Tales From The Crypt Review 198

Tales From The Crypt was a British horror/thriller released in 1972 and starring Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ralph Richardson and Richard Greene.

The movie begins with five people who appear to be tourists. They arrive into catacombs and there they meet a mysterious Crypt Keeper who has some stories to tell. The first tale is called 'And All Through The House'. We see Joanne(Joan Collins) at home at Christmas with her husband and her daughter. She kills her husband and puts her daughter to bed. She tries to drag her husband's body  but he is heavy. There is a homicidal maniac on the loose(coincidence??)and he appears at her door dressed in a Santa suit. She sees him but locks everything and somehow imagines that he will  not get in! She cleans everything up and tries to make her husband's murder look like an accident. She is going to call the police but she decides to check on her daughter who has disappeared. Unfortunately for Joanne, her daughter has let the killer in, thinking he was Santa...

Next story is called 'Reflection of Death' and deals with Carl(Ian Hendry)who is cheating on his wife with a woman called Susan. He meets her and somehow they have a car accident. He can't find Susan anywhere. He wanders to his home and when he tries to get in, he can't. His wife is horrified to see him. He goes to Susan's place and she has been blinded by the accident. She talks to him and tells him that Carl is dead. He can't understand what is happening. He looks in the mirror and sees that he is horribly disfigured now. He screams, wakes up and then realises that the crash is happening again for real.

Third tale is called 'Poetic Justice'. It revolves around Mr. Grimside(Peter Cushing) who is an old man living in his house with his dog. He is liked by everyone and he gets on well with the local kids. But, two evil snobs, Edward Elliott(David Markham) and his son James(Robin Phillips) want him out so they make his life a misery sending him evil valentine cards and spreading horrible rumours about him. The kids are not allowed to see him anymore and people are turning against him as a result. Grimside kills himself as a result and the two evil snobs are pleased with themselves. One night, a year later, James is in the study when he hears someone behind him. It is Grimside back from the dead and he is pissed! The next morning, the father finds the son and he has had his heart ripped out. Grimside leaves a note saying that because James was heartless, he tore it from his chest.

Fourth tale is titled 'Wish You Were Here' and is about a man called Ralph(Richard Greene) who is in financial trouble. He has a Chinese statue and he says to his wife that it will grant three wishes to the owner. His wife wishes for riches and it does come true. Unfortunately, Ralph is killed in car crash before he can collect the money. His wife wishes for him to be like he was before the accident, but she doesn't realise that he had a heart attack just before the crash. She has to make a last wish and wishes for Ralph to live forever but she hasn't counted on the fact that Ralph was embalmed and now he is alive but in pain forever....His wife is horrified!

The last tale is called 'Blind Alleys' and it is about a blind people's home which is getting a new head. He is called Major Rogers. He has a dog too. He is putting in new cost cutting measures and they don't go down well with the residents. One of them, Mr Carter complains, but gets nowhere. When one of the residents dies from the cold, the others get together and trap Rogers in a room and his dog in another. They starve the dog and then they set up a corridor with razor blades set into the walls. Rogers has to pass through this in the dark and they set the dog on him too leaving no illusions about his fate.Cut back to the Crypt Keeper who tells them that the stories were leading to this moment when they all have to enter Hell as they had committed sins which cannot be forgiven and they are dead. They enter Hell and the Crypt Keeper wonders who is next..maybe you???

An entertaining 70's movie. I liked the stories and it was well worth a watch. I recommend it to anyone and if you are a fan on the American series of the same name, you would like this too...It gets a 7/10.