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Five passengers are in a cabin of the train to Bradley, when a sixth one asks whether he may join them in their cabin. He introduces himself as the tarot cards reader Dr. Schreck, a.k.a. Dr. Terror (Peter Cushing), who can tell the future of those who tap his cards deck three times. The first passenger to tap is the architect Jim Dawson (Neil McCallum), who is traveling to an island to renovate the house that belonged to his family that Mrs. Deirdre Biddulph (Ursula Howells) bought from him. He will learn that there is a werewolf in the house. Bill Rogers (Alan Freeman), who is traveling on vacation to meet his wife and daughter, taps the deck and learns that an intelligent creeper vine will threat their lives at his summer house. Then the musician Biff Bailey (Roy Castle) taps the deck and learns that he will bring a voodoo song from his tour in Caribe with creepy consequences. Then the snobbish and arrogant art critic Franklyn Marsh (Christopher Lee) learns that the artist Eric Landor (Michael Gough) will expose his arrogance and Franklyn will revenge with tragic consequences. Last, Dr. Bob Carroll (Donald Sutherland) taps the deck and learns that he will discover a secret about his fiancée Nicolle Carroll (Jennifer Jayne), who has just moved to a small town in New England to live with him, and his colleague Dr. Blake (Max Adrian). Further, they find their fate and who the mysterious fortune teller Dr. Terror is.

"Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" is a great anthology from Amicus Productions with five short stories. "Werewolf", "Creeping Vine", "Voodoo", "Disembodied Hand" and "Vampire" are great segments. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland are part of the cast and synonym of a great entertainment for fans of British horror films from the 60's. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Profecias do Dr. Terror" ("The Prophecies of Dr. Terror")

Note: On 27 September 2022, I saw this film again.

I simply admire those 60's and early 70's English horror movies from Amicus.They're so charming and fun to watch(albeit sometimes goofy)that I really appreciate this kind of entertainment.Christopher Lee is excellent as usual and the rest of the cast is also splendid.The film contains five rather weird stories.The best one-The Disembodied Hand involves an art critic,who is terrorized by a severed hand.By today's standards "Doctor Terror's House of Horrors" isn't very scary or violent,but it features some really creepy scenes.All in all this is simply a must-see for fans of the English horror.My rating:7/10.

First of the spate of British portmanteau horror films which sprung up in the 1960's/early 70's (there had of course been 'Dead of Night' much earlier).

Five men in a train carriage have their tarot cards read by the mysterious Dr Schreck, all concluding in the same manner - their death. Ranks above many of the similar films which followed by having classic horror themes in the stories - werewolves, voodoo, severed hand, killer plant and vampires. Film also has well above average cast and a tone which remains sombre right up to the bleak ending. That said we do have the one comic relief story, which as usual is by far the weakest - here we have Roy Castle as a jazz musician getting caught up in voodoo.

It is the framing story in these horror anthologies which often make or break the entire film, and in 'Dr Terror's ....' it is excellent with Cushing having a real tone of menace as the quietly spoken, sinister Dr Schreck, as the action switches back to the increasingly claustrophobic train carriage.

At a time when Hammer's standards were beginning to slip, Amicus provided an important rival which ensured the British horror output remained interesting and inventive for quite some time.

There's a lot of fun to be had reading the reviews for movies, especially a favourite movie. It takes a certain kind of person to have a passion for a film but to see it for no more than it is. And it takes another who finds it necessary to look for too much in something...to take it too seriously. And that's fine I suppose - each to his own and all that. But hokum is still hokum. I like hokum...and it's nice to see that some other reviewers (such as "Roderick" and "Wayne Malin" get 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors' for what it is these days....Hokum...FUN. It's not horrific. It's hard to find much these days which can be classed as truly horrific or terrifying - real life supplies too much of that for our own good. But what have here is purely and simply fun.

