Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) User Reviews

The Prophecies of Dr. Terror

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 26 June 2017]

Five passengers are in a cabin of the train to Bradley, when a sixth one asks whether he may join them in their cabin. He introduces himself as the tarot cards reader Dr. Schreck, a.k.a. Dr. Terror (Peter Cushing), who can tell the future of those who tap his cards deck three times. The first passenger to tap is the architect Jim Dawson (Neil McCallum), who is traveling to an island to renovate the house that belonged to his family that Mrs. Deirdre Biddulph (Ursula Howells) bought from him. He will learn that there is a werewolf in the house. Bill Rogers (Alan Freeman), who is traveling on vacation to meet his wife and daughter, taps the deck and learns that an intelligent creeper vine will threat their lives at his summer house. Then the musician Biff Bailey (Roy Castle) taps the deck and learns that he will bring a voodoo song from his tour in Caribe with creepy consequences. Then the snobbish and arrogant art critic Franklyn Marsh (Christopher Lee) learns that the artist Eric Landor (Michael Gough) will expose his arrogance and Franklyn will revenge with tragic consequences. Last, Dr. Bob Carroll (Donald Sutherland) taps the deck and learns that he will discover a secret about his fiancée Nicolle Carroll (Jennifer Jayne), who has just moved to a small town in New England to live with him, and his colleague Dr. Blake (Max Adrian). Further, they find their fate and who the mysterious fortune teller Dr. Terror is.

"Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" is a great anthology from Amicus Productions with five short stories. "Werewolf", "Creeping Vine", "Voodoo", "Disembodied Hand" and "Vampire" are great segments. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland are part of the cast and synonym of a great entertainment for fans of British horror films from the 60's. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Profecias do Dr. Terror" ("The Prophecies of Dr. Terror")

Note: On 27 September 2022, I saw this film again.

Cheesy,but enjoyable horror movie from Amicus.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 7/10 · 19 March 2001]

I simply admire those 60's and early 70's English horror movies from Amicus.They're so charming and fun to watch(albeit sometimes goofy)that I really appreciate this kind of entertainment.Christopher Lee is excellent as usual and the rest of the cast is also splendid.The film contains five rather weird stories.The best one-The Disembodied Hand involves an art critic,who is terrorized by a severed hand.By today's standards "Doctor Terror's House of Horrors" isn't very scary or violent,but it features some really creepy scenes.All in all this is simply a must-see for fans of the English horror.My rating:7/10.

Good horror with an atmosphere of real menace and unease.

[Wilbur-10 · 7/10 · 15 August 2000]

First of the spate of British portmanteau horror films which sprung up in the 1960's/early 70's (there had of course been 'Dead of Night' much earlier).

Five men in a train carriage have their tarot cards read by the mysterious Dr Schreck, all concluding in the same manner - their death. Ranks above many of the similar films which followed by having classic horror themes in the stories - werewolves, voodoo, severed hand, killer plant and vampires. Film also has well above average cast and a tone which remains sombre right up to the bleak ending. That said we do have the one comic relief story, which as usual is by far the weakest - here we have Roy Castle as a jazz musician getting caught up in voodoo.

It is the framing story in these horror anthologies which often make or break the entire film, and in 'Dr Terror's ....' it is excellent with Cushing having a real tone of menace as the quietly spoken, sinister Dr Schreck, as the action switches back to the increasingly claustrophobic train carriage.

At a time when Hammer's standards were beginning to slip, Amicus provided an important rival which ensured the British horror output remained interesting and inventive for quite some time.

Pick a Card...Any Card

[BaronBl00d · 23 December 2001]

Peter Cushing joins five men in a railway carriage only to have each man pick one of his deadly tarot cards and have Cushing predict his future. Each man picks the same card and each then tells/hears a story about some awful thing that happens to him and leads to his death. A very well-done horror anthology here by the folks at Amicus and director Freddie Francis. Francis gives his usual workmanlike effort creating some suspenseful moments and at other times slight and tedious plodding. Each story is done in a flashback style or dreamlike sequence. One story is about some mean green...plants that take over a household and even kill when threatened. Another story deals with a tribal voodoo song and what happens when copyright is infringed. There is a story about an old house and a werewolf. The final story deals with vampires in which Donald Sutherland, unbeknownst to him has married a vampire. This story as well as the voodoo story try to be funny as well as frightening. The best story for me stars Christopher Lee as a snobby art critic who has been embarrassed by a man whose art he continually berated, finally exacting his revenge on him...a revenge that becomes bittersweet. This revenge keeps Lee with more problems than he can HAND-le. This story is particularly effective and Lee and Michael Gough give some outstanding performances. The frame story is also very good and Cushing does a wonderful job enticing his fellow travelers to find out their futures and then let them know they have all been had by Death itself. Lots of fun here!

