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.

Daniel Massey's head. It looks idiotic. What makes no sense is later on in another story, they show a man's pickled parts in jars they also do a weird freeze frame of a hammer to his head, which looks like censorship again , and later they show hands being chopped off. So why the other random censorship?Shame on Fox for that. The print of "Vault" is also kind of noisy and orange.Still, this set is worth buying for the great, clean print of "Tales".

they drive off into the night, their car crashes into a ravine. Carl manages to struggle out of the wreckage but Susan is nowhere to be found. Everyone he approaches runs off in fear at the sight of him and when he manages to get to Susan's flat, he discovers that she was blinded by the accident and that he had died two years previously. Bewildered, Carl looks into a mirror and discovers that he is a walking corpse. Suddenly Carl awakens and it was all a nightmare, but then the car crashes exactly as it did in his dream and the horror begins for real! POETIC JUSTICE: Ruthless property developer James Elliot ROBIN PHILIPS feels that his neighbour, the kindly dustman Arthur Grimsdyke PETER CUSHING is an eyesore. However, his property has considerable land value and Elliot launches a smear campaign in the hope that he will sell up and leave. Instead Grimsdyke commits suicide after he sent him a number of poison Valentine cards, but a year on Grimsdyke returns from the grave to deliver a particularly grisly St Valentine's Day present! WISH YOU WERE HERE: Ruthless business tycoon Ralph Jason RICHARD GREENE is declared bankrupt by his lawyer Charles Gregory ROY DOTRICE . But Jason's wife Enid BARBARA MURRAY has discovered a statuette, which can grant three wishes. After Ralph is killed in a car crash, Enid wishes her husband alive forever and as a result Jason returns from the dead. However, his body has been embalmed and this means that he must live in eternal agony forever. Enid attempts to end is suffering by chopping him up with a sword, but this means that his suffering is only increased.BLIND ALLEYS: Selfish Major William Rogers NIGEL PATRICK takes over the running of a home for the blind. However, Rogers uses funds allocated to the needs of his patients for his own comfort. When his negligence results in the death of one of them, the other patients exact a nasty revenge, in which Rogers is trapped in a corridor lined with razor blades and is set upon by his vicious starved dog.After Rogers' fortunes are told, the Cryptkeeper informs them that he wasn't showing them the future, but telling them why they ended up in the crypt. The only exit leads into a fiery pit and they realize that they are all dead and are in hell as a result of their sins.TALES FROM THE CRYPT was Amicus's fourth portmanteau horror film and is based on stories from the EC horror comics of the fifties by William Gaines. Freddie Francis' direction is first rate as is Norman Warwick's camera-work, which ideally suits the comic strip style of the film. A star-studded cast does fine work especially Peter Cushing as Arthur Grimsdyke in POETIC JUSTICE, a touching performance which won him the Best Actor Of The Year Award in France. REFLECTION OF DEATH is well staged and shot in dark uncompromising colors. WISH YOU WERE HERE is a variation on THE MONKEY'S PAW, while BLIND ALLEYS is neat and suspenseful thanks to imaginative camera-work and good performances from Nigel Patrick and Patrick Magee as the victimised blind man. I guarantee that the way Francis shot this episode will have you on the edge of your seat! AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE carries a touch of sly black humor as Joanne Clayton's little daughter played by Chloe Franks gleefully lets in the psychotic Santa Claus not realizing the real horror of what's going on. All in all, TALES FROM THE CRYPT is unmissable for both addicts of the genre and for those who appreciate fine acting.Also of interest is the collectable novelized version of the film by Jack Oleck, which is well presented and good to read. Genre addicts will have a good laugh when they see the follow up, VAULT OF HORROR 1973 , in which that very book is used as a prop by actor Michael Craig in the buried alive segment. In the 1990's, the EC horror comics were developed into an American TV series entitled Tales From The Crypt only the crypt keeper was a horrific skull like puppet and a 1996 episode called Last Respects was directed by Francis.

more like the comic book character as well. I wish that they release this underrated movie out on D.V.D. It could find a whole new generation of fans. Stars Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, Patrick Magee and Sir Ralph Richardson as the crypt keeper.Highly recommended.

yet.Peter Cushing plays a lonely old man who is hounded by his cruel neighbours. He returns from his grave to take brutal revenge on his tormentors. The really scary bit was the unforgettable Valentine's Card…"You were cruel and mean from the start, now you really have no heart". Three guesses what the soft,lumpy body organ is enclosed with the card!A businessman dies in a crash, only to be brought back to life by his wife. However, he's been embalmed already. Ouch!And finally, there is a superbly frightening tale about a callous warden at a home for the blind. His inhumane behaviour leads him to a most horrifying end, involving lots of razor blades and a hungry Alsatian dog.