Personally, I find this movie is best enjoyed late at night ( a rainy night is ideal if one presents itself) with something nice to drink...and with the lights turned down low. The first time I saw 'Dr Terror' was very late one wintery friday night on BBC 1 many years ago and the time of night seems to suit so well that I wouldn't dream of changing it. As I said previously, it's not horrific but really, I could watch the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee sitting in an open field reading aloud from the Edinburgh and Lothians phone book, so to see them in a creepy train carriage sparring over the merits of fortune tellers and "the entire lunatic fringe" is just a joy. As for the support - Neil McCallum, Roy Castle, Donald Sutherland, Peter Madden and Alan (and that's going to happen to me..?) Freeman - they all do well with the material provided. It's a touch spooky in a "The Avengers"/"The Ghost Train" type way. The direction by Freddie Francis is spot-on. The musical numbers are foot-tappin' groovy. I liked the score but I agree with the reviewer who picked up on the music not quite fitting a scene or fading (or indeed stopping dead) in the strangest places. This may have something to do with Elisabeth Lutyens being brought in as a late replacement for Tubby Hayes who was originally assigned to score the picture. No matter..as they say, it all adds to the charm.

Good late night fun...there's that word again. It should get repeat fees on this page. And incidentally, for those who are used to the late night TV screenings or the washed out VHS, you might like to know that a DVD is available. It's Region 2 PAL and imported from Italy under the title "Le Cinque Chiavi del Terrore". It's a bit light on the extras save for a scratchy but rather cool Italian trailer. But its an ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN TRANSFER and a rather nice one at that...I don't think I'm allowed to say where it can be bought on this page but it shouldn't be too hard for you to find on the net...just think of somewhere Diabolik-al...ahem. But that's all by the by - full screen, widescreen... Whichever version is available to you, and at whatever time...watch 'Dr Terrors House of Horrors'...you'll have fun...a lot of fun...so go on, tap the cards three times...

"Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors" of 1965 is a cheesy but highly entertaining horror anthology. This film is particularly interesting as it is the the first in a row of Horror anthologies from the Amicus company, which continued to produce Anthologies such as "The House That Dripped Blood" of 1971. What also makes this highly recommendable is the cast, as it features Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and young Donald Sutherland in an early role. Peter Cushing stars as the mysterious Dr. Schreck, a fortune teller, who offers the five other men in his train cabin to tell their future from his tarot cards. Each man's future is one part of the anthology, which, among other things, features voodoo, a vampire and a werewolf. The stories are, of course, quite brief, with five stories in only 95 minutes there is simply no place for a lot of depth. Even the stories are brief, and partly very cheesy, however, every single story entertains highly. Peter Cushing is excellent and eerie as usual as Dr. Schreck, and fellow horror icon Christopher Lee is equally great as one of the passengers in the train, an arrogant art-critic. It is also a lot of fun to watch Donald Sutherland in this early role. Sutherland sure is a great actor, and he already was back then. Although "Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors" is cheesy, and certainly no masterpiece, this is highly recommended to all the fans of traditional and British Horror out there! Definitely no shocker, but spooky fun that Classic Horror lovers should enjoy immensely. 7/10

DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Techniscope)

Sound format: Mono

Five travellers on an overnight train are told their fortunes by a mysterious old man (Peter Cushing) who turns out to be... well, you'll see.

Formed in the early 1960's by American producers Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg as a response to various tax concessions which encouraged an upsurge in British movie-making, independent studio Amicus hit the ground running with this breezy horror anthology, directed by famed cinematographer Freddie Francis, in which several heavyweight thesps (including Christopher Lee and a very young Donald Sutherland, the latter a sop to US audiences) and a couple of notable UK media celebrities (entertainer Roy Castle, DJ Alan Freeman) meet grisly fates at the hands of various supernatural entities (werewolf, creeping vine, voodoo, disembodied hand and vampire, respectively).

Lavishly photographed by Alan Hume in widescreen Techniscope - Francis had, of course, learned a thing or two about widescreen composition during his work on SONS AND LOVERS (1960) and THE INNOCENTS (1961), amongst others! - this low budget thriller utilizes the same audience-friendly Gothic elements which launched Hammer to worldwide fame and fortune, but locates them within the recognizable boundaries of contemporary British society, an aspect which immediately distinguishes it from the Victorian milieu favored by rival studios. Francis clearly relishes the creative opportunities afforded by the material, and while the stories themselves - all originals, penned by Subotsky - are fairly bland and obvious, they're all energized by Francis' stylish visuals and helter-skelter pacing. Each story has its merits, but director and scriptwriter keep the best two for last: Lee's pompous art critic is haunted by the living severed hand of an artist (Michael Gough) he drove to suicide, and Sutherland discovers his new bride's (Jennifer Jayne) bloodthirsty secret, leading to a twist in the tale...

