Le train des épouvantes

"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.).

Now where can a discerning viewer find a film in which Donald Sutherland is billed below Roy Castle, Alan Freeman and Kenny Lynch? Why, in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors no less!

So, see Neil McCallum do battle with the fiendish dog of death! Wince as Christopher Lee meets the world's most tactless ambulance driver! Marvel at Mr Sutherland as he does battle with a plastic bat on a (very) visible wire! Quake as Alan 'Fluff' Freeman works his catchphrase into the dialogue!

Still a lot more fun than any amount of British 'Lock, Stock...' tributes/rip-offs.

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...

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.