Martin (Celia Gregory - "Agatha") are travelling to the Cornish countryside for a much deserved break from the rat race, Tom is a lawyer and he's frequently away so this break represents a delayed honeymoon as much as anything else. Randomly the car gets possessed and nearly kills them before breaking down in the middle of nowhere (the possessed car is never explained so just deal with it). Back in the 80's before mobile phones and breakdown recovery they do the best they can and walk through the woods hoping to stumble on a house where they might borrow use of a telephone. Fortunately after walking through some spooky woods they do indeed stumble on a random house. They meet Mrs Ardoy (Diana "Siren of Swindon" Dors) who welcomes them in with open arms, she lets Tom use the phone and meanwhile lets Sarah get warm next to the fire while drinking wine. Sarah discovers that Mrs Ardoy has 7 or 8 children living at the house with her, some of them her own, some foster children. Unable to get a recovery vehicle for the car Tim and Sarah agree to stay the night. Tom decides to go for a walk to get some clothes from the car, meanwhile Sarah meets some of the children. The children turn out to be spooky and scare Sarah but her fear is quashed by Tom's more panicked state of fear as he comes running back to the house claiming a beast in the woods which walks on its hind legs with yellow eyes attacked him - Mrs Ardoy explains its probably a deer or stag or something. The Martin's settle down for the night in their room with a warning from Mrs Ardoy to stay in the room. By now Tom and Sarah are getting curious about what's going on, Mrs Ardoy seems spooky, as do the kids, and on top of this they were convinced that they'd heard a wolf too - they joke with the notion that Mrs Ardoy and the family are werewolves. Sarah opens the curtain to be confronted by a werewolf watching. Tom and Sarah panic, Tom decides to climb down the drainpipe to see if he can escape or get help. Sarah meanwhile is left upstairs, the door opens up and Mrs Ardoy and the spooky children are watching as Sarah is apparently being circled by a werewolf in the room - you don't see the werewolf but it's implied. Attempting to climb back up the drainpipe to investigate the commotion that Sarah is making Tom falls and knocks himself unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness Tom finds himself in hospital, he's broken an arm but Sarah is with him. Apparently Mrs Ardoy and the house was a dream, in reality the car accident resulted in a crash and Tom has been dreaming since. Over the next few days Tom recovers and tries to get on with life with Sarah, she even gets pregnant. Sarah begins acting strange and has a taste for raw meat, Tom starts to question the reality of his dream. Before he knows it Sarah leaves Tom, he guesses that she has gone looking for Mrs Ardoy and the audience learn this to be the case. Tom goes in pursuit of Sarah who is about to give birth to an extremely healthy baby soon. Sarah is reunited with Mrs Ardoy, it transpires that she was either savaged or raped by the werewolf and she about to deliver a baby werewolf. Tom who's in pursuit can't find Mrs Ardoy's but he does meet a strange woodsman. After a brief discussion Tom soon learns the truth of what's going on, but will he be alive to do anything about it?

Directed by Tom Clegg and written by Murray Smith this Hammer TV episode was released in 1980. I really really enjoyed this dispute the obvious goofs, clangers and unexplained phenomena. Take for example the car at the start, why did it seem to be possessed? The cast were great, the obvious stand out is Doris Day who despite some dodgy make up and grey colour in her hair managed to come across as twisted but with a good heart for her 'pack' of children. The plot was a little predictable in no time at all but a 60 minute short has to cram an awful lot in to a short period of time so it's forgiven for that. When you do see the werewolf it is a little cheesy by modern standards but I wouldn't say it embarrasses itself at all - I've reviewed "Wolves" and I kinda preferred the make up on this werewolf a little more. Typical Hammer content a bucket load; gore, werewolves, suspense and the thrills. I'm watching this via the Hammer TV box-set and for me this one stands out as one of my favourite. I'm going to give this one 7 out of ten.

