'It was like a monster unleashed.' 6 things we learnt from House of Hammer.

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of alleged sexual abuse that may be distressing to some readers.

In 2022, actor Timothée Chalamet was at the Venice Film Festival promoting his film Bones And All, billed as a "cannibal romance". Chalamet's Call Me co-star was, of course, Armie Hammer, and the film catapulted both men into the stratosphere of fame.

Yet while Chalamet was making headlines in Venice because of his backless red outfit, Hammer was making headlines of a different sort. The docu-series House of Hammer had just been released, and it details, amongst other things, Hammer's cannibal fetish. I'm sure the irony is not lost on those keeping track of this sordid tale.

Watch the trailer for House of Hammer. Story continues below.

House of Hammer rehashes the alleged sexual abuse that came to light in early 2021 and ultimately brought about Hammer's downfall. Hammer has denied all the allegations and maintains that the relationships, and everything that happened in them, were consensual.

But the three-part docu-series, titled Love Bomb, Sins of the Father, and Follow the Money, respectively, also delves further than the alleged sexual abuse by Hammer, tracing the family's dark history and inter-generational relationships.

Here's what we learnt.

Hammer's messages to his partners were... full on.

The series opens with a voice recording Hammer sent to one of his partners.

"Hi, buckle your seatbelt. This is going to be the bet: If I won, I get to come over to your house with my bag of goodies. Inside my bag of goodies, there are several different bundles of Shibari rope; Shibari is the Japanese art of rope bondage," he says. 

"My bet was going to involve showing up at your place and completely tying you up and incapacitating you, then being able to do whatever I wanted to every single hole in your body until I was done with you."

Courtney Vucekovich, who was involved with Hammer for several months, appears in the series to discuss her relationship with him.

"He would send me text messages and call me every day, constantly. Immediately he was sharing all these things with me, intimate details about his parents, family secrets," she says.

"Between the love bombing and the attention, I felt like this was all perfect, this was amazing. This is what we’re all taught to think of as a fairy tale."

She recounts an incident where Hammer stopped by her apartment when she wasn't there and took photos of the building. He told her he was "trying to find your scent." He also left a note which read, "I'm going to bite the f**k out of you." 

"As crazy as that sounds, I took it metaphorically, not literally," Vucekovich says. "I chose to look at it more flattering than concerning. When I told my friends about us talking, I left that part out. I think that says a lot."

Model, actress and artist Julia Morrison also appears in the series. Although she never met Hammer in person, he reached out via Instagram about a series of photos she was in.

"I've wanted to tie you up since I saw those goddamn pictures and messaged you about it," he allegedly wrote to Morrison.

"I have a fantasy about having someone prove their love and devotion and tying them up in a public place at night and making their body free use. And seeing if they will f**k strangers for me."

Some of Hammer's partners were not willing participants.

While on a vacation together, Vucekovich says there was an experience which left her traumatised. She does not detail what the experience was. "It was something that has never been done to me. It’s very degrading and very belittling. I don’t like to put it out there."

On another trip together, Hammer used ropes on her. "I said everything but no," Vucekovich says. "He puts on this creepy playlist and just, like, the ropes were around my neck, wrists, ankles and behind my back. I had bruises. I hated it. I understand that if this is your fantasy, if this is your thing, more power to you. I didn’t like it."

Hammer has been accused of sexual assault by two women, Paige Lorenze and a woman named Effie. They do not appear in the docu-series. Effie was the first to come forward against Hammer in early 2021, posting on an Instagram account called House of Effie. She has accused him of rape and abuse over their four-year relationship.

Lorenze previously appeared on Dr. Oz saying, "[Armie] said he wanted to find a doctor in Los Angeles to remove my ribs. He wanted to eat my ribs, he wanted to smoke them. He’s obsessed with meat. I brushed it off, but I do believe that he was serious."

Armand Hammer, Armie's great-grandfather treated women like objects.

Casey Hammer, Armie's aunt, was not shocked when she learned about the allegations against Hammer.

"The Hammer name wielded a lot of prestige and power. On the outside, we were a perfect family, but underneath it all was a dark world of deceit, betrayal and corruption, and that’s why I’m coming forward now," she says. "It’s time to stop the cycle."

Armand Hammer, Armie's great-grandfather, kept files on friends and acquaintances. He often recorded conversations. "You didn't make a move without thinking about what if Grandpa found out? I like to say that our lives were like a chessboard and our grandfather controlled all the moves."

