Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Such a frustrating disappointment

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Visited by colleague Dr. Nicholas (Jack Hawkins), Dr. Tremayne (Donald Pleasence) explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each of his four patients went mad... cue four distinct tales each with a different set of characters! I love anthologies and was therefore instantly interested in this one. My only disappointment was that there were four segments. At 90 minutes, there should probably only have been three. We just never have time to fully develop the stories... (Although, I have to say a decent job was done here.) Hooray for director Freddie Francis, best known for his work with Hammer. And hooray for Kim Novak, perhaps best known for "Vertigo". The Encyclopedia of Horror says the film "avoids farce and develops a nicely deadpan style of humour which is ably sustained by the excellent cast in which only Novak appears unable to hit the right note." Not sure why they singled her out... I thought she did fine.Interestingly, this was the last film of both Frank Forsyth and Jack Hawkins, and Kim Novak had been semi-retired when she replaced Rita Hayworth to take her role here.

This is not one of those Amicus anthologies which present unexpected twists: three out of the four stories are utterly predictable from their initial set up. But then it's like one of those fairground rides - you see what you're going to get (eg a 25 foot vertical drop), but if you're into that sort of thing you can still get a thrill out of the ride (the last story in particular is quite unpleasant - watching it is like watching an unavoidable car accident in slow motion). While none of the acting is quite on the level that you get from Peter Cushing in particular in anthologies like 'The House that Dripped Blood' or 'Tales from the Crypt', it is consistently good (Joan Collins actually being more believable than in the silly story she appears in for 'Tales from the Crypt'), and Freddie Francis directs these with a good sense of atmosphere and character. One I wouldn't mind seeing again.

This stylish horror anthology, made by the same guy who directed the equally effective TALES FROM THE CRYPT a year before, packs a real punch. Each of the four stories are ghoulish and chillingly memorable. The first, MR. TIGER, concerns a little boy who introduces his feuding parents to his "imaginary" tiger. The second, PENNY FARTHING, is about an old-fashioned bicycle which sends its new owner back in time to unveil a sinister crime. The third, MEL(My favorite), has the beautiful and sexy Joan Collins struggling to keep her husband's wandering eyes on her and her alone. The twist is her competition is a tree!!!!! The fourth and final segment, LUAU, is a grisly tale of murder and voodoo rites. Truthfully, the last segment, even though it's the goriest, is probably the weakest, and is notable mainly for the presence of the lovely and talented Kim Novak(VERTIGO) whose first film this was in four years. But each tale is worth viewing, and good fun!

Although lacking the genuine chills of other Amicus anthology pictures such as Tales From the Crypt, Asylum, and Vault of Horror, Tales That Witness Madness is still a rather enjoyable romp in the land of the macabre. Once again we have a framing story of some patients being observed by two doctors of sorts...Donald Pleasance and Jack Hawkins, in his last screen role. We are then entertained with four tales...each extraordinary and containing some element of the supernatural. The first story deals with a boy and an invisible tiger. Pretty decent little effort. The second story details how a picture has powers to empower the living to its bidding. I felt this story was set up very nicely and then just left flat, so much more could have been done with it. The third story was an entertaining one about a husband putting aside his wife(Joan Collins no less) for a hunk of a tree. The last story is easily the best. All I really can say is that dinner is served at the luau, voodoo style. The acting is decent throughout and the sets and cinematography is very good.