From Beyond the Grave (1975)

Decent entertainment and I do enjoy short story segments because they have to get right to the point of which these stories do. This may not be premium movie watching but it is fine story-telling especially around camp fires and sleep-overs. They had done several of these at one point because they became popular as matinée movies. Remember those days? Two movies for a reasonable price and then add popcorn, drink and a candy to it. Go with a friend and its a nice day out. This is what you can expect if you catch this at home only you bring the food and the friend as they don't do these in the movies anymore. Too bad too. I miss the audience reaction to the stories an added bonus. Watch as each story presents ordinary people getting into extra-ordinary and some "horror" circumstances and how they handle it all. There is a nice little touch here too. Each segment is kick-started by a shop-keeper who sets up the episode and how it will go depending if you are an honest person or not. In other words, you wont be spared the horror but allowed a different outcome. You catch on to this toward the last two episodes but they should have made it plain from the first one. I have done so for you. Please enjoy the efforts of these people to entertain and to try to scare you....popcorn and snack with drink recommended

Anthology film from Amicus adapted from four short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes strung together about an antique dealer (Peter Cushing) who owns a shop called Temptations Ltd. and the fate that befalls his customers who try to cheat him.First, a cursed mirror that somehow causes its owner (David Warner) to commit the most atrocious murders, and bring home anyone he can to sate the demon's thirst. Warner and Cushing on screen together? This alone is priceless.Second, a man who is drawn more to the family of an apparent beggar than to his own family, who he has grown to despise (particularly his wife, whom he sees as a nag). The best part? Donald Pleasance. But the second best? The clever use of a sign reading "the wages of sin is death" after a lapse in moral judgment.Third, a man who finds himself attached to an "elemental" that wishes to kill his wife. Interestingly, the witch (or whatever) in this segment is named Madame Orloff. The use of "Orloff" is quite a nice choice, calling to find the films of Jess Franco and others. (Exactly what they are all referencing is unclear to me.) Last, a magic portal… you will have to see that segment yourself!

One of the best of Amicus' anthology series, From Beyond The Grave isn't as campy as the average, and has some instances of genuine horror.The camp is still there, of course, with a seemingly ad-libbing Peter Cushing as a Northern shopkeeper and Ian Carmichael breaking into an unscripted smile at Margaret Leighton's OTT turn as Madam Orloff.But there's also some genuinely nasty stuff in there, most notably David Warner as a killer of prostitutes in order to feed a ghost, and Donald Pleasence and his real-life daughter as a family practising voodoo. (Interestingly Angela Pleasence would later go on to appear in 'Scream Satan Scream!', the first episode of Steve Coogan's short-lived spoof horror series 'Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible').The first two segments and the framing story are definitely the strongest, and the memorable final two acts could perhaps have done with a fifth story to shorten their length and keep the momentum going, but this is a fine archive work.

Throughout the mid 60s and early 70s Amicus Productions churned out a series of wonderful little horror anthologies including: DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1970), ASYLUM (1972), TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972, which is my all-time favorite anthology), THE VAULT OF HORROR (1973, second best of the bunch), TORTURE GARDEN (1967), and FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1973).FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE features Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence.The film begins in an antique shop with a rather low-key yet creepy proprietor (Peter Cushing.) This is an anthology, comprised of four stories plus a wraparound (the wraparound is the 'in-between' story that ties the rest together). I love anthologies; both for the hits and the misses… my general feeling is that about half of the stories work; and, the others not so well. This is one of the exceptions to that rule.In the first story, a man buys an antique mirror. At a dinner party, he conjures up a malevolent spirit that lives within the mirror. The spirit causes him to have to bring young ladies to his abode and kill them, in order to feed the inhabitant of the mirror.Next, a lonely man with an unhappy marriage befriends a street vendor with a unmarried daughter. She helps him get rid of his nagging wife. But there's a slight catch! In the third segment, a man on a train is discovered to have an "elemental" on his shoulder. He manages to transfer this to his wife when he comes home. The loony lady from the train then comes to their home to exorcise the thing. Apparently she doesn't do quite a good job.In the last tale, a man buys a strange ornate door at the antique shop. He installs it on his supply closet at home, only to find that it occasionally creates another room on the other side. The other side is inhabited by a very unsavory character.Amicus did produce a number of different films including horror and science fiction. But the production company's strength was the horror anthology.Overall the stories in FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE are a bit more horrific than other Amicus offerings; and, a couple are down-right shocking. I love the creepy atmosphere of the shop (and, outside the shop). The first and last stories are solid bookends to a well-compiled collection.