Dr. Cushing's Train Of Spooky Fun

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 6 February 2008]

"Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors" of 1965 is a cheesy but highly entertaining horror anthology. This film is particularly interesting as it is the the first in a row of Horror anthologies from the Amicus company, which continued to produce Anthologies such as "The House That Dripped Blood" of 1971. What also makes this highly recommendable is the cast, as it features Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and young Donald Sutherland in an early role. Peter Cushing stars as the mysterious Dr. Schreck, a fortune teller, who offers the five other men in his train cabin to tell their future from his tarot cards. Each man's future is one part of the anthology, which, among other things, features voodoo, a vampire and a werewolf. The stories are, of course, quite brief, with five stories in only 95 minutes there is simply no place for a lot of depth. Even the stories are brief, and partly very cheesy, however, every single story entertains highly. Peter Cushing is excellent and eerie as usual as Dr. Schreck, and fellow horror icon Christopher Lee is equally great as one of the passengers in the train, an arrogant art-critic. It is also a lot of fun to watch Donald Sutherland in this early role. Sutherland sure is a great actor, and he already was back then. Although "Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors" is cheesy, and certainly no masterpiece, this is highly recommended to all the fans of traditional and British Horror out there! Definitely no shocker, but spooky fun that Classic Horror lovers should enjoy immensely. 7/10

First and best of the Amicus compendiums

[Libretio · 6/10 · 3 February 2005]

DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Techniscope)

Sound format: Mono

Five travellers on an overnight train are told their fortunes by a mysterious old man (Peter Cushing) who turns out to be... well, you'll see.

Formed in the early 1960's by American producers Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg as a response to various tax concessions which encouraged an upsurge in British movie-making, independent studio Amicus hit the ground running with this breezy horror anthology, directed by famed cinematographer Freddie Francis, in which several heavyweight thesps (including Christopher Lee and a very young Donald Sutherland, the latter a sop to US audiences) and a couple of notable UK media celebrities (entertainer Roy Castle, DJ Alan Freeman) meet grisly fates at the hands of various supernatural entities (werewolf, creeping vine, voodoo, disembodied hand and vampire, respectively).

Lavishly photographed by Alan Hume in widescreen Techniscope - Francis had, of course, learned a thing or two about widescreen composition during his work on SONS AND LOVERS (1960) and THE INNOCENTS (1961), amongst others! - this low budget thriller utilizes the same audience-friendly Gothic elements which launched Hammer to worldwide fame and fortune, but locates them within the recognizable boundaries of contemporary British society, an aspect which immediately distinguishes it from the Victorian milieu favored by rival studios. Francis clearly relishes the creative opportunities afforded by the material, and while the stories themselves - all originals, penned by Subotsky - are fairly bland and obvious, they're all energized by Francis' stylish visuals and helter-skelter pacing. Each story has its merits, but director and scriptwriter keep the best two for last: Lee's pompous art critic is haunted by the living severed hand of an artist (Michael Gough) he drove to suicide, and Sutherland discovers his new bride's (Jennifer Jayne) bloodthirsty secret, leading to a twist in the tale...

Lee gives the showiest performance, as a haughty member of the critical Establishment whose ego leads him on the path to self-destruction, but his fellow cast members all rise to the occasion, and Francis even manages to indulge Castle's famed jazz trumpeting abilities without holding up the plot! Cushing takes center stage, playing a character much older than his years, though he's rather let down by a fake German accent which sounds more comical than ominous; his timing, however, is impeccable, as always. Brisk, stylish and more than a little camp in places (watch out for that crawling hand!), the movie is a triumph for Francis and his technical team. Subotsky and Rosenberg were also responsible for John Llewellyn Moxey's moody witchcraft thriller THE CITY OF THE DEAD, produced in 1960 under the 'Vulcan' banner, but it was the creation of Amicus which firmly established their fortunes within the UK film industry (cf. TORTURE GARDEN, THE VAULT OF HORROR, etc.). Sadly, Francis became increasingly disillusioned by his status as a 'horror' director, and many of his later efforts suffered as a consequence of his apathy (THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE, TROG, CRAZE, etc.).

An enjoyable, if flawed Amicus anthology.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 9 November 2006]

An early anthology movie from Amicus, Dr. Terror's House of Horror's is certainly not their best effort at this kind of thing. But with a great cast including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Donald Sutherland and Roy Castle, there is still plenty to enjoy about this silly-but-fun offering.

Five men on a train are joined by a mysterious fortune teller by the name of Dr. Schreck (which, literally translated, is Dr. Terror). One by one Dr. Schreck reads his Tarot cards for the men, and reveals what the future holds for them.

Each story has a fantastical or supernatural twist and the whole thing is wrapped up with a ridiculous ending in which it is revealed that all five men are already dead, having been killed in a train crash (which of course, makes a mockery of Dr. Terrors 'predictions' which we have just witnessed). And Dr. Terror turns out to be none other than Death himself!

Freddie Francis takes the five rather pedestrian tales and injects them with enough energy and stylish visuals to make them rather enjoyable. Despite (or maybe because of) some rather camp moments and a really bad German accent by the great Peter Cushing, Dr.Terror's House of Horrors is certainly never boring.

In the first story, an architect battles with a werewolf on a remote Scottish island. The second, features a killer plant that traps a family inside their house. The third (which is my personal favourite due to the amazingly cool musical numbers), is about a trumpet player (Roy Castle) who regrets his actions when he 'borrows' some sacred tunes he hears during a voodoo ritual. Story four features Christopher Lee as a critic who is pursued by the severed hand of an artist. In the final story, Donald Sutherland discovers his wife is a vampire (this tale has a nice twist ending).

