From Beyond the Grave

From Beyond The Grave (1973) was a cool British horror film that I saw when I was younger. Man, I saw a lot of British horror late at night when I was a kid. That's all that would come on. I grew up on these movies. I even watched them as soon as we got a V.C.R. Oh, those were the days. One of my favorite childhood actors was Peter Cushing. The Amicus company was a competitor of long time horror film stalwart Hammer. When Hammer Films was on it's last legs, Amicus picked up the slack for awhile.

These four tales that the movie adapted were taken from a couple of literary sources. The stories were creepy and it always ended up in an odd way. I wish these films were available on d.v.d. so I could relive my youth. Until they're released in the United States then I'll just have my memories.

Highly recommended.

From the plethora of Horror films from the Amicus and Hammer studios in the late 1960's and early 70s, this is one that stands out above many of the others. The opening sequence with the camera moving through the mist graveyard is a masterful piece of horror film. Each of the stories is built up very well with an excellent element of tension in each. If you want to see a great example of the British horror film genre, this is the place to start.

In good old Amicus-Anthology tradition, debuting director Kevin Connor presents a nice variety of three just above average horror stories and one really terrific one. "From Beyond the Grave" certainly wasn't the production studio's best omnibus effort (that honor goes to either "Asylum" or "The House that Dripped Blood"), but it has a splendid ensemble cast (including eminent British names like Donald Pleasance, Peter Cushing, Ian Ogilvy, David Warner, Ian Carmichael,… ), a neat wraparound narrative and an overall pleasingly sinister atmosphere. All separate tales begin in the same location, namely an obscure and hidden antique shop manned by Peter Cushing. The customers at this shop then become the protagonists of the segments, and the attentive viewer quickly figures out that their own personal fate will also depend on whether or not they are honest human beings. The bought items (an army medal, an ancient mirror, a snuff box and even an medieval door) aren't necessarily essential objects in the tales, though. The first story stars David Warner ("The Omen") as an obnoxious man who becomes possessed with a murderous spirit homing in his recently purchased antique mirror. The plot of "The Gate Crasher", as this story is called, is quite mundane but it boosts a handful of grisly set pieces. The third story is a rather comical referring to "The Exorcist", with Ian Carmichael being possessed by an invisible and hugely hyperactive elemental critter (whatever the hell that may be) that is attached to his shoulder. The exorcism scenes are incredibly over-the-top and the segment isn't really meant to be scary. The fourth and final story was a bit too tacky in my humble opinion, but it nonetheless has awesomely grim scenery (the room, the portal, the axe…) and the beauty of actress Lesley-Ann Down. I'm deliberately saving story number two for last, as it is by far the most superior installment of them all. Most credit here must go to Donald Pleasance and his real-life daughter Angela, for their genuinely uncanny performances as the overly friendly yet obtrusive pair of low-class street merchants who gradually 'take-over' an unhappy married man. I can't reveal too much about the plot, but the performances of Donald and particularly Angela Pleasance truly send cold shivers down your spine. Recommended!

From Beyond the Grave could have gone either way in quality. It could have a clever, atmospherically effective and well acted film or predictable schlock, luckily From Beyond the Grave belongs in the former category and of the anthology horror films it's one of the better ones. The third story The Elemental lacks the atmosphere of the other three stories and there are things throughout that could have gone into detail a little more, some good ideas here but could have had more explanation. From Beyond the Grave may not be big in budget but it actually looks competent and nicely made, it doesn't look slipshod and the lighting and settings are quite atmospheric. The music is appropriately spooky and doesn't overbear things, the direction keeps things moving swiftly but with time to breathe also and the film is very smartly scripted. Not masterpiece-status, but it doesn't try to be and always entertains, which is much more important. The stories are atmospheric and are effective in creepiness, while things could have had more explanation things are at least coherent and you are always engrossed. Of the four stories, the best is the second, fun and genuinely chilling stuff. The acting is very good, especially Margaret Leighton, Donald Pleasance, Peter Cushing and David Warner, nobody disgraces themselves. In conclusion, entertaining and scary, pretty darn good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A superb slice of vintage British horror from Amicus productions, which although headed by two Americans Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, Amicus was based in England at Shepperton Studios. I personally am a huge admirer of the work of Milton Subotsky, I think he gave a great deal to the British film industry and gave us the 'portmanteau' style of horror film which meant that the stories would be around half an hour long, it was impossible to tire of such a short subject! Milton himself claimed that the classic 'Dead of Night' was the inspiration behind these multi segment horror films and I think he took it to another level. I think that 'From Beyond' is the finest one they made, with atmospheric stories and great acting from the entire cast and of course the wonderful Peter Cushing as the mysterious proprietor of 'Temptations Ltd'. Peter was the actor most used by the studio, he being very reasonable by way of his fees, whereas Subotsky claimed the great Christopher Lee became too expensive!