Tales From The Crypt (1972)

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.

Kevin Booker

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.