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.
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.