Histoires d'outre-tombe

A vintage horror film financed by Amicus from producers Max Rosemberg and Milton Subotsky with a Great British Cast and formed by several episodes full of creepy events , chills, thrills , gore and guts. It stars with five strangers visiting eerie and old catacumbas .Later on , they find themselves at a grotto with the sinister Crypt Keeper , Ralph Richardson , the mysterious host tells them how each of the strangers will die . As they receive fantastic visions about their future . And now ...who is next....

It deals with 5 segments titled: All through the house, Reflection of death , Poetic Justice , Wish you were here, and Blind alleys , all of them are filled with mystery , suspense , terror , grisly killings , twisted events and horrible happenings . The British star-studded results to be pretty good with a plethora of notorious actors as Joan Collins , Richard Greene who a bit later on he passed away at the age of seventh four ,Ian Henry , the great Peter Cushing as a widower who often used an ouija to talk with his deceased wife , Roy Dotrice , Nigel Patrick , Patrick Magee and Ralph Richardson as the creepy Crypt Keeper who shot this major role in a day . Most stories previously appeared in American comic books as Tales of Crypt from EC comics as well as in The haunt of fear. Colorful , adequate cinematograhy by Norman Warwick , shot at Shepperton studios . It was compellingly accompanied by a thrilling and suspenseful musical score.

The motion picture was well and professionally directed by Freddie Francis . He was an expert cameraman who photographed prestigious films such as The straight story , Cape fear , Glory , Dune, The elephant man , Night must fall , The innocents, Room at the top and Hell in Korea . He also directed some movies , many of them terror films such as Dark tower , Doctor and the devils , The ghoul , Legend of werewolf , The creeping flesh , Trog , Torture garden , The skull , House of horrors , The evil of Frankenstein , Nighmare , Paranoiac , The brain and directed Tales of the Crypt TV series , episode 2 season 7 , titled Last respects. Rating : Above average . The motion picture will appeal to terror movies fans .

Five persons are visiting a catacomb following a guide and get lost. They find that they are trapped in a crypt and, out of the blue, they see The Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson) that tells five stories: (1) And All through the House: On the Christmas Eve, Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) kills her husband expecting to receive his insurance. She hears on the news that the police are seeking-out a serial-killer posing of Santa Claus. When the man knocks on her door, she cannot call the police since the body of her husband lays on the living room, and Joanne locks windows and doors. When she looks 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.

Five people wander off on a tour and come upon the crypt-keeper. Each tells his or her last memory. Each one confesses to doing something wrong. The crypt-keeper listens to each before telling the five what has happened to them and where they are. Easily this is one of the best Amicus horror anthologies. It is well-crafted, well-acted, and suitably directed by genre stalwart Freddie Francis. All of the stories are pretty good, with three standing out. The first story about Christmas and a loose killer is well-done and shocking for its day. The best story stars Peter Cushing as a genial old man suffering desolation and humiliation from a heart-less(no pun intended) neighbor. Cushing does a wonderful job here, and in a way it is a sad performance as it was made shortly after the death of his long-time wife Helen. The last story is almost as good about a group of blind residents who stop taking being treated poorly and give out punishment to a military man with razor-sharp justice. Patrick Magee and Nigel Patrick both excel in this little vignette. The frame story is also well-executed and Sir Ralph Richardson hams it up amicably as the keeper of the crypt. A great group of frightening stories...each with a moral of sorts.

Based on the old (and rather controversial) E.C. Comics of the mid-20th century, this horror anthology is an above average entry in an intriguing (and all but dead) genre. Here there is a tour group seen roaming through some ancient catacombs with five attendees obstinately staying behind, despite numerous warnings to stick close together. They find themselves severed from the group and wind up in a tomb-like room with creepy Richardson in a monk's robe doling out orders and insights. The quintet is made to sit while each one gets a glimpse into his or her recent life. Thus the five brief stories are presented in order, each one with a morbid, ironic or gory twist to it. Collins (looking svelte and attractive) is in the first one. She splits her husband's head open as he's benignly reading the newspaper while cheery Christmas music plays on the soundtrack. (Hilariously, she kicks him down the steps while "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" drones on.) Before she can properly dispose of his body, an escaped mental patient in a Santa suit starts terrorizing her! Then Hendry is shown leaving his wife and children for a younger woman. A fateful experience on the freeway changes his life forever. Next up, snooty Phillips is being driven up the wall by his neighbor - kindly, but eccentric, old man Cushing. Phillips continuously thwarts Cushing until he gives up...but does he? A fourth tale features Greene (as a greedy gunrunner) who is forced to part with his possessions, but his wife spies an inscription on an old statuette and discovers that she can use it to ask for three wishes. This doesn't work out quite as optimistically as she had hoped. Finally, Patrick is a militant, heartless administrator of a home for the blind. He pushes the male inhabitants there to their limit and winds up paying dearly for his sins. Though no story gets enough time spent on it to really flesh it out to it's greatest potential, most of them are really intriguing and usually very well acted. The spareness of the locations and effects help set a rather desolate and chilly mood. The finest acting is probably provided by Cushing in a very atypical role. The most memorable vignette is the last one which features an unforgettable comeuppance. Fans of British horror (and especially of anthologies) will rank this pretty highly, but it's interesting enough to lure other viewers as well.

Amicus Studios, best known for their anthology films nailed it with this effort from 1972. With five solid stories to chill your bones, this anthology is one of my favorite films, bar none. The film is packed with a solid cast that includes; Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, Ian Hednry and Richard Greene, just to name a few. My personal faves from this anthology would be; All Through the House, Poetic Justice and Wish You Were Here, but all five stories are really well done. The Peter Cushing story is particularly touching, Cushing does a wonderful job of playing a sad man, mourning the death of 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.