"I think part of me kind of expected me to be here."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 7 January 2022]

This episode has a wonderful creepy vibe, but there's a major disconnect in the story that occurs about midway through. As Tom Martin (Christopher Cazenove) falls from the drainpipe and knocks himself unconscious, his wife Sarah (Celia Gregory) appears to be attacked by an unseen werewolf. But the next morning, they find themselves in a local hospital with neither one having a memory of what happened the night before. That may have been possible for Tom if he suffered a concussion, but why Sarah? Under the influence of an amnesia inducing werewolf? If even a feeble explanation had been offered I might have been able to buy it. But as the story plays out, it leads to a final denouement in which Sarah gives birth to a new member of the Ardoy household headed by a matronly old lady (Diana Dors), and I assume, her woodsman husband (Jacob Witkin). I don't know what the gestation period for a woman giving birth to a baby werewolf would be, but it seemed to me that two months wouldn't cover it.

Beware the full moon

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 30 January 2017]

Lawyer Tom (a likable performance by Christopher Cazenove) and his wife Sarah (an appealing portrayal by the fetching Celia Gregory) find themselves lost in the woods. The young couple stumble across an isolated old mansion and its oddball occupants.

Director Tom Clegg, working from a compelling script by Murray Smith, relates the enjoyable and engrossing story at a quick pace, makes nice use of the sprawling and mist-shrouded verdant countryside, and ably crafts a supremely spooky Gothic atmosphere. The sound acting by the sturdy cast keeps this episode on track: Diana Dors lends fine support as friendly matron Mrs. Ardoy, Jacob Witkin has a neat bit as a hearty woodcutter, and the kids are really cute, with Sophie Kind a particular stand out as the adorable Eloise. Moreover, the werewolf make-up ain't too shabby and the downbeat ending packs a startling punch. Both Paul Patterson's spirited shivery score and the sharp cinematography by Frank Watts are up to par. A nifty episode.

Wolfie's Rascals

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 19 April 2015]

****SPOILERS****While taking a quite drive through the countryside import export executive Tom Martin, Chris Cazenove, loses control of his car that runs out of gas and breaks down and stops in the middle of this spooky forest. Leaving him and his wife Sarah, Celia Gregory,looking to get help in finding anyone in the ares with a phone for them to call for assistance. It turns out that there's this spooky looking house that pops out of the fog where they find, by knocking on the door, this really weird looking woman Mrs. Ardoy, Diana Dors. It's Mrs. Ardoy who runs the place as an orphanage for wayward children who've been abundant by their parents or just, in them being abused, ran away from home.

Welcoming the couple to spend the night there Mrs. Ardoy is really setting them up for something that she planned for previous, as well as future, couples who end up lost and being at her place. It has to do with keeping the weird looking children playful and happy in having playmate to keep them busy and entertained. That's when they go out into the night, they seem to sleep all day, and have fun or scare the living sh*t out of those unfortunate souls that they come in contact with! It later turns out that all this was just a wild and crazy dream by Tom who allegedly cracked his skull when he lost control of the car that he was driving. That's until he noticed his wife Sarah had completely reinvented herself from a sweet and caring woman to a meat eating, she always was a vegetarian, and stuffing her mouth with raw flesh glutton! And besides all that not even bothering to put salt & pepper on her food or even A-1 Stake Sauce on her food to enhance the taste!

*****SPOILERS**** Tom in trying to find where his wife, who had since checked out on him, went travels to the very place where he had his accident and runs into this creepy looking woodcutter, Jacob Watkin, who seems to know his way around in these parts and offers to help him find the house, the Ardoy House, he's looking for. It's there where Tom feels that his wife Sarah went to. The final few minutes of this "Hammer House of Horrors" episode is truly a horror in what a confused and shocked down to his socks Tom found out. In the reason that his wife Sarah was picked by the odd looking who got more and more odder looking by the moment woodcutter in the first place. And as for Sarah Tom's wife she had become a member, posthumously, of the wacko Ardoy clan by her adding, before she checked out for good, a new and hungry, for raw meat, mouth for them to eagerly feed!

Decent werewolf story.

[Teknofobe70 · 5/10 · 6 April 2005]

It's that old plot device again, the one that has served many, many horror writers over the years ... a couple travelling through the countryside has car trouble, pulls over, and discovers a secluded house in the middle of nowhere. Either the house has no phone or they simply can't reach anyone, so they are forced to stay the night.