Lee gives the showiest performance, as a haughty member of the critical Establishment whose ego leads him on the path to self-destruction, but his fellow cast members all rise to the occasion, and Francis even manages to indulge Castle's famed jazz trumpeting abilities without holding up the plot! Cushing takes center stage, playing a character much older than his years, though he's rather let down by a fake German accent which sounds more comical than ominous; his timing, however, is impeccable, as always. Brisk, stylish and more than a little camp in places (watch out for that crawling hand!), the movie is a triumph for Francis and his technical team. Subotsky and Rosenberg were also responsible for John Llewellyn Moxey's moody witchcraft thriller THE CITY OF THE DEAD, produced in 1960 under the 'Vulcan' banner, but it was the creation of Amicus which firmly established their fortunes within the UK film industry (cf. TORTURE GARDEN, THE VAULT OF HORROR, etc.). Sadly, Francis became increasingly disillusioned by his status as a 'horror' director, and many of his later efforts suffered as a consequence of his apathy (THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE, TROG, CRAZE, etc.).

and I remember it scared the devil (ha-ha) out of me. It spooked me for a good few weeks thereafter. I saw it again a few years back, and a lot of years older, and found it enjoyable, although much less spookier. With the likes of the original Omen, Exorcist, Shining, and Halloweens out there, this fell way short by (somewhat) current standards. It was good though! I still found the first episode the best, and the killer plants the lamest. I think it could have been the Halloween of its day had it been promoted more back in the mid sixties. I guess there was enough real horror going on back then to shunt promoting this movie. Donald Sutherland- what a great actor from such an early age. No teenage prodigy there.

If you can find a copy of "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors", try to ignore its dark, fuzzy appearance (I've seen it once on videocassette and twice on television, and it looked the same way each time; the movie has not yet been made available on DVD). This is a first-rate British horror film in the old style, and if you liked "The House That Dripped Blood" and "Tales From the Crypt", you'll enjoy "...House of Horrors", too. The standout tales are 'Voodoo', which features Roy Castle as a jazz horn player who nicks a piece of sacred African music while spying on a voodoo ceremony and comes to regret it, and 'Disembodied Hand', an unpleasant story of wounded pride, foul play, and revenge that stars Christopher Lee and Michael Gough. Peter Cushing is appropriately sinister as Dr. Schreck, the German metaphysicist who predicts the futures of five unsuspecting men with his "house of horrors", a deck of Tarot cards. The soundtrack deserves a mention, too--it's subtly creepy, and the Dave Brubeck-style jazz (performed by the Tubby Hayes Quintet) in the 'Voodoo' segment is really nice as well. Hopefully someone will acquire the rights to this entertaining film, restore the print, and release it on DVD soon.

Dr. Terror's etc is an early horror anthology by specialist company Amicus, since they had their biggest successes in the 70's, with films like `The Vault of Horror' and `Asylum'. Yet, horror fans can't afford to miss little first experiment of theirs. Peter Cushing is ghoulish (and very well disguised) as the bizarre Dr. Schrek who predicts the unpleasant futures of 5 fellow train travellers. This film has the best possible diversity and introduces a different, 100% horror-like theme in every separate story. We've got a vampire, a man-eating vegetable, a disembodied hand out for revenge, a voodoo curse and….a Werewolf! The lycanthrope chapter was my personal favorite since I'm a sucker for these predators. Although all stories are cheaply edited and kitschy, they're brought with lots of enthusiasm and goodwill. Five stories and a short running time of 95 min. is a bit abrupt, so a few chapters definitely lack the required depth and range. However, at least two stories are downright great and they even have a bit of tension. Not coincidentally, the eminent Christopher Lee plays the lead in one of them! Trivia freaks will also enjoy the looks of an extremely young Donald Sutherland in one of his very first roles. One certain levels, Amicus studies certainly still had to improve themselves (which they did in the 70's) but the talent and ingeniousness is clearly present already. Recommended to all British horror fans and Peter Cushing admirers in the first place!

