'Carpathian Eagle' is the ninth instalment of the Hammer House of Horror TV series. This one goes down a murder-mystery, thriller-oriented route, while retaining a definite horror underpinning. It focuses on a series of murders in which various men are killed by a mysterious woman whose modus operandi is similar to an infamous Eastern European countess who, centuries ago, bumped off numerous men with the help of a deadly pet eagle.
This episode feels a little more original in approach compared to several of the others in the series. It combines a police procedural detective format with a supernatural angle. And I have to confess to being a bit of a sucker for any film involving a sexy murderess. Yet, the material here isn't as well executed as it could be. I cannot help but think that revealing the killer's identity half way through was a silly move and more tension would have been generated by keeping the mystery side of things intact until the end. Still, it benefits from having the very attractive Suzanne Danielle star in the central role, while it was somewhat amusing to see future James Bond Pierce Brosnan pop up in a hilariously minor an inconsequential role as a randy jogger.
This episode feels a little more original in approach compared to several of the others in the series. It combines a police procedural detective format with a supernatural angle. And I have to confess to being a bit of a sucker for any film involving a sexy murderess. Yet, the material here isn't as well executed as it could be. I cannot help but think that revealing the killer's identity half way through was a silly move and more tension would have been generated by keeping the mystery side of things intact until the end. Still, it benefits from having the very attractive Suzanne Danielle star in the central role, while it was somewhat amusing to see future James Bond Pierce Brosnan pop up in a hilariously minor an inconsequential role as a randy jogger.