Amicus later went on to fine tune the anthology movie with Tales from the Crypt, From Beyond the Grave and Vault of Horror; whilst these are all better than Dr.Terror's House of Horrors, the movie is still worth giving a go. After all, you wouldn't want to miss the rubber crawling hand attacking Christopher Lee, would you?

Saw this when I was 10 yo...

[horvath1955-1 · 6/10 · 30 June 2006]

and I remember it scared the devil (ha-ha) out of me. It spooked me for a good few weeks thereafter. I saw it again a few years back, and a lot of years older, and found it enjoyable, although much less spookier. With the likes of the original Omen, Exorcist, Shining, and Halloweens out there, this fell way short by (somewhat) current standards. It was good though! I still found the first episode the best, and the killer plants the lamest. I think it could have been the Halloween of its day had it been promoted more back in the mid sixties. I guess there was enough real horror going on back then to shunt promoting this movie. Donald Sutherland- what a great actor from such an early age. No teenage prodigy there.

Fun horror anthology marred by bad TV and video prints

[InjunNose · 8/10 · 26 October 2006]

If you can find a copy of "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors", try to ignore its dark, fuzzy appearance (I've seen it once on videocassette and twice on television, and it looked the same way each time; the movie has not yet been made available on DVD). This is a first-rate British horror film in the old style, and if you liked "The House That Dripped Blood" and "Tales From the Crypt", you'll enjoy "...House of Horrors", too. The standout tales are 'Voodoo', which features Roy Castle as a jazz horn player who nicks a piece of sacred African music while spying on a voodoo ceremony and comes to regret it, and 'Disembodied Hand', an unpleasant story of wounded pride, foul play, and revenge that stars Christopher Lee and Michael Gough. Peter Cushing is appropriately sinister as Dr. Schreck, the German metaphysicist who predicts the futures of five unsuspecting men with his "house of horrors", a deck of Tarot cards. The soundtrack deserves a mention, too--it's subtly creepy, and the Dave Brubeck-style jazz (performed by the Tubby Hayes Quintet) in the 'Voodoo' segment is really nice as well. Hopefully someone will acquire the rights to this entertaining film, restore the print, and release it on DVD soon.

Lovely and kitschy horror omnibus

[Coventry · 6/10 · 30 May 2004]

Dr. Terror's etc is an early horror anthology by specialist company Amicus, since they had their biggest successes in the 70's, with films like `The Vault of Horror' and `Asylum'. Yet, horror fans can't afford to miss little first experiment of theirs. Peter Cushing is ghoulish (and very well disguised) as the bizarre Dr. Schrek who predicts the unpleasant futures of 5 fellow train travellers. This film has the best possible diversity and introduces a different, 100% horror-like theme in every separate story. We've got a vampire, a man-eating vegetable, a disembodied hand out for revenge, a voodoo curse and….a Werewolf! The lycanthrope chapter was my personal favorite since I'm a sucker for these predators. Although all stories are cheaply edited and kitschy, they're brought with lots of enthusiasm and goodwill. Five stories and a short running time of 95 min. is a bit abrupt, so a few chapters definitely lack the required depth and range. However, at least two stories are downright great and they even have a bit of tension. Not coincidentally, the eminent Christopher Lee plays the lead in one of them! Trivia freaks will also enjoy the looks of an extremely young Donald Sutherland in one of his very first roles. One certain levels, Amicus studies certainly still had to improve themselves (which they did in the 70's) but the talent and ingeniousness is clearly present already. Recommended to all British horror fans and Peter Cushing admirers in the first place!

A potpourri of horror where some segments smell better than the others.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 12 September 2019]

Five young men on a train are suddenly greeted by an elderly tarot card reader (horror legend Peter Cushing) who convinces four of them that their perspective futures can be told through the cards, and in some cases, that future can be altered. Only obnoxious art critic Christopher Lee holds doubt, his reluctance forceful and aggressive. But three of the others listen to their possible futures (all macabre and eerie) before Cushing reads Lee's. By the time of the finale, it's very apparent that the warnings are real, and that the future isn't something you can't avoid.

This colorful but somewhat slow moving anthology horror compilation is mainly enjoyable with predictable elements in a few of the segments and a few delightful surprises in the others. The first segment, involving a buried death mask, ends up predictably with the next segment (vine style plants gone wild) is very creepy. The West Indies set third installment has a bit of humor to guide it, and Lee's segment (featuring Michael Gough as an artist Lee despises) is very intense. Then there's the seemingly disbelieving Donald Sutherland involving a young boy and a possible vampre, rather tenuous and confusing.

Each segment has quite a different style and speed, and that builds up to each one to suddenly end, going back to these six strangers on a train and preparing for the five follow-ups with not all of them ending happily or satisfactorily. It's a nice beginning to a series of similar like films from the same production company. Fortunately, the print I got ahold of is much clearer in picture than the old VHS copy I saw of this 30 years ago. These films deserve to be seen at their sharpest for the ultimate viewing quality.

