Starring: Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Diana Dors, Margaret Leighton Directed By: Kevin Connor Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: September 25, 2007 Running Time: 97 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 1975
Good film ^ Good film made in the 70's. The stories are good and similar to those of Tales from the crypt and Vault of horror.
The Grave Review ^ A well done title with good stories in it. Well worth watching, my personal favorite was the ghostly painting of the French killer come to life. Nevertheless, all the stories in the movie are great, so pick this one up. Next to the Legend of Hell House, this is a great buy.
"Oh, and a big novelty surprise comes with each purchase." ^ The above is a quote from the movie. "From Beyond the grave" (1973) is one of the better Amicus productions. It stars Peter Cushing as the owner of an antiques store, Temptations Ltd, who sells relics that may be more than the potential buyer can handle. The movie is actually an anthology of four stories - the first stars David Warner as a customer who purchases an antique mirror from Cushing's character, and he delights in the fact that he got it at a 'bargain', effectively cheating the antiques' store owner of a profit. But, Warner's character soon learns that he got more that he expected when a seance unleashes an evil entity that demands a high price. In the second story, a henpecked husband strikes up an awkward friendship with a retired army officer [played by Donald Pleasence]. The husband steals a medal from Cushing's store, and later finds himself getting tangled up with Pleasance's character and his rather strange, otherworldly daughter, Emily. In the third story, a well-to-do man cheats Cushing by switching the price tags on a snuff box, and on his way home, finds himself confronted by a psychic, Mdm Orloff, who warns him that he is being haunted by an elemental, a parasitic spirit that sucks the very life force out of its victim. In the final story, Ian Ogilvy [who was also in another Amicus chiller] plays a man who purchases an ancient door from Cushing's store, and places it in his house, discovering to his horror that the door is a portal to a place that houses an evil spirit. Time slowly runs out for him and his wife [played by a very young Lesley Anne Down] as they try to escape a gruesome death.
The acting is top-notch for this genre, and Cushing impresses as always. Fans of atmospheric supernatural tales will love these four stories, that have a moral in them too. A must-have for fans of the genre.
From Beyond the Grave (1975)-A notch better for Amicus ^ I first saw From Beyond the Grave in 1975 (at Co-Op City Cinema) when it played in the Bronx. I saw it with my then bride to be and an old friend who was also a seasoned horror film buff. Naturally, we enjoyed this Amicus film and my future wife thought we were both crazy. Actually, this film was a cut above other Amicus productions since it featured Peter Cushing as the owner of the curio shop (Temptations) and the common link between the tales. The first story was pretty weak, but the next two were really fine. This DVD is a good buy for any fans of Amicus films.
Briefly, Peter Cushing, who plays the owner of Temptations wants to tempt you with some curio in his shop. If you secumb he provides a "surprise gift with every purchase". Customers who switch pricing labels, shoplift or some other similar act are dispatched with their special surprise ending.
Perhaps the best of the old Amicus horror anthologies ^ I've always loved horror anthologies, and Amicus produced some true classics (Tales from the Crypt & Asylum are also personal favorites of mine). This one is a fore-runner to TV shows like "Friday the 13th-The Series" and Stephen King's novel Needful Things (which, incidentally, was also clearly inspired by Richard Matheson's short story "The Distributor").
The film revolves around Temptations Ltd., a London antique shop run by a mysterious proprietor (Peter Cushing) whose motto is "Offers You Cannot Resist." The shop provides the wrap-around story for the other 4 tales, each involving a different customer.
Each story involves some element of the supernatural, but unlike "Friday the 13th-The Series" or King's Needful Things, the supernatural aspect is not always linked directly to the item purchased from the antique shop. In 2 of the stories, the customer encounters the supernatural (albeit unknowingly) even before he sets foot inside Temptations, Ltd. In the other 2 stories, the item purchased from the shop is tied directly to the supernatural, as the item is "haunted" or "cursed" of some malevolent being or spirit.
However, the OUTCOME of each story is very much related to the manner in which the customers deal with the shop's proprietor. Cheat the proprietor, steal from him, or attempt to deceive him, and your future becomes very grim, for as Cushing laments in the final scene, "The love of money truly is the root of all evil."
Very highly recommended for classic horror film enthusiasts.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