Okay, five strangers assemble together and tell bizarre tales of their own haunted futures. It's something we've seen before, there was a movie made in 1945 called "Dead of Night" with basically the same premise, but that was a horror masterpiece, far ahead of it's time. This is nowhere near in the same league.

There's a werewolf story, a 'deadly plant' story, a voodoo story, a 'creeping hand' story and a vampire story. The stand-out segment is Christopher Lee's story as the art critic who is stalked by the severed hand of a man he ran over. It was later made as a feature-length Oliver Stone film called "The Hand", starring Michael Caine, but the idea was actually taken from an earlier movie in 1946 called "The Beast With Five Fingers". Oh, well.

It was made by what at the time was an all-star British cast containing Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and others of the Hammer Studios team, but this doesn't save it from being average at best. If you want a really great compilation horror film I recommend watching Dead of Night instead.

Five strangers board a train in England, and share a compartment. Joining them is a weird "doctor" named Schreck (Peter Cushing), who is in the business of telling fortunes. With him is a deck of cards, and he encourages his travelling companions to participate.

This was the first of the horror anthology films to be made by Amicus, the studio best known for being a rival to the equally iconic Hammer during this period. It's not necessarily their best, for the stories aren't that great (the favourite Amicus anthology for this viewer is still "Tales from the Crypt"), but it's still solidly entertaining for any horror fan. It's certainly a very nice looking production, which comes from being directed by renowned cinematographer Freddie Francis ("The Innocents"), and photographed by Alan Hume ("Return of the Jedi").

Neil McCallum plays Jim Dawson in "Werewolf". Jim is hired to oversee some renovations for a family home that he'd been forced to sell, and he discovers a long hidden crypt belonging to a vengeance crazed former owner.

Alan Freeman is Bill Rogers in "Creeping Vine", the tale of a vine that seems to have developed a true intelligence as well as a sense of malevolence. This tale is cool, as there aren't really enough killer plant horror stories in this viewers' humble opinion.

In "Voodoo", Roy Castle plays Biff Bailey, leader of a jazz band hired for a gig in the West Indies. He becomes enamoured with the music used by local voodoo practitioners, but learns that trying to incorporate the music into his bands' own performances is a very bad idea.

"Disembodied Hand" is good fun. Sir Christopher Lee has the role of pompous art critic Franklyn Marsh, who's humiliated by a painter named Eric Landor (Michael Gough). He ultimately strikes back, in a violent way, but who will really get the last laugh?

Finally, a very young Donald Sutherland is featured in "Vampire" as a doctor, Bob Carroll, who's just married the beautiful Nicolle (Jennifer Jayne). He must deal with an unfortunate reality regarding Nicolle.

Screenwriter Milton Subotsky visits the old horror movie theme of just desserts in two of these stories, and his script is enjoyable, if sometimes a little weak and predictable. He was inspired, appropriately enough, by the legendary and well-regarded "Dead of Night".

The actors are all superb. In addition to those fine thespians already mentioned, Max Adrian, Bernard Lee, Peter Madden, Jeremy Kemp, Ursula Howells, Katy Wild, Edward Underdown, Isla Blair, and Judy Cornwell turn up. It's a treat as it always is to see Lee and Cushing spar with each other, as Dr. Schreck does his shtick and the grumpy, dismissive Marsh automatically writes him off as a phoney.

This is well worth viewing for any Amicus completist, and any fan of the entire horror omnibus format.

Seven out of 10.

Hammer Films just kept 'em coming in the '50s and '60s. If Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were involved, then you could safely assume that they had something neat in store. In "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors", enigmatic Dr. Sandor Schreck (Peter Cushing) is in a train with five other men. He proceeds to tell them their fortunes. There's nothing particularly scary here, but it's never pretentious either. This movie is what most of these movies were: nice, silly fun. A standout in the movie is a very young Donald Sutherland as one of the men; I guess that it's sort of a before-they-were-famous situation for him. And finally, there's a delicious surprise at the end.

