A vintage horror film financed by Amicus from producers Max Rosemberg and Milton Subotsky with a Great British Cast and formed by several episodes full of creepy events , chills, thrills , gore and guts. It stars with five strangers visiting eerie and old catacumbas .Later on , they find themselves at a grotto with the sinister Crypt Keeper , Ralph Richardson , the mysterious host tells them how each of the strangers will die . As they receive fantastic visions about their future . And now ...who is next....

It deals with 5 segments titled: All through the house, Reflection of death , Poetic Justice , Wish you were here, and Blind alleys , all of them are filled with mystery , suspense , terror , grisly killings , twisted events and horrible happenings . The British star-studded results to be pretty good with a plethora of notorious actors as Joan Collins , Richard Greene who a bit later on he passed away at the age of seventh four ,Ian Henry , the great Peter Cushing as a widower who often used an ouija to talk with his deceased wife , Roy Dotrice , Nigel Patrick , Patrick Magee and Ralph Richardson as the creepy Crypt Keeper who shot this major role in a day . Most stories previously appeared in American comic books as Tales of Crypt from EC comics as well as in The haunt of fear. Colorful , adequate cinematograhy by Norman Warwick , shot at Shepperton studios . It was compellingly accompanied by a thrilling and suspenseful musical score.

The motion picture was well and professionally directed by Freddie Francis . He was an expert cameraman who photographed prestigious films such as The straight story , Cape fear , Glory , Dune, The elephant man , Night must fall , The innocents, Room at the top and Hell in Korea . He also directed some movies , many of them terror films such as Dark tower , Doctor and the devils , The ghoul , Legend of werewolf , The creeping flesh , Trog , Torture garden , The skull , House of horrors , The evil of Frankenstein , Nighmare , Paranoiac , The brain and directed Tales of the Crypt TV series , episode 2 season 7 , titled Last respects. Rating : Above average . The motion picture will appeal to terror movies fans .

"Tales from the Crypt" should not be confused with the later HBO series. This one is instead a British movie whose stories are inspired by the EC comic. And, while none of the vignettes were brilliant, considering how godawful the people were, it is enjoyable seeing them punished for their misdeeds. The story consists of five scumbags all coming to see the crypt keeper (Ralph Richardson) and him showing why they've earned eternal damnation.

If you care, the vignettes consists of the following: 1. A wife (Joan Collins) murders her husband on Christmas Eve...and an escaped maniac dressed as Santa attacks.

2. A husband would rather spend his evening with his mistress instead of his wife and kids. A traffic accident interrupts their plans.

3. A rich jerk hates a poor neighbor and wants to drive the man to leave town and never return. This isn't exactly what actually happens.

4. This one is a retelling of the classic 'monkey's paw' story and in this case an unscrupulous man gets his. However, the ending confused me and was inconsistent, as he supposedly could NOT die.

5. A jerk is in charge of a home for the blind. He runs it much like the orphanage in "Oliver Twist" and the twist is that the residents can only take so much until the worms turn.

As I mentioned above, none of the five tales were brilliant but they were satisfying. Well worth seeing....just to see folks get what's coming to them.

This is an Amicus anthology, one which has basically the same formula and feel as DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS and THE VAULT OF HORROR, in that it deals with a group of people who are told stories of their death. The first story, the tale of the Santa murderer, is strictly average, but remains interesting in that it is unique and an early example of the typical slasher film which was churned out over and over again in the 1980s. Nowadays, the sight of seeing Collins, a respected actress who is more famous for DYNASTY than her early horrors, is definitely a nostalgic one. The second segment is a clever take on a typical ghost story but rarely rises above mediocrity.

The third story is the best of the whole lot and possibly the best story in any Amicus anthology. Cushing won an award for his role as the old man who becomes a zombie. There is fine acting on display here especially from Cushing, and the theme is excellent. It's a classic tale of revenge and people getting what they deserve and could be used as the best example to illustrate this genre as a whole. It comes directly from the EC comics from the '50s and is similar to the stories used in CREEPSHOW. Along with all this, Cushing has some simple yet great zombie makeup (gauze was put over his eyes, enabling him to see) which utilises those famous cheekbones, and the shot of him climbing from his grave is a classic shuddery moment.

There are some clever twists in the fourth story, making it very macabre and it provokes genuine chills as well as laughs. It also has the same crawling hand in it which we have seen in two previous British films, including AND NOW THE SCREAMIN STARTS. Richard Greene stars, and he's put on a lot of weight since his ROBIN HOOD days. The bit in the coffin at the end is truly grotesque. The fifth story has a superb performance from Patrick Magee, and a horrible scene involving razor blades! It's a lot like a nightmare and also represents the genre at its best. Richardson says a brilliant final line to the camera "Who's next... could it be you?" and then the music, the Toccata in D Minor, comes up, ending an above-average selection of stories which are well worth seeing. TALES FROM THE CRYPT is just about the best of the best in terms of anthology films and is the cream of British talent in the early 1970s. Definitely one for the collection.