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Tales From the Crypt is a movie, that is different than most horror movies. It starts out with people wandering through a tomb on a tour, they stray away and end up locked in a crypt with a strange man in it. He tells them stories about what happened or what is about to happen to them.

The movie itself is stylishly made, and somewhat suspenseful. The acting in it is above par, and although the film itself never goes to being a triumph, it does stay entertaining till the end, to a shocking final twist. But I must say even though the film is PG, it's like JAWS, it has quite a bit of violence and blood in it, and parents should be warned that if this was released now it would be PG-13.

So if you're a fan of thrillers that are intelligent, scary, and stylish, Tales From the Crypt is one for you. And if you're one that just wants to waste a couple of hours, this is a fun movie, that you won't regret seeing.

Five people wander off on a tour and come upon the crypt-keeper. Each tells his or her last memory. Each one confesses to doing something wrong. The crypt-keeper listens to each before telling the five what has happened to them and where they are. Easily this is one of the best Amicus horror anthologies. It is well-crafted, well-acted, and suitably directed by genre stalwart Freddie Francis. All of the stories are pretty good, with three standing out. The first story about Christmas and a loose killer is well-done and shocking for its day. The best story stars Peter Cushing as a genial old man suffering desolation and humiliation from a heart-less(no pun intended) neighbor. Cushing does a wonderful job here, and in a way it is a sad performance as it was made shortly after the death of his long-time wife Helen. The last story is almost as good about a group of blind residents who stop taking being treated poorly and give out punishment to a military man with razor-sharp justice. Patrick Magee and Nigel Patrick both excel in this little vignette. The frame story is also well-executed and Sir Ralph Richardson hams it up amicably as the keeper of the crypt. A great group of frightening stories...each with a moral of sorts.

Horror anthologies are invariably a mixed bag and Tales from the Crypt is no different in that respect. Five horror stories of fluctuating quality, it is however one of the best of the bunch and arguably the best from the house of Amicus.

The wrap around has five people taking a tour of spooky catacombs who get lured into a hidden crypt where a cowl wearing man reveals to them exactly why they are there.

Stories 3 & 5 are the better efforts here, boosted considerably by top grade lead character performances from Peter Cushing and Patrick Magee, but as always with anthology movies, there's something for everyone. So roll the dice horror fans and take a chance, this is great fun, a real popcorn and wine night in by the fire. 7/10

Based on the old (and rather controversial) E.C. Comics of the mid-20th century, this horror anthology is an above average entry in an intriguing (and all but dead) genre. Here there is a tour group seen roaming through some ancient catacombs with five attendees obstinately staying behind, despite numerous warnings to stick close together. They find themselves severed from the group and wind up in a tomb-like room with creepy Richardson in a monk's robe doling out orders and insights. The quintet is made to sit while each one gets a glimpse into his or her recent life. Thus the five brief stories are presented in order, each one with a morbid, ironic or gory twist to it. Collins (looking svelte and attractive) is in the first one. She splits her husband's head open as he's benignly reading the newspaper while cheery Christmas music plays on the soundtrack. (Hilariously, she kicks him down the steps while "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" drones on.) Before she can properly dispose of his body, an escaped mental patient in a Santa suit starts terrorizing her! Then Hendry is shown leaving his wife and children for a younger woman. A fateful experience on the freeway changes his life forever. Next up, snooty Phillips is being driven up the wall by his neighbor - kindly, but eccentric, old man Cushing. Phillips continuously thwarts Cushing until he gives up...but does he? A fourth tale features Greene (as a greedy gunrunner) who is forced to part with his possessions, but his wife spies an inscription on an old statuette and discovers that she can use it to ask for three wishes. This doesn't work out quite as optimistically as she had hoped. Finally, Patrick is a militant, heartless administrator of a home for the blind. He pushes the male inhabitants there to their limit and winds up paying dearly for his sins. Though no story gets enough time spent on it to really flesh it out to it's greatest potential, most of them are really intriguing and usually very well acted. The spareness of the locations and effects help set a rather desolate and chilly mood. The finest acting is probably provided by Cushing in a very atypical role. The most memorable vignette is the last one which features an unforgettable comeuppance. Fans of British horror (and especially of anthologies) will rank this pretty highly, but it's interesting enough to lure other viewers as well.

Amicus Studios, best known for their anthology films nailed it with this effort from 1972. With five solid stories to chill your bones, this anthology is one of my favorite films, bar none. The film is packed with a solid cast that includes; Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, Ian Hednry and Richard Greene, just to name a few. My personal faves from this anthology would be; All Through the House, Poetic Justice and Wish You Were Here, but all five stories are really well done. The Peter Cushing story is particularly touching, Cushing does a wonderful job of playing a sad man, mourning the death of his wife, in his story, which very much paralleled Cushing's own life, as he was still in mourning over the recent loss of his own wife. If you're a fan of the macabre, then you owe it to yourself to seek this 1972 film out, it is quite tame by today's standards as far as blood and gore go, but the chill factor is definitely there.