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.
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.