Hammer House of Horror (1980) - The Silent Scream

Original Air Date - October 25, 1980

Chuck Spillers (Brian Cox) has recently been released from prison for robbery. While inside he was visited multiple times by a seemingly kind old gentlemen named Martin Blueck (Peter Cushing). Upon his release Blueck gave him some money for a new start, and on his way home to his wife he stops by Blueck's pet shop to thank him and is offered a job feeding Blueck's exotic personal collection of wild animals.  Blueck claims he has trained them by keeping them in cages that are open on one side but electrically charged, which keeps them from escaping.  Certain sounds relay to the animals that the electricity is turned off and safe for them eat their food, which is put outside their cages. Chuck agrees to feed Blueck's animals but quickly falls back into old habits when he spots a safe on the wall. In an attempt to open it Chuck falls into Blueck's trap and ends up in a cage of his own!

The Silent Scream is a top notch example of gritty, thrilling, Hammer horror and suspense in which you're constantly screaming at, or along with the characters in some hope of guiding them in the right direction or preventing them from making a horrible mistake. Both a young Brian Cox and Hammer veteran Peter Cushing provide excellent performances, especially Cushing as he plays an excellent nutcase. The story also ends with a very good (although implausible) twist for both characters, and best of all the episode moves along at a very swift pace, after the first ten minutes, constantly keeping you on edge.

8/10