The first Amicus anthology and still one of the best

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 5 July 2016]

The first of the many anthology horror films made by Amicus Studios in the UK (the main rival to their more successful counterparts Hammer), DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS is a great, fast paced movie that holds up to this day. It's a pretty gentle film that favours atmosphere over shocks and terror, but that doesn't stop it from packing a punch in the tale of five train passengers having their fortunes read by the mysterious Dr Schreck. This is one of those films where the wraparound story is even better than the individual tales, mainly thanks to Peter Cushing who excels as the shabby, sinister fortune teller. The twist ending is no surprise but it was enough to send chills up my spine by the time the credits rolled.

The stories are a mixed bunch but none are too poor. Ironically, the two average stories are those which plough the most familiar fields, the vampire and werewolf yarns which bookend the film. The werewolf section benefits from some good HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES-style atmosphere (think swirling mists, crumbling mansions, hidden vaults, lonely moors), an interesting werewolf and a good twist right at the end. The closing vampire story also has a twist, but by this time it's very predictable. Donald Sutherland doesn't register more than bug eyes and blond hair and the rubber bat stuff is quite tiring.

The second story is of the so-bad-it's-good variety. It involves a household being taken over by a killer plant, and is just as silly as it sounds. Still, the straight-laced approach makes it work and nowhere else will you see Bernard Lee battling an evil vine! The bit where the guy is strangled by a branch is also pretty funny. The third story goes for out-and-out comedy as an unlucky Roy Castle falls foul of a voodoo cult – all because he's trying to steal their music! Castle mugs for all his worth in this outing and the voodoo elements are hilarious dated and non-PC, but for the most part the comedy works.

The fourth story is the best and it's no coincidence that it stars Christopher Lee. He's not playing a villain here, but his art critic character is completely foul and watching him get his comeuppance is a joy. Michael Gough is also very good in a small part. This makes use of the classic crawling hand tale complete with a nice little special effect and it's quite brilliant, coming the closest out of all the stories to true horror. All in all a fine little film from Britain's golden age of horror.

This town isn't big enough for two doctors....

[FlashCallahan · 7/10 · 16 February 2016]

Five men enter a train carriage in London bound for Bradley, and are joined by a sixth, the mysterious Doctor Schreck whose name, he mentions, is German for "terror".

During the journey, the doctor opens his pack of Tarot cards, which he calls his "House of Horrors", and proceeds to reveal the destinies of each of the travellers........

Anthology films are always a mixed bag of nuts, but it doesn't matter if there is a poor segment of the anthology (there usually is), the fundamental part of the film, in order for it to work, is the wrap around story.

Surprisingly, the wrap around story, involving the six in a train carriage, is the most sinister and haunting part of the film, and this is because of the wonderfully restrained performance from the titular doctor himself, Peter Cushing.

Any other horror film made around this time would have the main 'villain' mugging and playing up to the camera, but the thing that makes Cushing's portrayal so eerie, is that he appears to be just as normal as the other five passengers.

The stories, as I've already said, are something of a mixed bag, we have one about a werewolf and an old house with a curse, a wonderfully over the top story about Roy Castle stealing some Voodoo song, a woeful story about a killer plant, and another featuring Donald Sutherland who is tricked into killing his wife, whom is a vampire.

But the stand out has to be the Christopher Lee story, about a dismembered hand following him, looking for revenge. It sounds silly, but the punchline is pretty grim, considering its a PG rated film.

All the stories have something whimsical about them, one breaks the fourth wall, one features Kenny Lynch, and they all have that 'it was so much safer back then' feel to it.

It's not for everybody, but for fans of Amicus and Hammer, this will really fit the bill.

Not bad, but try "Dead of Night" first.

[Teknofobe70 · 5/10 · 6 April 2005]

Okay, five strangers assemble together and tell bizarre tales of their own haunted futures. It's something we've seen before, there was a movie made in 1945 called "Dead of Night" with basically the same premise, but that was a horror masterpiece, far ahead of it's time. This is nowhere near in the same league.

There's a werewolf story, a 'deadly plant' story, a voodoo story, a 'creeping hand' story and a vampire story. The stand-out segment is Christopher Lee's story as the art critic who is stalked by the severed hand of a man he ran over. It was later made as a feature-length Oliver Stone film called "The Hand", starring Michael Caine, but the idea was actually taken from an earlier movie in 1946 called "The Beast With Five Fingers". Oh, well.

It was made by what at the time was an all-star British cast containing Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and others of the Hammer Studios team, but this doesn't save it from being average at best. If you want a really great compilation horror film I recommend watching Dead of Night instead.

Tap the cards three times....

[Glennascaul · 17 January 2003]

There's a lot of fun to be had reading the reviews for movies, especially a favourite movie. It takes a certain kind of person to have a passion for a film but to see it for no more than it is. And it takes another who finds it necessary to look for too much in something...to take it too seriously. And that's fine I suppose - each to his own and all that. But hokum is still hokum. I like hokum...and it's nice to see that some other reviewers (such as "Roderick" and "Wayne Malin" get 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors' for what it is these days....Hokum...FUN. It's not horrific. It's hard to find much these days which can be classed as truly horrific or terrifying - real life supplies too much of that for our own good. But what have here is purely and simply fun.

