disgusting, overrated, pointless

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Five individuals are led down a large underground crypt to a crypt-keeper who tells them all five stories about what is going to happen to them giving them a warning about their shockingly violent fates as punishment for overt and dubious crimes they will commit in the future. The central premise is great and the five stories that follow it are all extremely strong: following a woman who plans to murder her husband, a man who abandons his family for another woman, two snobbish men who torment an old neighbor, a re-telling of the monkey's paw story and a pretty nasty final story regarding a blind home and its new uncaring manager. This is one of rare Amicus anthologies in which all the stories are well-written, compelling and quite horrific in general, Amicus did make some other great anthologies (Asylum, Dr Terror's House of Horrors, House that Dripped Blood, and From Beyond the Grave) and two very poor ones (Torture Garden and Vault of Horror); whilst the best ones did have at least one weak story within their anthologies, Tales from the Crypt are all consistently good. The DVD transfer is really good (full frame anamorphic print-that looks remastered and restored), just a minor gripe would be misleading cover art on back of the DVD and front feature images not actually in the film (like the skull on the front with the eye is not in the film and on the back there is a picture of grotesquely looking Crypt-keeper from the 1980s Tales from the Crypt TV Series not from this 1972 film version); other than that the DVD release is perfect. There is a real darkness to the five stories as we wonder whether the punishment actually fits their crimes; sometimes what is inflicted on the characters can seem ten times worse than what they actually did-for example in the final story, the consequence of his actions are more sadistic and just much more evil than his crime. I guess that just adds to tone of the horror that pervades the story; like the Monkey's Paw tale which is very sadistic punishment when the crime itself was not sadistic or overtly evil. Its dubious but its still dark and compelling to watch. The only time the film actually puts a foot wrong is the ending which felt like a tacked-on attempt to add some forced horror to proceedings. They needed a twist horror ending in tone with the original EC Comics but the one they chose was not really scary but felt rather forced in overall context of the stories and the central premise. It would have been fine to stick to what was established in the beginning which would have left the audience and characters with a sense of introspection, fear and dark foreboding leaving the punishment and belief up to the characters themselves rather than contrived plot twist. Other than that its Amicus's best anthology horror and just absolutely beautiful to look at with sumptuous technicolor cinematography with an incredibly vibrancy and intense colour like a visual painting much like the classic Hammer Horror films of the period. Definitely a film to watch.