for her daughter, she has a lethal surprise. 2 Reflection of Death: Carl Maitland Ian Hendry leaves his wife and children and leaves town with his mistress. However something happens during their journey 3 Poetic Justice: The widower janitor Arthur Edward Grimsdyke Peter Cushing is a good man that spends his leisure time with the children from the neighborhood. His heartless neighbor James Elliot Robin Phillips does not like him and destroys his life leading Grimsdyke to the suicide on the Valentine Day. One year later, Grimsdyke rises from his tomb seeking revenge against James. 4 Wish you Were Here: The dirty businessman Ralph Jason Richard Greene is bankrupted and his lawyer and friend Charles Gregory Roy Dotrice tells him that he must sell his real estate. When he tells to his wife Enid Barbara Murray , she recalls that they have a statue with the legend that it could grant three wishes to the owner. She makes the wishes with tragic consequences to Ralph. 5 Blind Alleys: The cruel Major William Rogers Nigel Patrick comes to the Elmridge Home for the Blind with his dog Shane to be the new director. He is very cruel with the interns until the day that they revenge the bad treatment. Soon the five persons discover that they are at the gate of hell.In 1972, I was a teenager and I saw this "Tales from the Crypt" in the movie theater. I was very impressed with the tale "Wish you Were Here" but I did not know the name of the movie. A couple of days ago, two friends of mine gave me the chance to see this movie again and I would like to thank them."Tales from the Crypt" is divided in five segments: 1 "And All through the House" is very creepy and has an ironic conclusion. 8/10 2 "Reflection of Death" is the weakest segment with a deceptive story. 4/10 3 "Poetic Justice" is a grim and heartbreaking segment. 9/10 4 "Wish You Were Here" is an impressive segment. Ralph embalmed and burning for the eternity is unforgettable. 10/10 5 "Blind Alleys" is another sinister episode and the revenge of the blind interns is scary. My vote is eight.Title Brazil : "Contos do Além" "Tales from Beyond" Note: On 14 November 2013, I saw this movie again.Note: On 16 July 2019, I saw this film again.

Greene; Patrick Magee and Nigel Patrick. The first two stories offer good shocks, but the second one owes a lot to the British film, Dead Of Night. The next two stories offer shocks and gore to spare, especially for the 1970's. The last one is very ironic, to say the least. This must have been a terrific drive-in movie to go to, especially in autumn when fog might roll in on your way home. *** of 4 stars.

Christmas Eve & Joanne Clayton Joan Collins murders her Husband Richard Martin Boddey with a poker. Meanwhile on the radio it is broadcast that a homicidal maniac Oliver MacGreevy has escaped from a mental institution not too far away...The second story is entitled 'Reflection of Death' & has Carl Maitland Ian Hendry leaving his wife Susan Denny for his lover Susan Blake Angela Grant however their car ride to supposedly happy life together takes a macabre turn for the worse...Then it's 'Poetic Justice' which sees upper-class snob James Elliott Robin Phillips upset at his tatty neighbour Arthur Grimsdyke Peter Cushing who he believes is lowering the tone of the neighbourhood. James starts to ruin Arthur's life so much so that he commits suicide, however James hasn't seen the last of Arthur Grimsdyke...The next segment is called 'Wish You Were Here' & has businessman Ralph Jason Richard Greene being told by his lawyer Charles Gregory Roy Dotrice that he is pretty much bankrupt & owes a shed load of money. Ralph breaks the bad news to his wife Enid Barbara Murray that they will have to sell up, as they remember the good times they reminisce about a ornament they brought which supposedly has the power to grant three wishes. As a joke Enid wishes for lots of money & soon after her wish comes true but at a price she never expected...The final story is called 'Blind Alleys' & has Major William Rogers Nigel Patrick taking over the running of 'Elmridge Home for the Blind'. Rogers is just a penny pinching snob who uses & abuses his power with little or no regard towards the blind in his care, however it is not long before the tables are turned & revenge is delivered...Then it's back to the crypt for one last twist & warning...This English American co-production was directed by Freddie Francis for the British studio Amicus & in my humble opinion Tales from the Crypt is a highly entertaining five story anthology. The script by producer Milton Subotsky adapts five stories from the E.C. comic books & does a fine job of transferring them to the big screen from the written page. Each story is short, well paced, have decent character's, contain good twist endings & most importantly are lots of fun to watch. My favourite story is probably 'Wish You Were Here' as it has a nice dark streak running throughout & a motorbike riding skeleton although my favourite twist is from 'Poetic Justice' as a macabre Valentine's Day poem leads to the discovery of the leads cut out heart & a nicely satisfying punch-line. The first story is pretty good in it's own right I love the shot when a man is reading a newspaper & a splatter of blood starts to seep through the paper letting us know something nasty has just happened to him , the second story is probably the weakest & the fifth rounds things off nicely being faced with that corridor of razorblades is a pretty scary thought . The linking story with the crypt keeper is the weakest part of the film, Ralph Richardson just isn't scary & all the puns are missing that would make the intro's for HBO's TV series Tales from the Crypt 1989 - 1996 so much more memorable. Technically Tales form the Crypt is solid British film-making, having said that the film looks a bit dated these days with the garish wallpaper & just check out that groovy 70's phone in the opening story. There is some gore in Tales from the Crypt, there are some exposed intestines, a severed hand, a cut out heart & plenty of bright red blood. The acting is good & I actually think Joan Collins is quite hot in this... I think Tales from the Crypt is a great film & well worth watching especially for horror fans like myself. A sequel of sorts The Vault of Horror 1973 was made a few year's later by the same company again based upon comic book stories & is also a great anthology & well worth checking out.