House of Hammer is a three-part documentary series that streamed on MAX and Discovery Plus. Directed by Elli Hakami and Julian P. Hobbs, it explores the scandal surrounding Hollywood superstar Armie Hammer.

Hearing from his girlfriends, we get a glimpse into the bizarre world of Rebecca star Armie Hammer. He would target women and lure them into his life using his fame as a lure. After wining and dining them, he would start making deviant demands of them. It does not start with him, however. We learn how his great-grandfather was a Commie who did dirty work for the Soviets, how his grandfather was a corrupt businessman, and how his uncle and father are accused of even more.

This was a very well-made documentary. The women bring screenshots and recordings of Armie’s bizarre kinks. They show photos of bruises, expose his stalker behavior, and finally show him admitting that he is a cannibal. It is a truly disgusting deep dive into the scandal that rocked the Hollywood star and how his family history indicates a disturbing pattern of behavior.

Despite this, the show suffers from two faults. The first is the glorification of attorney Gloria Allred. The filmmakers tried to portray her as a stalwart defender of victims and a female icon. She is neither. She and her daughter actively tried to suppress Harvey Weistein’s victims and has represented outright frauds. She is nothing more than an ambulance-chasing publicity hound and professional victim, ironically enough, whose presence throws doubt on the topic.

The second is the glamorization of BDSM. The movement requires creepiness, grooming, and abuse. While this was downplayed, even by a so-called “expert,” who of course was a woman, they tried to differentiate what Hammer did with BDSM. The hard truth is, it was in lock-step.

It is a shame because the documentary shines a lot on the depravity that exists within Hollywood and how Armie Hammer’s disturbed nature is an example of it. If it had honed in on that, and the corruption of his family, it would have been a superb look at a rising star.

Check out the trailer below:

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Disturbing sexual topics, Strong foul language

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