Personally, I find this movie is best enjoyed late at night ( a rainy night is ideal if one presents itself) with something nice to drink...and with the lights turned down low. The first time I saw 'Dr Terror' was very late one wintery friday night on BBC 1 many years ago and the time of night seems to suit so well that I wouldn't dream of changing it. As I said previously, it's not horrific but really, I could watch the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee sitting in an open field reading aloud from the Edinburgh and Lothians phone book, so to see them in a creepy train carriage sparring over the merits of fortune tellers and "the entire lunatic fringe" is just a joy. As for the support - Neil McCallum, Roy Castle, Donald Sutherland, Peter Madden and Alan (and that's going to happen to me..?) Freeman - they all do well with the material provided. It's a touch spooky in a "The Avengers"/"The Ghost Train" type way. The direction by Freddie Francis is spot-on. The musical numbers are foot-tappin' groovy. I liked the score but I agree with the reviewer who picked up on the music not quite fitting a scene or fading (or indeed stopping dead) in the strangest places. This may have something to do with Elisabeth Lutyens being brought in as a late replacement for Tubby Hayes who was originally assigned to score the picture. No matter..as they say, it all adds to the charm.

Good late night fun...there's that word again. It should get repeat fees on this page. And incidentally, for those who are used to the late night TV screenings or the washed out VHS, you might like to know that a DVD is available. It's Region 2 PAL and imported from Italy under the title "Le Cinque Chiavi del Terrore". It's a bit light on the extras save for a scratchy but rather cool Italian trailer. But its an ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN TRANSFER and a rather nice one at that...I don't think I'm allowed to say where it can be bought on this page but it shouldn't be too hard for you to find on the net...just think of somewhere Diabolik-al...ahem. But that's all by the by - full screen, widescreen... Whichever version is available to you, and at whatever time...watch 'Dr Terrors House of Horrors'...you'll have fun...a lot of fun...so go on, tap the cards three times...

Anybody up for some card games?

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 21 November 2015]

Five strangers board a train in England, and share a compartment. Joining them is a weird "doctor" named Schreck (Peter Cushing), who is in the business of telling fortunes. With him is a deck of cards, and he encourages his travelling companions to participate.

This was the first of the horror anthology films to be made by Amicus, the studio best known for being a rival to the equally iconic Hammer during this period. It's not necessarily their best, for the stories aren't that great (the favourite Amicus anthology for this viewer is still "Tales from the Crypt"), but it's still solidly entertaining for any horror fan. It's certainly a very nice looking production, which comes from being directed by renowned cinematographer Freddie Francis ("The Innocents"), and photographed by Alan Hume ("Return of the Jedi").

Neil McCallum plays Jim Dawson in "Werewolf". Jim is hired to oversee some renovations for a family home that he'd been forced to sell, and he discovers a long hidden crypt belonging to a vengeance crazed former owner.

Alan Freeman is Bill Rogers in "Creeping Vine", the tale of a vine that seems to have developed a true intelligence as well as a sense of malevolence. This tale is cool, as there aren't really enough killer plant horror stories in this viewers' humble opinion.

In "Voodoo", Roy Castle plays Biff Bailey, leader of a jazz band hired for a gig in the West Indies. He becomes enamoured with the music used by local voodoo practitioners, but learns that trying to incorporate the music into his bands' own performances is a very bad idea.

"Disembodied Hand" is good fun. Sir Christopher Lee has the role of pompous art critic Franklyn Marsh, who's humiliated by a painter named Eric Landor (Michael Gough). He ultimately strikes back, in a violent way, but who will really get the last laugh?

Finally, a very young Donald Sutherland is featured in "Vampire" as a doctor, Bob Carroll, who's just married the beautiful Nicolle (Jennifer Jayne). He must deal with an unfortunate reality regarding Nicolle.

Screenwriter Milton Subotsky visits the old horror movie theme of just desserts in two of these stories, and his script is enjoyable, if sometimes a little weak and predictable. He was inspired, appropriately enough, by the legendary and well-regarded "Dead of Night".

The actors are all superb. In addition to those fine thespians already mentioned, Max Adrian, Bernard Lee, Peter Madden, Jeremy Kemp, Ursula Howells, Katy Wild, Edward Underdown, Isla Blair, and Judy Cornwell turn up. It's a treat as it always is to see Lee and Cushing spar with each other, as Dr. Schreck does his shtick and the grumpy, dismissive Marsh automatically writes him off as a phoney.

This is well worth viewing for any Amicus completist, and any fan of the entire horror omnibus format.

Seven out of 10.

A mixed bag

[jimpayne1967 · 7/10 · 30 March 2016]

This is I believe the first of the Amicus portmanteau films and like all of the others I have seen it is flawed and variable in quality but a couple of the stories are pretty good and another two are real curios.

