The early 70’s were golden years for the British horror industry… Hammer produced their last goodies, while there was another company who specialized in making the so-called `horror-omnibuses’… During a reign of approximately 10 years, Amicus brought forward anthologies going from nearly brilliant (The House that Dripped Blood) to very bad (The Monster Club). Tales From the Crypt surely belongs to their greatest achievements as well and it guarantees an hour and a half of delightful horror entertainment. Five stories are presented to us, and at least four of them have an above average quality level. (Sir) Ralph Richardson appears as the host. Disguised as the Cryptkeeper, he shows the unfortunate dead of 5 people who descended into his vault…
The film is based on a fifties comic book success formula, which also resulted in a popular spin-off series in the early nineties. The protagonists are always doomed and these tales show their regress into death… Each of the stories has its own, unique setting and atmosphere and, together, they cover pretty much all the favorite horror topics. Yet, 5 stories is a little exaggerated and therefore aren’t fully elaborated…
Especially the first story suffers from its own shortness…It involves a bitchy woman (a stunningly beautiful Joan Collins) who kills her husband, but finds herself trapped in her house while an escaped lunatic lurks through the windows. This first story is pretty bloody and tense, and I wish it had been a little longer (if it were only to look at Collins some more…). The second story by far is the worst of them all and I feel they should have left this one out. The storyline has nothing new to offer and the acting is uninspired. Tale number three stars horror-legend Peter Cushing and he’s the good guy for a change! Cushing is a lonely man who offers presents to the neighborhood children and throws parties for them…I guess this wasn’t an issue in the seventies yet! Or was it? Cushing character is hated by his next-door neighbor, but eventually avenges himself. The fourth story is my personal favorite since it really breathes an almost unbearable morbidity…it’s a variant on the famous monkey-claw myth, which provides the owner with 3 wishes. This chapter is really chilling and the scenery is great! It also has the best make-up effects and adorable twisted humor! The final story is very ingenious and chilling as well and it entirely takes places in an institute for the blind. The new manager introduces a whole lot of economy measures, while he’s living a life of luxury. At one point, the inhabitants won’t take it anymore and they show him what being blind feels like…
