MovieChat Forums > Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) Discussion > Amicus Anthology Series (Best Of)

Amicus Anthology Series (Best Of)

posted 2 years ago by christomacin (4532)
4 replies | jump to latest

First, an overview of what I consider to be the highlights of the seven Amicus Anthology Films and a brief rating of each framing story:

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) d. Freddie Francis
"The Severed Hand" (Christopher Lee, Michael Gough)
*excellent framing story

The Torture Garden (1967) d. Freddie Francis
"Man Who Collected Poe" (Peter Cushing, Jack Palance)
"The Mr. Steinway" (John Standing, Barbara Ewing)
*adequate framing story

The House That Dripped Blood (1971) d. Peter Duffell
"Waxworks" (Peter Cushing, Joss Ackland)
"Sweets to the Sweet" (Christopher Lee)
*adequate framing story

Asylum (1972) d. Roy Ward Baker
"The Weird Tailor" (Peter Cushing, Barry Morse)
"Lucy Comes To Stay" (Charlotte Rampling, Britt Ekland, James Villiers)
*excellent framing story

Tales from the Crypt (1972) d. Freddie Francis
"Poetic Justice" (Peter Cushing)
"...And All Through the House" (Joan Collins)
"Blind Alleys" (Patrick Magee, Nigel Patrick)
*adequate framing story

The Vault of Horror (1973) d. Roy Ward Baker
"Drawn and Quartered" (Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott)
*poor framing story

From Beyond the Grave (1974) d. Kevin Connor
" The Gatecrasher" (David Warner)
*adequate framing story

Conclusions: Tales from the Crypt is overall the best and Vault of Horror is overall the weakest. "Poetic Justice", "The Weird Tailor", "Sweets to the Sweet", "....And All Through the House", and "Blind Alleys" are the best stories. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and Asylum have the best framing stories.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I have only seen Asylum. I am watching Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) now.

[–] christomacin (4532) 2 years ago

Enjoy. They're fun, just don't expect any masterpieces.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

they are and i love cushing and lee together.

[–] Tabbycat (757) 7 months ago

The acting is mostly top-notch.
Those Brits take their acting seriously.

Cinematography, lightning, and even the sets can be very artful.

Someone dissed Subotsky’s writing, but I’m halfway through Dr. Terror and I am pretty impressed.

By “Tales From the Crypt”, which is close to a masterpiece, they had really honed their craft.
Check how quickly that film gets down to business: a full credit sequence over exterior shots of an ancient crypt at dusk sets the mood for a ghoulishly lit introduction to the catacombs and the group touring. Then a foreshadowing, a baiting, and a trap set. All that in seven and-a-half minutes flat, and we’re into our first story.

These are well-made films — all of them.