The linking story is probably the weakest aspect of the film. Peter Cushing as the mysterious Dr Terror meets the five central characters of each of the five stories in a railway compartment - not a house at all so the title of the film is a misnomer- and shuffles his tarot cards and encourages each man to take his cards and see the story which will unfold. At the end of each sequence the man is to take a final card which will show what he must do to avoid what has happened in their tale and each chooses the death card. This is not a great device and from my memory of Tarot the death card is to signify the end of a particular phase of life or the end of a story not the death of the person who draws it. Even allowing for this misuse of Tarot symbolism the death of each of the five seems a bit harsh on at least two of the five are hardly the causes of their own misfortune. Cushing, normally one of my favourite actors, looks a bit silly too.

The first story, Werewolf, stars the now largely forgotten Neil McCallum and it is pretty routine stuff whilst Creeping Vine is just a rip-off of Day of the Triffids though it does have one or two spooky moments with good performances from the dependable Jeremy Kemp and Bernard Lee whilst the often slightly kooky Ann Bell is fine as the increasingly scared young wife of the central character Bill Rogers. The curio of this segment though is that the central character is played by Alan 'Fluff' Freeman the Anglo-Australian disc jockey whom I had forgotten had also been an occasional actor in the 1960s until I saw this film for the first time in decades six or seven years ago. He is okay but he was a better DJ.

Voodoo is the worst tale of the five featuring as it does Roy Castle at his most irritating - which is considerable- but there is a real bonus for fans of British Modern Jazz with the Tubby Hayes band doing a couple of pretty strong numbers. Castle himself was a jazz trumpeter but I am not sure whether he plays on the soundtrack of these scenes and certainly at one point when he is blowing away like a hurricane there is no sound of trumpet. The tale itself is hackneyed and more than a touch racist.

Disembodied Hand is the best of the five stories and is so by some distance. Christopher Lee plays Franklyn Marsh who is a narcissistic art critic. During an exhibition of the Avant garde artist Eric Landor- played by Michael Gough- Marsh produced several pithy phrases to rubbish Landor's work to the delight of the critic's sycophantic acolytes before the artist trumps his sternest critic by showing that work praised by Lee's character was actually done by a chimpanzee. Marsh is stung by this public humiliation and eventually runs over Landor causing the artist to lose a hand. Unable to paint Landor kills himself and possibly tormented by guilt Marsh is haunted by the disembodied hand which follows him everywhere. Eventually the hand causes Marsh to crash his car causing and the accident leaves him blind- and unable to work. It is a neat enough morality tale and the brief appearance of the delightful Isla Blair would lighten a wet November morn but the real highlight is Lee who is brilliant here –possibly his best performance until The Wicker Man. The arrogance of Marsh is one of Lee's trademarks but he does snivelling fear really well here too.

The final tale, Vampire, stars Donald Sutherland as Bob Carroll a doctor returning to practise in the US after marrying a glamorous young French woman played by Jennifer Jayne (who was English I think). Prompted by the advice of his older colleague Dr Blake (Max Adrian) it begins to dawn on Carroll that his lovely wife is in fact a vampire causing havoc in her new hometown. Eventually after some bidding by his colleague, Dr Carroll carries out the old stake through the heart trick on his wife and is arrested by the police who believe he is a madman as Blake dismisses the notion that he has had anything to do with the slaying. It is a bit corny that Blake turns out to be the vampire himself but it is slickly done – Freddie Francis directs all the 5 stories rather well in fact- and Sutherland is, as he usually was, very good whilst Adrian is good too.

The final scene where those on the train/house are revealed to be already dead became something of an Amicus trademark and it is not particularly well done here – certainly in comparison with the generally superior Tales From The Crypt- and is a rather bland ending to a film that is short on gore but strong on atmosphere.

Five Tales of Woe

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 6 January 2017]

This is a Freddie Francis film. It is remindful of some of the anthology series from the sixties that were seen on television. There are five supernatural tales concerning five men, riding in a train compartment. Along with them is a weird man with a pack of Tarot cards. He explains that these cards will tell the future of any man who wishes to take a chance. Of course, each is going to "tap the deck three times." The stories are disparate, and, sadly, have no connection to each other. The first involves a man who does house renovation who finds a stone casket in the basement of a house where he grew up. The second is about a plant that grows outside a house and begins to feast on living tissue. The third involves a musician who steals the music from a group of voodoo worshippers in the East Indies and finds you shouldn't mess with this. The fourth, played by Peter Cushing, tells of a severe art critic who tries to destroy the careers of artists, one in particular, who humiliated him. It's the old dismembered hand bit. And, finally, a man played by a very young Donald Sutherland, marries a beautiful French woman and gets more than he bargained for. They are held together by a contrived denouement. Still, the stories were fun and engaging.

So that's Donald Sutherland...

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 10 October 2005]

Hammer Films just kept 'em coming in the '50s and '60s. If Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were involved, then you could safely assume that they had something neat in store. In "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors", enigmatic Dr. Sandor Schreck (Peter Cushing) is in a train with five other men. He proceeds to tell them their fortunes. There's nothing particularly scary here, but it's never pretentious either. This movie is what most of these movies were: nice, silly fun. A standout in the movie is a very young Donald Sutherland as one of the men; I guess that it's sort of a before-they-were-famous situation for him. And finally, there's a delicious surprise at the end.