Investigative journalist Edward Epstein, who once wrote a profile on Armand, appears in the series to talk about him.

"[Women] served a purpose to him. He always had mistresses. He looked for young women who he could control completely," Epstein says. 

He details a well-documented story about how Armand was caught by his wife, Frances, having an affair with Martha Kaufman. Armand then requested that Martha wear a white wig and change her name to Hilary Gibson so they could continue their affair.

"What he demanded was control of every part of her life, including her identity," Epstein says. "It was all in his nature of a man who totally wanted to control a woman that he viewed as an object, not as a human being."

Armand was also powerful politically and had several friends and acquaintances in senior positions within government.

"[Armand] was a master at bribery. Armand Hammer would go to a powerful person; he would offer them money and illegal cash bribes; he would deliver the money and [his son] Julian would record the entire crime being committed so he could later blackmail the person," Epstein says.

"[Armand] had no shame. He ignored all laws. The extraordinary thing about the Hammer family is the consistency of vice over virtue."

Armand's former political and media consultant, Neil Lyndon, says that after Armand was convicted of hiding contributions to President Nixon's re-election campaign, he cosied up to Prince Charles as a way of improving his public image. He donated 40 million pounds to causes close to Prince Charles's heart. Lyndon claims these personal ties helped Armand escape responsibility when an oil platform operated by his company exploded, killing 167 workers.

"Armand Hammer was the embodiment of sin," Lyndon says.

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia's entertainment podcast. Story continues below.

Julian Hammer, Armie's grandfather, killed a man over a gambling debt.

Cathe Boal appears in House of Hammer to discuss her relationship with Julian Hammer, Armie's grandfather. In the mid-70s, she was hired to clean Julian's home, and they began a relationship. She left her husband for Julian.

"He was a real charmer. He knew how to get his way. He was suave. As time went on, we got real close," she says.

"He seemed to be more possessive as time went on. He didn’t want me to have any friends. I was naïve. I thought if I could give him enough love, I could change him."

While out one night on a date, Julian took her to a gay bar and flirted with all the men, ignoring her. She left and caught a ride with a 19-year-old stranger named Gary Bowers. Julian was furious when he arrived home and threatened Bowers with a gun. He was arrested at the scene.

It has been documented that Julian was previously accused of manslaughter after killing a man over a gambling debt. Julian claimed self-defence and was released without charge.

Boal says that Julian liked guns, and that she ended her relationship with him after a gun went off with her young son in the room.

Julian offered Armie's father, Michael, a million dollars for his girlfriend.

Casey asserts in the docu-series that her father, Julian, and her brother, Michael, fought over a proposition Julian made.

"My father offered my brother a million dollars for his girlfriend. My brother... it was like a monster unleashed. They both said, I'm going to kill you, and they ran outside," Casey says. "When I finally circled the building, I saw police had separated them." 

The girlfriend ended up leaving with Julian, and they lived together for eight months.

Wow.

There have been death threats and intimidating messages.

When the docu-series was announced, Casey received a message from a friend, warning her of the dangers of speaking out against the rest of the Hammer family.

"Be careful. Seems to me that you are opening Pandora’s box. Don’t go out after dark. Always check to make sure you’re not being followed. Keep your name off a mailbox. Unlisted phone. Watch your surroundings for a stranger’s face that appears more than once," the friend said.

Vucekovich has received a number of death threats and "intense harassment" from Hammer's fans. She has since relocated and installed security cameras.

"The Charmies [Hammer's fans' collective name] made my life hell," she says. 

But she has also received thousands of positive messages from women who have gone through similar abuse.

"I was willing to open up about it to help people avoid a situation like this. You want people to be able to recognise these abusive patterns. It changes, you feel good doing it because you are doing it for the right reasons."

In the last episode of House of Hammer, Casey reads out the message she received from her brother, Michael.

"If you choose to continue pretending that the stories you have invented are the truth, I will have no choice other than to pursue every legal remedy to set the record straight," the letter said.

"Despite all the pain your fabrications have caused, you share the blood running through my veins. You are still my family and I wish you nothing but the best."

But Casey remains resolved to speak out against her family, who she is estranged from.

"My brother thinks he can silence me. The way my brother is intimidating me right now through that letter and those words, it’s exactly what my grandfather would do," she says.

"I’ve let the Hammers control so much of my own life. It’s time to stop. I refuse to be silenced."

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.

Feature image: Getty.

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