So cue the vampires, ghosts, demons ... or in this case a family of werewolves. The supposed owner of the house is an unnervingly friendly old lady played excellently by famous actress Diana Dors, just a few years before her death. She is step mother to eight creepy children. The couple become increasingly worried as strange things start happening. The husband is attacked by a strange creature in the woods, the wife has some odd encounters with the children, and eventually they are locked in their room. He tries to climb out of the window and ends up unconscious on the floor below while she is raped by a werewolf.

Already there's some pretty twisted stuff going on, enough to make me think this could be a great werewolf story. Anyway, the couple then end up in a hospital, the wife seems to have no memory of the events, claiming they simply crashed the car, and the husband thinks it was a dream. Over the next month or so she begins to act strangely, eating lots of meat and increasing her sexual appetite. However, just as it starts to get interesting ... it's the end of the episode. D'oh! I understand that there's only so much you can fit in to an hour-long episode, but if they'd just cut down on the boring scenes it could have all led to a great climax and ended up as a well-constructed, original werewolf story rather than just an interesting idea. Oh, well. I guess if you have nothing better to do, you might want to give this one a look, but don't go out of your way.

Full moon fever!

[canndyman · 8/10 · 6 September 2020]

This is another excellent and well-loved episode of the Hammer series that illuminated our Saturday nights back in the autumn and winter of 1980.

This time, the story revolves around werewolves, and we're given a 'taster' in the pre-credit sequence of what's to come -as we see a young girl in the woods with a bloody mouth - surrounded by dead lambs!

The story then turns to a married couple, Tom & Sarah (ably played by Christopher Cazenove & Celia Gregory), whose car conks out on a remote country lane en route to their holiday cottage in the West Country.

Seeking help, they stumble across a desolate house, and are welcomed in by its owner Mrs Ardoy - excellently played by the wonderful Diana Dors. The house is also full of her family - 8 mysterious young children, whose odd behavior soon alerts the couple that maybe things here aren't quite right. When Tom attempts to retrieve the couple's baggage from their car, he returns terrified - saying he's been attacked by a large & viscous creature in the dark woods. Mrs Ardoy kindly lets the now rather anxious couple stay the night - but could it be their presence there isn't quite as arbitrary as they first thought...

This one plays out beautifully, as we soon realize the couple's benefactor has a bit more in store for them than her home-made red wine and mutton broth. There's a fabulously jumpy moment halfway through - whereby everything unravels for the couple and their fate appears to be sealed. The suspense and tension builds along nicely all the way through, and the viewer can soon sense that maybe things aren't possibly going to end too well for the beleaguered couple.

The house and children are delightfully creepy, and Diana Dors of course steals the show as the mysterious and devious Mrs Ardoy. The whole story is a real treat for Hammer fans who get plenty to howl about!

Lycan-subscribe

[southdavid · 6/10 · 12 August 2020]

The eighth episode of "Hammer House of Horror" was lacking the usual gore that the series has had previously, but I wonder if it might be that I was watching a cleaned up version. Never the less it was a decent episode, with the typical dark resolution.

A newlywed couple, Tom (Christopher Cazenove) and Sarah (Celia Gregory), lose control of their car on the way to a West Country holiday cottage. Though they escape without injury, the car is unusable, so they wander the woods looking for some form of civilisation. They happen upon a large manor house, in which a cheerful matron, Mrs. Ardoy (Diana Dors) looks after a large number of young children. After accepting an offer to stay the night, Tom is attacked in the woods by mysterious assailant, and on his return to the house - the pair hear the howls of a wolf.

Actually, that's just the first half of the story, I was pleasantly surprised by the mid-episode shift that sees them dismiss all of the above, only for it to return in typical dark fashion. Though the best known stars are in minor roles, that being Robert Urquhart's Harry and Dors' Mrs. Ardoy, it's Cazenove and Gregory that carry the whole episode. Gregory in particular has lots to do and though I thought the scenes when she's being menaced weren't particular convincing, the rest of the time she's an alluring presence. (Although, again, I think the edited version I saw might have made her a little more chaste than I would usual expect from Hammer).

