Tales from the Crypt

Horror anthologies are invariably a mixed bag and Tales from the Crypt is no different in that respect. Five horror stories of fluctuating quality, it is however one of the best of the bunch and arguably the best from the house of Amicus.

The wrap around has five people taking a tour of spooky catacombs who get lured into a hidden crypt where a cowl wearing man reveals to them exactly why they are there.

Stories 3 & 5 are the better efforts here, boosted considerably by top grade lead character performances from Peter Cushing and Patrick Magee, but as always with anthology movies, there's something for everyone. So roll the dice horror fans and take a chance, this is great fun, a real popcorn and wine night in by the fire. 7/10

The early 70's were golden years for the British horror industry… Hammer produced their last goodies, while there was another company who specialized in making the so-called `horror-omnibuses'… During a reign of approximately 10 years, Amicus brought forward anthologies going from nearly brilliant (The House that Dripped Blood) to very bad (The Monster Club). Tales From the Crypt surely belongs to their greatest achievements as well and it guarantees an hour and a half of delightful horror entertainment. Five stories are presented to us, and at least four of them have an above average quality level. (Sir) Ralph Richardson appears as the host. Disguised as the Cryptkeeper, he shows the unfortunate dead of 5 people who descended into his vault…

The film is based on a fifties comic book success formula, which also resulted in a popular spin-off series in the early nineties. The protagonists are always doomed and these tales show their regress into death… Each of the stories has its own, unique setting and atmosphere and, together, they cover pretty much all the favorite horror topics. Yet, 5 stories is a little exaggerated and therefore aren't fully elaborated…

Especially the first story suffers from its own shortness…It involves a bitchy woman (a stunningly beautiful Joan Collins) who kills her husband, but finds herself trapped in her house while an escaped lunatic lurks through the windows. This first story is pretty bloody and tense, and I wish it had been a little longer (if it were only to look at Collins some more…). The second story by far is the worst of them all and I feel they should have left this one out. The storyline has nothing new to offer and the acting is uninspired. Tale number three stars horror-legend Peter Cushing and he's the good guy for a change! Cushing is a lonely man who offers presents to the neighborhood children and throws parties for them…I guess this wasn't an issue in the seventies yet! Or was it? Cushing character is hated by his next-door neighbor, but eventually avenges himself. The fourth story is my personal favorite since it really breathes an almost unbearable morbidity…it's a variant on the famous monkey-claw myth, which provides the owner with 3 wishes. This chapter is really chilling and the scenery is great! It also has the best make-up effects and adorable twisted humor! The final story is very ingenious and chilling as well and it entirely takes places in an institute for the blind. The new manager introduces a whole lot of economy measures, while he's living a life of luxury. At one point, the inhabitants won't take it anymore and they show him what being blind feels like

Five strangers lose their way while on a tour of a catacomb and find themselves in the company of a strange crypt keeper (Sir Ralph Richardson) who predicts each person's future… or so they think.

The five stories are as follows: And All Through The House: Joan Collins plays murderous wife Joanne Clayton, who bashes her husband's head in with a fire poker on Christmas Eve, but gets her just desserts when an escaped homicidal maniac dressed as Santa pays her home a visit. Easily my favourite of the five (and not just because Joan is smokin' hot in this!), the first story offers genuine atmosphere and scares with a really neat twist (admittedly, Joanne misses a trick by not calling the cops and blaming her husband's death on the lunatic in the Santa suit, but she's acting under a lot of pressure). My only real complaint is this one is over all too soon.

Reflection of Death: Carl Maitland (Ian Hendry) leaves his wife and family to start a new life with his sexy young mistress Susan Blake (Carry On babe). While asleep in the passenger seat, he wakes from a terrible nightmare shortly before the car careers off the road, in what proves to be a dream-within-a-dream style story. A decent central performance by Hendry and a cool POV sequence makes this one fun despite the well-worn circular nature of its narrative (which dates way back to 1945 when it was used in the classic anthology Dead of Night).

Poetic Justice: I first saw tale three as a child, when I sneakily caught part of the film on TV; it gave me nightmares! Peter Cushing plays kindly old man Arthur Grimsdyke who is hounded so badly by his neighbour that he commits suicide (the final straw being a pile of hate-mail delivered on Valentine's Day). One year later, Arthur crawls from his grave to exact revenge. The memorable mouldy reanimated corpse and a classic EC-style payoff makes this one a winner.

Wish You Were Here: Enid (Barbara Murray), the wife of bankrupt businessman Ralph Jason (Richard Greene), realises that her Chinese jade statue has the power to grant 3 wishes, but finds that being precise with her words is of the utmost importance. OK, so this is basically a derivative of the classic 'Monkey's Paw' tale, but the ways in which the final wish backfires is so wonderfully twisted that one can't help but have fun with it (I particularly enjoyed the shot of glistening intestines and severed hand—pretty gory stuff for an Amicus film).

Blind Alleys: Unfortunately, the last story is also the weakest… Major William Rogers (Nigel Patrick), callous superintendent at a home for the blind who probably wishes he had been a bit kinder when he is forced to take a walk down a narrow corridor lined with razor blades where an even nastier surprise awaits him at the end. This one takes way too long to get going and, just as it looks as though one's patience will be rewarded, it robs the viewer of Roger's grisly demise, making it a bit of disappointment.

Fortunately, with four of its five tales of the macabre being above average (or better), this 1972 Amicus production—based on publisher William Gaines' infamous horror comics of the '50s—should prove to be a ghoulish treat for fans of the anthology format.

Amicus Studios, best known for their anthology films nailed it with this effort from 1972. With five solid stories to chill your bones, this anthology is one of my favorite films, bar none. The film is packed with a solid cast that includes; Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, Ian Hednry and Richard Greene, just to name a few. My personal faves from this anthology would be; All Through the House, Poetic Justice and Wish You Were Here, but all five stories are really well done. The Peter Cushing story is particularly touching, Cushing does a wonderful job of playing a sad man, mourning the death of his wife, in his story, which very much paralleled Cushing's own life, as he was still in mourning over the recent loss of his own wife. If you're a fan of the macabre, then you owe it to yourself to seek this 1972 film out, it is quite tame by today's standards as far as blood and gore go, but the chill factor is definitely there.

Five people wander off on a tour and come upon the crypt-keeper. Each tells his or her last memory. Each one confesses to doing something wrong. The crypt-keeper listens to each before telling the five what has happened to them and where they are. Easily this is one of the best Amicus horror anthologies. It is well-crafted, well-acted, and suitably directed by genre stalwart Freddie Francis. All of the stories are pretty good, with three standing out. The first story about Christmas and a loose killer is well-done and shocking for its day. The best story stars Peter Cushing as a genial old man suffering desolation and humiliation from a heart-less(no pun intended) neighbor. Cushing does a wonderful job here, and in a way it is a sad performance as it was made shortly after the death of his long-time wife Helen. The last story is almost as good about a group of blind residents who stop taking being treated poorly and give out punishment to a military man with razor-sharp justice. Patrick Magee and Nigel Patrick both excel in this little vignette. The frame story is also well-executed and Sir Ralph Richardson hams it up amicably as the keeper of the crypt. A great group of frightening stories...each with a moral of sorts.