Tales from the Crypt (1972)

Director: Freddie Francis

Starring: Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Patrick Magee, Richard Greene

More info: IMDb

Tagline: DEATH LIVES in the Vault of Horror!

Plot: When a sightseeing trip leads them astray, a group of tourists find themselves lost in an underground labyrinth where they come face to face with a monk who foretells their futures.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? I won't rule it out.

#23 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.


I've seen quite a few horror anthologies over the years and most of them just don't work for me. There's rarely a story that even feels like it's trying to frighten the audience. Usually there's just one segment that works but, much to my pleasant surprise, most of the stories in this one are very good and a couple are pretty horrific. There's five stories in all.

AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE - Joan Collins murders her husband on christmas eve and gets attacked by a psychopath in a Santa outfit. Nice!


REFLECTION OF DEATH - A family man leaves his wife and kids with his mistress and their car crashes leaving you wondering who's dead and who's not. This one's the least enjoyable but it's still not bad.


POETIC JUSTICE - a wealthy prick wants the dingy old man across the street (Cushing) removed from their upscale neighborhood because he's an eyesore. Getting better.


WISH YOU WERE HERE - A variation on The Monkey's Paw tale where a couple should be more careful of what they wish for. FUCKING AWESOME!


BLIND ALLEYS - Asshole ex-military man, Major Rogers, has been given charge of running a home for the blind and treats himself to luxuries while everyone else suffers. Even better than the last one.


Once you get past the bump that is the second tale, each story gets progressively better and horrific, although it's tough to top the end of WISH YOU WERE HERE. Yikes! After the last few anthologies I've gone through, it's so nice to finally watch one that doesn't bore the piss out of me. Highly recommended.