What was then the latest in a fairly consistent line of Horror offerings from, Amicus Studio's who during the sixties and seventies proving to be their only major rival, Tales From the Crypt proved to be one of their more critically and commercial successful, raking in $3million at the U.S. box office on a £140 thousand budget. The anthology concept by this time wasn't the most innovative having been done countless times before, going as far back as, 1945's Dead of Night. Looking to, the Tales of the Crypt publications for the source of their material and utilising the oft-used wrap around motif to set up the procession of stories. Having five unconnected strangers who are exploring old catacombs with a tourist group separate from the rest of the main group, and happen across the shrouded Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson) who one by one imparts on them how each one of them is going to mate a horrible fate. Fairly standard stuff but it sets up the rest of the movie rather neatly as we are introduced to the first which is:All the Through the House, and stars Joan Collins as Joanne Clayton, the much younger wife of her sixty something year old husband who live with their young daughter. It's Christmas Eve, and while their little girl is tucked up in bed, the wife cold murders her husband. No motive as to why is ever given but I suppose it's not off to much consequence to story, which as events unfold she hears over the radio that an escaped maniac disguised as Santa Claus is wandering the streets. Of course we all know where this is going to go. Incidentally this story was remade or should I say, re-adapted for the 1989 HBO TV series, and to be quite frank was pulled off somewhat better than what it is here. I think the fact that it benefited from a more ominous and imposing looking Santa Claus in actor Larry Drake helped. It's not the cleverest of stories but at only around twelve minutes in length it's diverting enough and at least doesn't overstay it's welcome. Joan Collins, not a great actress by any means is still fairly effective although there's little in the way of dialogue but it could have benefited from having that dark, foreboding atmosphere that the TV series knocked out of the park.Followed by, Reflection of Death, this is a rather forgettable tale which concerns Carl Mailtand, (Ian Hendry) who leaves his family to be with Susan Blake (Angela Grant), his younger lover who he is having an affair with. While driving away together, Carl who is driving feels tired and therefore Susan offers to take over. While sat in the passenger seat, Carl nods off to sleep and that's when the car accident occurs. I won't say any more than that but to suffice to say this is a rather ho-hum offering which has been similarly done before,in the likes of, the 1959 Twilight Zone episode, Perchance to Dream and despite decent performances it ranks as the worst of the the collection. Next there is, Poetic Justice which provides an upturn in quality and is thanks largely in part to the inclusion of the late, great Peter Cushing. Here he portrays a kindly old gentleman, Arthur Grimsdyke, a dustman who lives in the same street as a pair of snobbish neighbours, father and son Edward Elliot (David Markham) and his slimy son James (Robin Phillips) who resent his existence. He owns a number of animals which include dogs, and entertains the local children. The son, in a quest to rid the street of Grimsdyke sets off on a campaign of cruelty which sees the removal of Grimsdyke's dogs by the police, turning all the parents of the local children against the poor old man so that they forbid them from visiting him, and on Valentines Day sending him cards with cruel poetry which pushes the Grimsdyke towards the edge. This is more memorable less for it's bloody denouement which is fittingly poetic as the title would suggest, but the sympathetic portrayal of Arthur Grimsdyke, an old widower who obviously lonely, misses his late wife and communicates with her via a Louisa Board, and David Markham is so thoroughly loathsome as the underhanded James that your hatred for him intensifies until it's satisfying conclusion. It's not the smart of conclusions but still ties up the story neatly enough. The penultimate segment, Wish You Were Here revolves around, Ralph Jason (Richard Greene) who is teetering on the brink of financial ruin. His wife Enid, (Barbara Murray) finds an old Chinese figurine with a poetic inscription carved in which states that it will grant three wishes to whoever possesses it. Enid flippantly wishes for a fortune in cash not expecting it to come true. However in a cruel twist of fate, when Ralph is killed in a motorcar accident she inherits the insurance money. However, with two more wishes left she won't stop there and the grieving widow wants her husband back. Essentially a variation on, The Old Monkey's Paw story which is actually reference, this marks the best of the quintet. It's all silly hokum but good dark, twisted fun none the less with a wonderfully macabre pay off. It is very nasty though, and given the movies denouement at the end Ralph's ultimate fate does seem rather unjust in context. Never the less with fine performances all round with veteran actor Roy Dotrice offering some further support as the couples friend and lawyer it's rewardingly grim and adds what was then a fresh new twist on the classic tale. Finally there's, Blind Alley which focus's on Major William Rogers, (Nigel Patrick) an incompetent and aloof director of a care home for the blind comprising of elderly and middle aged men. When the Major makes cuts to the homes budget by reducing heating and rationing food, the pleas from the homes residence whom he threatens with setting upon his Alsation, Shane upon them if they don't tow the line. Inevitably enough proves enough for the browbeaten residents who set about exacting a chilling revenge. This as with the previous story is of course fanciful hokum, but that's what's to be expect and as it goes it's passable enough although I can't say there's any real great twist in the conclusion. Merely another case of poetic justice but it's efficiently enough well handled, with some appropriately cheesy dialogue which befits the nature of the source material. Patrick is suitably unwavering in his callousness towards those he's been charged with caring, while actor Patrick MacGee is enjoyably stone-faced and stoic as the ringleader of the rebelling residence of the home. All rounding up to a hardly shocking conclusion, which in hindsight you might have seen coming and is merely a contrived means to set up the stories, Tales from the Crypt despite a couple of stories which stand out the best among the rest, a solid enough if underwhelming addition to the old Horror anthology sub-genre. It's for the most part it's a movie that will likely be soon forgotten after it's viewing, but as a means to wile away an hour and a half of your time it passes the time. Just don't expect anything anything of particularly high caliber.

This is a collection of five different stories. All of them are so slow paced that you tend to go to sleep. It is slow paced even for the 1970s standard. No horrible getup is used anywhere though the poster shows a horrible skull with a single eye. Even the music is dull. A waste of time. Good actors are wasted. Though the movie is about "as you sow so you reap", in the fourth story, we wonder if the protagonist really deserved what he got.

Tales From The Crypt features a good cast, 5 quirky stories, only 3 of which work well but are briskly told, and excellent (as usual) direction from Freddie Francis. Producer Milton Subotsky gained the rights to produce an adaption of the E.C. comic from WIlliam B Gaines' stable. And they would follow this a year later with Vault Of Horror, which is also an enjoyable if far from perfect portmanteau movie.Best of this bunch for me are the stories featuring Joan Collins, Peter Cushing and Patrick Magee. Cushing in particular is movingly effective as Arthur Grimsdyke - it must be the only time in his career he played a dustman! The wonderfully sepulchral Magee lends his considerable acting chops to the final tale of the residents of a home for the blind turning on its parsimonious superintendent. Both these stories are agreeably nasty, and the theme is bad people getting their comeuppance in various equally nasty ways.Richard Greene's story is an acknowledged re-tread of The Monkey's Paw, but is too brief to be effective. And Ian Hendry's turn as a husband leaving his wife and kids for his mistress is rather poor, but doesn't really detract from the movie in general.Perhaps not quite as good as The House That Dripped Blood or From Beyond The Grave this is still a watchable and occasionally (suprising, considering Amicus usually shied away from such things) gruesome film, Well worth a blue-ray issuance!