Another horror anthology from Amicus who were well known for films of this type, Dr terrors house of horrors, from beyond the grave, asylum, torture garden, the house that dripped blood and tales from the crypt being the others. The film starts with the camera gliding across the London skyline, including a long shot of the houses of parliament just so you know we're in London, finally resting on a large office building. In the building a man enters a lift, as the lift descends to the lower floors it stops a further four times, each time another man entering. However, the lift fails to stop at the lobby and carries on down to small room with a table in the middle surrounded by five chairs, one for each man. They decide to wait, as they do so they tell each other stories of their recurring nightmares.
First up its 'midnight mess' with Daniel Massey. He plays a man who hires someone to track his sister down, played by Anna Massey. She is found in a small town, he visits her so he can claim an inheritance all for himself. The residents of the town and his sister aren't quite what they first seem, however. A good segment, very enjoyable.
Then it's Terry Thomas and Glynis Johns in 'A neat job'. Thomas recounts the story of how he drives his newly wed wife to take out a gruesome revenge on him. Another good story, it build up very well, and I liked the very appropriate twist ending.
The third story, 'This trick'll kill you', sees Curt Jurgens and Dawn Adams as a magician and his wife who, while visiting India, try to steal a magic trick for their act. But things don't quite go as they had planned. In my opinion this is the weakest story, a bit dull and predictable and there's no real twist involved. Poor.
The fourth story entitled 'Bargain in death', has Micheal Craig as a broke writer, in a nice touch by the filmmakers at one point he says "there's no money in horror". Maybe the filmmakers are trying to tell us something! And in another nice touch in this segment, he settles down to read a book, as the camera zooms in the book happens to be the novelization of a previous Amicus horror anthology tales from the crypt! A great moment for fans. He sets his own death up to try and collect the insurance money, with the help of a friend, Edward Judd. Once again things end up far from what he had planned. This story relies on a lot of silly co-incidences and for you to forget about any sort of logic. It also lacks any real horror elements, being nothing more than a short tale of crime, mystery and double cross. Average.
The fifth and final story stars Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott, and Terence Alexander. Baker plays an artist who is lied to by art critics, and gallery owners about his paintings, and make huge profits by selling them. He uses voodoo to take a horrible revenge. Another great story, maybe the best. Good fun.
Directed by Roy Ward Baker this is a great little anthology film. A fine score by Douglas Gamley and pretty good performances by the all star cast help. There's not much violence in it, but whats there adds to the film and isn't just there to be gratuitous. Try and get hold of the uncut version, as the cuts listed in the 'alternate versions' section on the IMDb would really hurt the final twists of one or two of the segments. An enjoyable horror film, well worth a watch.
First up its 'midnight mess' with Daniel Massey. He plays a man who hires someone to track his sister down, played by Anna Massey. She is found in a small town, he visits her so he can claim an inheritance all for himself. The residents of the town and his sister aren't quite what they first seem, however. A good segment, very enjoyable.
Then it's Terry Thomas and Glynis Johns in 'A neat job'. Thomas recounts the story of how he drives his newly wed wife to take out a gruesome revenge on him. Another good story, it build up very well, and I liked the very appropriate twist ending.
The third story, 'This trick'll kill you', sees Curt Jurgens and Dawn Adams as a magician and his wife who, while visiting India, try to steal a magic trick for their act. But things don't quite go as they had planned. In my opinion this is the weakest story, a bit dull and predictable and there's no real twist involved. Poor.
The fourth story entitled 'Bargain in death', has Micheal Craig as a broke writer, in a nice touch by the filmmakers at one point he says "there's no money in horror". Maybe the filmmakers are trying to tell us something! And in another nice touch in this segment, he settles down to read a book, as the camera zooms in the book happens to be the novelization of a previous Amicus horror anthology tales from the crypt! A great moment for fans. He sets his own death up to try and collect the insurance money, with the help of a friend, Edward Judd. Once again things end up far from what he had planned. This story relies on a lot of silly co-incidences and for you to forget about any sort of logic. It also lacks any real horror elements, being nothing more than a short tale of crime, mystery and double cross. Average.
The fifth and final story stars Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott, and Terence Alexander. Baker plays an artist who is lied to by art critics, and gallery owners about his paintings, and make huge profits by selling them. He uses voodoo to take a horrible revenge. Another great story, maybe the best. Good fun.
Directed by Roy Ward Baker this is a great little anthology film. A fine score by Douglas Gamley and pretty good performances by the all star cast help. There's not much violence in it, but whats there adds to the film and isn't just there to be gratuitous. Try and get hold of the uncut version, as the cuts listed in the 'alternate versions' section on the IMDb would really hurt the final twists of one or two of the segments. An enjoyable horror film, well worth a watch.