Histoires d'outre-tombe

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.

A vintage horror film financed by Amicus from producers Max Rosemberg and Milton Subotsky with a Great British Cast and formed by several episodes full of creepy events , chills, thrills , gore and guts. It stars with five strangers visiting eerie and old catacumbas .Later on , they find themselves at a grotto with the sinister Crypt Keeper , Ralph Richardson , the mysterious host tells them how each of the strangers will die . As they receive fantastic visions about their future . And now ...who is next....

It deals with 5 segments titled: All through the house, Reflection of death , Poetic Justice , Wish you were here, and Blind alleys , all of them are filled with mystery , suspense , terror , grisly killings , twisted events and horrible happenings . The British star-studded results to be pretty good with a plethora of notorious actors as Joan Collins , Richard Greene who a bit later on he passed away at the age of seventh four ,Ian Henry , the great Peter Cushing as a widower who often used an ouija to talk with his deceased wife , Roy Dotrice , Nigel Patrick , Patrick Magee and Ralph Richardson as the creepy Crypt Keeper who shot this major role in a day . Most stories previously appeared in American comic books as Tales of Crypt from EC comics as well as in The haunt of fear. Colorful , adequate cinematograhy by Norman Warwick , shot at Shepperton studios . It was compellingly accompanied by a thrilling and suspenseful musical score.

The motion picture was well and professionally directed by Freddie Francis . He was an expert cameraman who photographed prestigious films such as The straight story , Cape fear , Glory , Dune, The elephant man , Night must fall , The innocents, Room at the top and Hell in Korea . He also directed some movies , many of them terror films such as Dark tower , Doctor and the devils , The ghoul , Legend of werewolf , The creeping flesh , Trog , Torture garden , The skull , House of horrors , The evil of Frankenstein , Nighmare , Paranoiac , The brain and directed Tales of the Crypt TV series , episode 2 season 7 , titled Last respects. Rating : Above average . The motion picture will appeal to terror movies fans .

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

This film is brilliant and would be a brilliant double-bill with the Vault Of Horror (which is the un-official sequel)

The best stories are : The one with Peter Cushing as Mr Grimsdyke who gets his bloody revenge on the man responsible for his suicide, The one with Patrick Magee as one of the patients at a home for the blind who get their revenge on a selfish new owner, and the Monkeys Paw-esque one where the woman wishes her husband back from the dead and regrets it.

This film is surprisingly gory for it's time and some of the endings of the stories make you wince and think "Oh God, that would be really horrible" (especially the fourth and fifth ones)

a great film and probably the best of the Amicus horror compendiums

9.5 out of 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