Tales from the Crypt is a 1972 British horror film,
directed by Freddie Francis. It is an anthology film consisting of five
separate segments, based on stories from the EC horror comics of the
fifties by William
Gaines. Five people on a tourist trip end up getting lost in a crypt
and run into the Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson) who proceeds to show
them how they each died.
 |
| The Crypt Keeper |
After recently reviewing films that run from average to shitty beyond
belief, I now run into this gem. It's filled with a star studded cast
that does a great job. (Peter Cushing, Joan Collins,
Ian Hednry and Richard Greene) This is a fantastic film with a great
performance by Peter Cushing, as Arthur
Grimsdyke, in his segment "Poetic Justice". In fact, Cushing won
the Best Actor Of The Year Award in France for this role. This was the
first horror adaption of comic to film and could be considered an
inspiration to
Creepshow.
 |
| Peter Cushing has a heart in this film. |
I'm not going to take you through all five tales, mainly because I'm too
damn lazy to write it. But another fine segment was "And All Through
The House" which has Joan Collins as the wife who kills her husband but
can't call the police when a psycho Santa ambles up to the house. This
story also showed up in the "Tales From The Crypt" TV show years later.
Hell, all the stories are good and all the characters are deserving of
their fate. You don't feel bad for any of them when they get their just
deserts.
 |
| Ho Ho Ho |
If you're a fan of British horror films or anthologies then this is the
a film you must see. The movie is stylishly made and has suspense and
gore that is sure to please. Pick up the DVD for a cold winter's
night. It won't disappoint.
Trivia:
Peter Cushing is said
to "act as himself" in this movie: Cushing's wife had died recently and
he was very depressed; while Cushing's character is a widower who uses a
ouija to talk with his dead wife.
Ralph Richardson filmed his major role in a day.
Peter Cushing was
originally intended to play Ralph Jason, but after looking at the script
he persuaded the producers that he would do more justice to the role of
Mr. Grimsdyke.
Last full length cinema film of Robert Hutton.
Robert Zemeckis has
said this is his favorite movie to watch on Halloween since it was
released. he later produced a HBO show based off the comic series and
directed the first episode, which was also the first story in the movie.
Peter Cushing wanted to do the movie so much that he took a lower fee.
Stephen King and George A. Romero considered remaking this movie
together. Their work together resulted in a completely separate but
similar film, Creepshow.
Director Freddie Francis never read the original comics, fearing it
would affect his personal interpretations on the stories.
Despite being top of the bill and one of the six leads Joan Collins has only 15 lines
Only two stories in this film - "Reflection of Death" and "Blind Alleys"
- originally appeared in EC Comics' "Tales from the Crypt." "...And All
Through the House" appeared in "The Vault of Horror" and "Poetic
Justice" and "Wish You Were Here" both appeared in "The Haunt of Fear."
"Wishing You Were Here" has a scene where Barbara Murray eviscerates Richard Greene
with a sword, exposing his intestines. This scene was originally cut in
order to get a PG rating, although it was restored in later versions.