This is a Freddie Francis film. It is remindful of some of the anthology series from the sixties that were seen on television. There are five supernatural tales concerning five men, riding in a train compartment. Along with them is a weird man with a pack of Tarot cards. He explains that these cards will tell the future of any man who wishes to take a chance. Of course, each is going to "tap the deck three times." The stories are disparate, and, sadly, have no connection to each other. The first involves a man who does house renovation who finds a stone casket in the basement of a house where he grew up. The second is about a plant that grows outside a house and begins to feast on living tissue. The third involves a musician who steals the music from a group of voodoo worshippers in the East Indies and finds you shouldn't mess with this. The fourth, played by Peter Cushing, tells of a severe art critic who tries to destroy the careers of artists, one in particular, who humiliated him. It's the old dismembered hand bit. And, finally, a man played by a very young Donald Sutherland, marries a beautiful French woman and gets more than he bargained for. They are held together by a contrived denouement. Still, the stories were fun and engaging.

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors is one of those classic horror anthologies you should put your plate at least once in this life/existence - of course, today's hardened lover of the horrors and true gorehound won't get any serious chills but rather a nice feeling of long gone times of the early days of making horror movies. Nostalgia one could say.

Though not every feature is equal, the 60s and 70s were a golden age of British horror. Hammer may have the most name recognition, but they hardly had (or have) a monopoly, as Amicus ably proves not least of all with their anthology films. One segment to the next may vary great in terms of not just the genre subject matter, but also the style of horror at play. 'Dr. Terror's House of Horrors' is a splendid example of the strength of such films, and I think it's surely among the strongest entries in Amicus' loose series.

It's quite a remarkable cast assembled here, with very strong production design, art direction, and fundamental film-making craft to match the star power. Across the board this is very well made, including excellent props and modest but fine effects - though in this instance I dare say it's the writing and direction that stand out the most. Milton Subotsky's screenplay is an utter joy from start to finish, wonderfully clever in its dialogue, characters, scene writing, and narratives. Even the wraparound framing is a blast, not least as it smoothly and naturally transitions to and from the stories with a story. Each tale is exquisitely dark and compelling in their own different ways as they toy with different concepts, or similar concepts with distinct twists. It's rather hard to pick a favorite, though if forced to choose I'd be inclined to say either "Creeping vine" or "Voodoo" earn the most favor, given their delightful broader implications. And further elevating the rich detail in the contributions of Subotsky, the cast, and all those behind the scenes, Freddie Francis' direction is solid and steady. It's clear he possessed superb command of the medium, for every shot and scene is orchestrated with graceful finesse that compensates for any indelicacies.

And as to those indelicacies - one might argue there's a noteworthy error in continuity at one point. More detrimental to the viewing experience, in my opinion, is the unquestionable ham-handedness that pops up in a couple instances, rather breaking with the overall grim but generally even-handed tone that the feature had been cultivating from the start. I think these are ultimately minor considerations, mind you, but just a smidgen more mindfulness would have made the film all but flawless. And even at that, by and large 'Dr. Terror's House of Horrors' is marvelously fun: both among Amicus' anthology flicks, but I believe also among the niche genre at large, I this might well be one of the best examples. It might be imperfect, but only marginally so, and between the cast and writing alone this is worthwhile, to say nothing of its excellence otherwise. I'd have no qualms recommending this to anyone who appreciates horror on any level, it's a great time, and still holds up very well almost 60 years later.

Freddie Francis directed this five-part horror anthology framed by five strangers in a train car being read their futures by a mysterious fortune teller(played by Peter Cushing) via Tarot cards. Stories are: 'Werewolf' - Architect discovers a werewolf curse on a job. 'Creeping Vine' - Plants seem to have come to life with murder in mind. 'Voodoo' - A musician steals forbidden music to his regret. 'Disembodied Hand' - An art critic is pursued by the artist he killed. 'Vampire' - A young doctor discovers his new wife is a vampire. Costars Christopher Lee, Roy Castle, Donald Sutherland, Michael Gough, among others. Framing device of the train car is more effective than the five tales themselves. Marginal film does have an effective ending.