Death and terror are in the cards for five unsuspecting travelers

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 31 January 2017]

The mysterious Dr. Schreck (superbly played with quiet menace by the magnificent Peter Cushing) relates five tales of terror to a quintet of men on board a train.

First and just okay yarn, "Werewolf" -- A man resurrects a werewolf. Decent build-up with a fair pay-off. Second and most silly anecdote, "Creeping Vine" -- A house gets infected by a killer sentient vine. The inane premise makes this one impossible to take seriously. Third and oh-so-groovy vignette, "Voodoo" - Jazz musician Biff Bailey (a solid performance by Roy Castle) falls prey to a lethal voodoo curse after he steals a sacred song. Cool premise and swinging music make this baby a total gas. Fourth and most entertaining segment, "Disembodied Hand" -- Pompous snob art critic Franklyn Marsh (Christopher Lee in sterling supercilious form) finds himself being terrorized by the severed hand of painter Eric Landor (the always excellent Michael Gough) after he drives Landor to commit suicide. The relentless attacks by the disembodied hand are a hoot and Lee excels in his sublimely obnoxious portrayal of a hateful arrogant jerk. Last and very well done story, "Vampire" -- Newly married physician Bob Carroll (a very young and engaging Donald Sutherland) discovers that his bride Nicole (the fetching and enchanting Jennifer Jayne) is harboring a dark secret. Dandy eerie mood and a total corker of a surprise bummer ending.

Director Freddie Francis maintains a steady pace throughout and adroitly crafts a tense spooky atmosphere in the wraparound segment. Milton Subotsky's crafty script delivers a few neat grim twists. Alan Hume's crisp widescreen cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. The shivery score by Elisabeth Lutyens hits the spine-tingling spot. An immensely enjoyable omnibus outing.

Fear Takes the Train

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 28 February 2022]

It's not every day you see a film starring both Roy Castle and Donald Sutherland (the latter in probably the best episode) with music by Elizabeth Lutyens and Tubby Hayes (who also appears).

It's antiquity indicated by the fact the cast are travelling by steam train and by an old penny glimpsed in a drawer; prettily photographed in colour it's fun rather than scary, with an enormous supporting cast packed with familiar faces.

Well, it's a start, at least...

[The_Movie_Cat · 4/10 · 25 August 2010]

This is where it all started, an Amicus anthology series that ran for nine movies and fifteen years. While none of them had the artistic value of their vague inspiration, Dead of Night, lots were fun and engaging.

The same can't really be said of this first entry, sadly. While still worthwhile and less overtly campy than most of the others, it's a fairly dull entry. The different elements making up the plot involve Alan Freeman being terrorised by killer plants and Roy Castle and Kenny Lynch in a West Indian voodoo cult. Both Castle and Lynch master the art of performing music without microphones, but their story doesn't really go anywhere, as does the opening werewolf segment.

Easily the best are the final two entries with Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland, though even here we have to contend with a plastic hand (complete with close ups of the seal down the side) and a rubber vampire bat. Though, as stated, these vignettes are played as "straight", there are two instances of the fourth wall breaking. One is where Roy Castle's character runs past a poster for the movie, the other is with Max Adrian as a Doctor talking to the audience.

Ultimately the film doesn't make any sense - if all the passengers are dead from the start, then their "future" stories mean nothing, as they all have no future. Also, look out for the awful trailer, which goes one better than a similarly poor one for later entry Asylum, in that it features the final shot as part of its footage.

The Amicus anthology series, then. Nine films, three or four of which were, frankly, below par, and another two or three which were just... okay. Less than a handful were genuinely good, and none of them particularly changed the world or had great artistic merit. But most of them, even the bad ones, had a fun entertainment value and are ideal viewing for an evening if you're in the right mood. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors is one of the least engaging, but must at least be credited as being the one that started it all.

Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 9/10 · 9 October 2015]

After first hearing about the title during Steve Coogan's interesting TV Horror Comedy Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible,I have been meaning to take a look at British Horror movie studio Amicus first anthology movie for a number of years,but for some reason have never had the chance to.Talking to a friend about a number of excellent articles on Amicus recently appearing in UK film mag The Dark Side,I was happily caught by surprise,when he passed me 2 Amicus DVDs,which led to me getting ready to at last meet Dr.Terror. The plot-Note:Due to this being an anthology,I will give each "story" its own section.

Wraparound story:

Entering a carriage filled with 5 men, Doctor Schreck sits down,gets out a pack of Tarot cards,and begins to tell each of his fellow passengers what awaits for them in the future.

Story 1:

Getting sent to a Scottish island to approve of changes that Mrs. Biddulph wants to do to the house, architect Jim Dawson finds a coffin of Count Cosmo Valdemar,who was the owner of the house,and was killed in a conflict involving Jim's family.After finding the coffin,Jim begins to fear that the Count will come back as a werewolf,which leads to Jim getting Silver bullets to finally end the family feud.

Story 2:

Returning from a family holiday, Bill Rogers discovers that a vine has grown round the house,which defends itself against any attempts to cut it.Contacting the Ministry of Defence,Rogers soon finds out that the plant is far more intelligent than any of them have expected.

