- Network: Discovery+
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 2, 2022
Critic Reviews
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Directors Elli Hakami and Julian P. Hobbs are to be commended for handling this deeply troubling material in journalistically solid and sensitive fashion, as they weave together archival footage of the Hammer family; interviews with a number of Armie Hammer’s alleged victims, plus reporters and Armie’s aunt, Casey, and excerpts from audio and video recordings as well as text messages that provide evidence of Hammer’s extreme dark side.
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The first episode’s key interviewee is Dallas entrepreneur Courtney Vucekovich. ... Vucekovich’s story seems absurdly naive in the retelling, but that’s her point. Her account appears courageous and valuable because it demonstrates how, if true, anyone could be vulnerable to coercion and abuse.
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If you’re already aware of the accusations against Armie, I suggest skipping directly to episodes two and three because that’s where you’ll get to some of the more shocking anecdotes about other family members. But overall, House of Hammer is a fascinating, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction look at the way absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the way it can hurt people when no one calls it out for decades.
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Directors Elli Hakami and Julian P. Hobbs adhere to Discovery’s true-crime house style, which tends toward lurid stylistic choices. ... The portions featuring Casey Hammer, who is in her early 60s, provide context that paints a picture of violence in the home growing up. ... What were things like inside the home in which Armie was raised? No one here is able to say.
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It’s a Google search for people who don’t want to read a lengthy article. That’s fine. But selling it as the multigenerational story of a family with all the horrors of the Marquis de Sade is a bit of a stretch.
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“House of Hammer,” of course, accentuates the demented. It’s here to titillate, then evoke disgust. Some enlightenment may be conveyed in that process, but perceive it or not, you’re mostly gonna feel manhandled.
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House of Hammer clearly has a story to tell, but its salacious approach lacks the focus or discipline to do its most intriguing aspects justice.