Gallery of Horror

Critically reviled Gallery of Horror stars Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine and a slew of people who have absolutely no place being in the industry.

It's a 5 story horror anthology that isn't so much cheesy bad but old school plain bad.

Vampires, zombies, psychotics, witches and more are on display yet each story has a very familiar looking cast. Thats right, the same people play different characters throughout which prevent any chance of you becoming engrossed.

The plots are mostly silly, the sfx are genuinely laughable and Carradines narration segments are the absolute pits. It's not just his weak delivery or how much he comes across as if he's rambling without script but that background during such segments is head scratchingly dumb.

I like horror anthologys but this stinker has to go down as one of the worst.

The Good:

Lon Chaney Jr

The Bad:

Everything just looks so incredibly bad

Poor writing

Weak acting

Narration segments are the pits

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Not every horror anthology can be a Creepshow (1982) or a Trick r Treat (2007)

1967 was simply the worst year in cinematic history

Gallery of Horror (1966)

BOMB (out of 4)

John Carradine hosts five different horror stories in this incredibly poor cash-in on Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. This here is another contender for one of the worst films ever made but thankfully it's so bad that you can laugh at it. Carradine stars in the first story, which is probably the best one. Lon Chaney, Jr., sadly showing signs of his alcoholism, turns in the worst performance of his career and it's rather hard not to laugh. All five stories end with dramatic music at their "shock endings", which are all stupid and lame.

Of course "Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors" is no classic, but I'm fond of David Hewitt's films and everyone seems to be having fun here. John Carradine, in full evening wear, introduces five not-very-scary tales; he also stars in one, while Lon Chaney Jr. stars in another. Other familiar faces include Roger Gentry ("The Wizard of Mars", also directed by Hewitt and co-starring Carradine) and Joey Benson (Al Adamson's "Horror of the Blood Monsters" and "Blood of Ghastly Horror"). Among the highlights of the movie are Carradine's fantastic booming voice, the dreamy soundtrack, and the cheesy, $1.95 special effects. There are some unintentionally funny moments, too, like the extended scenes of a horse-drawn carriage barreling down a dirt road (very obviously taken from Roger Corman's "The Raven"), and the vampire who is trying his hardest to speak with a Hungarian accent but ends up sounding like a Mexican bandito from some cheap western. Every time I watch something like this, I can't help but wonder whatever became of the people who made all those no-budget horror flicks of the '60s and '70s. They worked under such primitive conditions, and I'm sure they would have been doing something else if they'd had their druthers, but they almost always turned out an entertaining product. Now they've disappeared. Mr. Hewitt, Mr. Gentry, Mr. Benson...where are you? :)

Oh this is bad, really bad, Even Lon Chaney Jr and John Carradine cannot save this movie.

The segments are okay and the acting is finem in parts, but it is all so clunky, even for the 60s, I don't know what kind of budget this movie had, but it does not look like much. The set are so fake looking for even back then and the scenes that are supposed to be scary just...aren't, But I have a love for these films, they are so much a part if my childhood, This is one of the more entertaining ones with five interesting stories that would have been better if the acting and effects were better. This is a curiosity and fun to watch if you don't mind its faults.

Look, I'll be brief. If you have ANY taste for the so-bad-they're-great classics (Plan 9, Robot Monster, Brain That Wouldn't Die), hunt down a copy of this, the most overlooked member of the club. Amazingly, this was put out in letterboxed form; but anyway you can find it, WATCH THIS MOVIE. It is fantastic