Other than that, it was an OK episode. It's a little unfortunate that the title and pre-credits scene give the Werewolf game away so early, it might have improved the manor house scenes had we not known what was coming. It's nicely done, but not so well that I'd recommend hunting it down.

Weak little Wolverines...

[Coventry · 4/10 · 11 December 2006]

I anticipated the episode following the masterful "Silent Scream" to be a lot weaker, but "Children of the Full Moon" is more than just weak; it's an actual disappointment! This short movie directed by Tom Clegg ("McVicar") is senseless, incredibly predictable and far too implausible to evoke any feelings of fright or disturbance. I love a good old-fashioned tale about werewolves & full moon curses, but Murray Smith's screenplay lacks the bright ideas to become one. The plot centers on a young couple as they're traveling through a remote area when their car suddenly breaks down and nearly crashes. Tom and Sarah seek for help in the only house for miles around, where a friendly old lady and her eight (!) children welcome them with open arms. Tom loses consciousness during a nightly attack by a strange looking monster and wakes up in a hospital bed and Sarah tries to convince him it was all just a bad dream. Still, she's pregnant now and mysterious forces draw her back to the isolated house she claims doesn't exist. The pre-credits intro looked promising, as it showed a little girl with blood on her lips devouring a lamb, but the rest of the story made little to no sense at all. It's obvious that the old lady – Diana Dors – and her partner are breeding an army of junior werewolves, but for what purpose and why implicate strangers in their fiendish plan? The answers to these questions are never given, and the story doesn't even focus on the eight children that much. A horror short about werewolf-children would have been quite original, yet we never see them transform in hairy little monsters with huge fangs or sharp claws. In fact, there's just one transformation-sequence in the whole episode, yet the special effects were laughable and far below usual Hammer standards. Oh well, they can't all be winners I guess

Great werewolf tale for TV

[Stevieboy666 · 8/10 · 1 June 2018]

It was probably watching the Hammer House of Horror TV series as a kid in the 1980's that laid the foundations for my life long love affair for the genre. And this werewolf episode is one of the better ones. Yes, it's predictable and the make up is more old Universal than say The Howling or American Werewolf (which of course were made after this). But it is well acted, atmospheric, creepy and pretty shocking. Having children that are in fact monsters is always going to increase the scare factor. A nice little werewolf tale in well under an hour.

If you go down to the woods today you're in for a big surprise

[mwilson1976 · 5/10 · 9 April 2020]

A married couple travelling through the English countryside are involved in a car accident and end up seeking solace at the home of the mysterious Mrs Ardoy (Diana Dors) and her brood of eight adopted children who all turn out to be werewolves, in this made for TV movie shown as part of the Hammer House of Horror TV series in 1980. It was directed by Tom Clegg (who also did The House That Bled To Death, another memorable episode of the same series), and features lots of creepy kids living in the back of beyond, axe wielding woodsmen, and lycanthropes aplenty. Despite being filmed on the cheap it's pretty creepy stuff.

Pour a glass of Pinot noir, sit back and enjoy.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 11 June 2023]

Newlyweds Tom and Sarah set off for a small break in the country, their car spins out of control, and they end up seeking help in a nearby House, owned by the strange Mrs Ardoy.

Love it or hate it, Children of The Full Moon is without a doubt one of the more memorable episodes, it is loaded with atmosphere, it's decidedly eerie, but it doesn't take itself too seriously.

The game changer, the element that made this one a little different, for me, was the children, they're all so well presented and innocent looking, they somehow manage to unnerve.

One gripe, it's get another out of control car, it seems almost every other episode features a car that's gone out of control.

The makeup is a little on the raw side, so don't expect any kind of special effects, all I'd say is that the makeup team did a fine job with the resources they had to hand.

Hammer did Cannibalism, voodoo, and possessed children, as well as several other expected themes, it was kind of obvious that there'd be a werewolf theme, but it works well.

Christopher Cazenove and Celia Gregory are very good here, Diana Dors stole the show for me as Mrs Ardoy, what a glorious actress she was.

Thoroughly enjoyable, 8/10.