Story 3:

Working as a Jazz musician in London, Biff Bailey gets a chance to tour the West Indies.Whilst in the West Indies,Bailey learns about a Voodoo ceremony taking place.Attending the ceremony,Bailey decides that the Voodoo music being played would make a hit record.Coming home to London,Bailey starts to play the music,and soon discovers that the voodoo has returned with him.

Story 4:

Believing himself to be the best art critic in town, Franklyn Marsh takes great pleasure in humiliating artist Eric Landor.Getting his revenge by getting Marsh to praise a painting by a monkey,Marsh gets his revenge by running over Landor's hands.Delighted over chopping Landor's hands off,Marsh soon discovers that Landor's hands are still out for revenge.

Story 5:

Returning home with his new wife Nicolle, Dr. Bob Carroll finds her to act very odd around blood.Learning about strange bite marks appearing on a child's neck,Carroll begins to wonder if his wife has something to hide.

View on the film:

Putting the 5 unlucky guys in a carriage,the screenplay by Milton Subotsky lays a darkly comedic track for the terror train to run down.For the 6 men in the carriage, Subotsky splits things pretty evenly,with half the guys being cursed with bad luck,whilst the other ones are cursed by fragile egos. Centring each story around a distinctive "monster", Subotsky digs a little too deep into the comedy the stories,which leads to them lacking a deadly final bite.

Covering 6 stories,director Freddie Francis & cinematographer Alan Hume gives each tale a unique,stylish appearance,which goes from framing Marsh's story with picture frames across the screen,to Carroll's vampires having a light Gothic romance redness.Along with giving each story its own elegant appearance, Francis subtly wraps the film in growing green,which hints at the excellent supernatural sting awaiting the passengers.

Pulling every story out of his pack of cards, Peter Cushing gives an excellent performance as Dr. W. R. Schreck, (I wonder if he is related to Max?!)with Cushing's half-whispered murmurs giving Schreck a strikingly creepy atmosphere.Replacing original choice Acker Bilk,Rot Castle gives a toe-tapping debut as Bailey,whilst Donald Sutherland gives a terrific,scared out of his wits performance as Carroll,and Christopher Lee gives the stuck-up Franklyn Marsh a superb high level of smugness,as they all enter Dr Terrors House of Horrors.

Amicus starts here!

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 3 February 2019]

Freddie Francis is pretty dependable. Throw in the Amicus name, plus Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, and things get much better. This is the first official Amicus film, all about five men on a train from London to Bradley who meet the mysterious Doctor Schreck (Cushing), a man with a name that literally means terror. With his Tarot cards, he'll soon reveal the fates of the men on the train.

Inspired by Dead of Night, Amicus producer Milton Subotsky used this movie as his opportunity to reinvent that film. Once the formula was set, he'd follow it again and again.

In Werewolf, an architect learns that yep, a werewolf lives inside his new home and is already killing people.

Then, in Creeping Vine, Alan Freeman (the host of BBC's Top of the Pops) plays a man who can't stop a vine from growing in his garden. Look for Jeremy Kemp, M from the James Bond films, as a Ministry of Defense (spelled Defense, because we're on England, guvnah) scientist.

Voodoo is all about Bigg Bayley (Roy Castle, who broke nine World Records himself while hosting the show Record Breakers from 192 to 1994. including the world's fastest tap-dance 1,440 taps per minute, a record that is still unbroken today), a jazz musician who tries to bring a theme he's heard in a voodoo ritual into his songs. Bad idea.

Disembodied Hand is all about Christoper Lee as an art critic so harsh, he drives Michael Gough (Alfred in the Tim Burton Batman films) to suicide. Then, the man's hand comes back to life, living up to the title.

Finally, in Vampire (yes, this movie has some literal titles), Donald Sutherland is an American doctor with a new French wife who may or may not be a vampire.

Setting up the Amicus tradition, everyone on the train is already dead and Dr. Schreck is, of course, Death itself.

Also, thanks to IMDB, I have learned that Dr. Schreck's deck is the 1930 Paul Marteau version of the Marseille Tarot, which was based on the 1760 woodblocks by Nicolas Conver. You can tell this version as industrialized printing eliminated the softer tones of the original deck and replaced them with primary colors.

You can't really go wrong with these movies. And you can see how Night Train to Terror was inspired by this, too.

The Train Car.

[AaronCapenBanner · 5/10 · 25 November 2013]

Freddie Francis directed this five-part horror anthology framed by five strangers in a train car being read their futures by a mysterious fortune teller(played by Peter Cushing) via Tarot cards. Stories are: 'Werewolf' - Architect discovers a werewolf curse on a job. 'Creeping Vine' - Plants seem to have come to life with murder in mind. 'Voodoo' - A musician steals forbidden music to his regret. 'Disembodied Hand' - An art critic is pursued by the artist he killed. 'Vampire' - A young doctor discovers his new wife is a vampire. Costars Christopher Lee, Roy Castle, Donald Sutherland, Michael Gough, among others. Framing device of the train car is more effective than the five tales themselves. Marginal film does have an effective ending.