Doesn`t Hold Up To Repeat Viewing

[Theo Robertson · 3/10 · 21 September 2003]

I remember first seeing this in 1980 as part of THE HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR series and everyone was talking about it at school on Monday . I saw it for a second time last night and to be honest it`s not much cop . It`s just another predictable story of a newly wed couple getting lost and spending the night at a creepy mansion that`s owned by a woman with a west country accent and being a horror story it`s always bad news to spend a night at a mansion owned by someone with a west country accent

Two things I noticed about watching it for the second time : First up is the very poor budget . Unless I`m imagining it there only seems to be one set used and the set designer hides this fact by using different furniture scene to scene ( I might be wrong of course ) while the werewolf make up is absolutely laughable . Secondly watching it a second time you can`t fail to notice how predictably it all plays out . In many ways the story is structured like a whodunnit and just like any whodunnit it`s only worth watching once at most

no no hoooooooooooooowling

[trashgang · 5/10 · 6 May 2010]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh, a bit of a let down. The characters are very strong but there isn't anything in the storyline. It takes a while before anything happens and when it happens it isn't shown, it starts of pretty well with the child in the beginning but then the only thing they do is standing there, and standing and... The couple who visited the house, well, nothing really happens with them too. Oh yes, the man encounters something in the woods but it isn't shown. But things go wrong when the woman stares through a window and sees the face of the werewolf, hello, is this 1980? The make up for the werewolf is laughable. And the werewolf takes a human form in daylight, but what a mistake. At the end the werewolf becomes one in...daylight. If only those children could have done something, as suggested by the title it would have been better.

Diana Dors is the only reason to watch this... and not for good reasons.

[khunkrumark · 4/10 · 24 July 2017]

Children of the Full Moon was the eighth episode of the rather silly Hammer House of Horror anthology which was released on British TV in 1980... and as you would expect from any Hammer production it was made on the cheap!

But this episode stands out because it features a tragic Diana Dors not long before she died from cancer in her early 50s. Here she looks nothing like the sexy bombshell she was in the 50s and 60s. At that time she was likened as the 'British Marilyn Monroe', but lived in her shadow so was more like the 'British Jayne Mansfield'.

Nonetheless; she was once a doll and extremely ambitious yet here she is making ends meet. She looks tired and out of shape which makes this rather sad to see.

This episode (much like all of them) is silly and relies heavily on atmosphere and annoying music to guide us through the required emotions of fear and apprehension. City dwellers escape to the country and have engine trouble, walk through the woods at night and end up in the big house. Spooky goings-on lead to even spookier goings-on and the ending is daft, unfulfilling and a waste of your time. Scooby Doo has more plot development and audience respect than this does.

There are better British TV anthologies available for those of us who enjoy our fright nights... and this only stands apart because of the tragic display of Diana Dors. Christopher Cazenove (Dynasty/Judge John Deed) plays it straight and just about emerges with his dignity in tact!

Mediocre Werewolf Episode

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 5/10 · 22 August 2009]

Generally speaking, I'm a fan of the great British Hammer Studios' 13-part TV series "Hammer House of Horror" (1980). It has to be said though, that, like it is the case with most other anthology series, the episodes aren't all equally good. Though it has its qualities, this eighth entry to the series, "Children of the Full Moon" is definitely one of the weaker HHH episodes. As the title suggests, the episode is about Werewolves, and while it has atmosphere it lacks surprises and is both silly and predictable. When married couple Tom (Christopher Cazenove) and Sarah (Celia Gregory) drive through a remote forest area, their car suddenly breaks down and nearly crashes. They seek help at a nearby mansion, where they are welcomed by a suspiciously friendly lady (Diana Dors) and her eight somewhat creepy children. When suddenly being attacked by a wolf-like creature, Tom looses consciousness. He awakes in a hospital bed, and his wife claims that he was in a coma after the car crash and that he just had a bad dream. However, Sarah begins to behave suspiciously... The episode does have atmosphere, as well as some creepy moments, but, overall, it is a letdown. The premise of children werewolves is a great one, and after a truly creepy opening sequence and a nice beginning one simply expects more than the actual outcome has to offer. Still, the film is entertaining enough and worth watching for HHH fans.