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1973 - UK Directed By: Kevin Connor. Starring: Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen, Donald Pleasence, Ian Carmichael, David Warner, Ian Ogilvy, Diana Dors, Margaret Leighton, Lesley-Anne Down, Nyree Dawn Porter, Angela Pleasence and Jack Watson.
Aka
Creatures
Creatures from Beyond the Grave
Tales from Beyond the Grave
Tales from the Beyond
The Undead
Current Availability
After years of unavailability From Beyond The Grave was finally released on both US R1 and UK R2 DVD courtesy of Warner. While neither release contains any extras other than the theatrical trailer the widescreen presentation quality is terrific and will surely satisfy this films many fans.
Recommended?
Although it is (in my personal opinion) one of the lesser of Amicus Productions' seven famed British horror anthologies, From Beyond The Grave is still an entertaining and often moderately creepy effort that fans of British horror cinema will no doubt enjoy. None of the four tales are exceptional but all are solid and that combined with fine atmosphere, spirited performances from a terrific ensemble cast and the memorable wraparound story involving Peter Cushing as a sinister antique shop owner make From Beyond The Grave an entertaining if rather inessential treat.
Review
Amongst the many aficionados of British horror cinema Hammer’s closest rivals Amicus command a not insignificant measure of affection. Founded by American duo Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky – the latter of whom defined the companies creative direction – Amicus whilst never rivaling Hammer carved out a niche for themselves in the field of British horror and science fiction during the golden age of the sixties and early seventies. While the Amicus filmography is a relatively varied one the studio remain best known for series of seven horror anthology films which took their structure from the Ealing Studio’s portmanteau classic Dead Of Night and much of their thematic inspiration from the infamous EC horror comics of the fifties. In contrast to the gothic horrors of Hammer, the Amicus anthologies usually offered an assortment of macabre yet often blackly comic short form morality plays with corrupt and morally bankrupt protagonists meeting grisly ends. Beginning in 1965 with Dr Terror’s House Of Horrors and moving onto gems such as Torture Garden and Asylum the run of Amicus anthology films would reach its zenith with the magnificent British horror classic Tales From The Crypt (1972). Directed by the great Freddie Francis and based around five tales taken directly from the famed EC comics Tales From The Crypt would arguably prove to be Amicus’ finest hour. Ironically Amicus’ anthology series would enjoy a downturn in fortune just a year later following the release of the markedly less successful Vault Of Horror (1973) which directly adapted several more vintage EC tales this with rather middling results. The EC copyright holders were displeased with Vault Of Horror to such as extent that they flatly refused Amicus permission to adapt any further EC tales for the screen.
However, Amicus were not about to give up on their largely successful anthology format and quickly fired back with the cult favourite From Beyond The Grave later that same year. The directorial debut of journeyman filmmaker Kevin Connor From Beyond The Grave would be based upon several short stories by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes, offering five typically bloodcurdling tales contained within a framing device featuring Peter Cushing as a wily antique shop owner. Featuring a sparkling cast including the aforementioned Cushing, Donald Pleasance, Ian Bannen, Diana Dors, David Warner and Ian Ogilvy to name but a few, From Beyond The Grave would mark a fitting close to Amicus’ much loved anthology cycle.
Whereas the most famous Hammer Horror efforts have enjoyed numerous worthy home video incarnations over the years, the distribution of the Amicus oeuvre by contrast has been somewhat patchy to say the least especially here in the studios native UK. Of all Amicus’ efforts From Beyond The Grave has suffered more than most. Having never been released officially on video here in the UK most fans have had to content themselves over the last few decades with the washed out looking NTSC VHS tape. Therefore British horror aficionado’s breathed a collective sigh of relief when Warner’s finally gave From Beyond The Grave its much anticipated DVD debut in October 2007.
From Beyond The Grave revolves around the antique and oddity shop Temptations Ltd. The shop is visited by a succession of customers who attempt to thieve from, con or deceive the shops odd yet seemingly harmless proprietor (Cushing). Little do these light-fingered and dishonest characters know that their misdemeanours will result in a horrific comeuppance for each of them.
In the films opening story The Gate Crasher brash man about town Edward Charlton (Warner) deliberately misleads the proprietor into selling him a valuable antique mirror for a ridiculously small sum. His deception comes back to haunt him when following an ill-advised séance he begins experiencing terrifying visitations via said mirror from an evil spirit which commands the offering of human blood. Soon Charlton is plunged into a nightmare of insanity and murder as he is forced into prowling the streets in search of young women to slaughter in order to appease the bloodthirsty entity.
In An Act of Kindness Ian Bannen stars as mild mannered office manager Christopher Lowe who is trapped in a loveless marriage with his bullying, abusive wife Mabel (Dors). The unhappy Lowe soon strikes up an unlikely rapport with Jim Underwood (played by the one and only Donald Pleasence) – a former serviceman now down on his luck and reduced to pedalling matches and bootlaces in the street. In a bid to impress his new acquaintance Lowe steals a highly prized medal from Temptations Ltd in order to support his fabricated claims of military decoration. The ploy works and Lowe is soon welcomed with open arms into Underwood home where he makes the acquaintance of Jim’s attractive but curiously withdrawn grown up daughter Emily (played by Pleasence’s real daughter Angela) where he finds temporary silence from the misery of his own home. Not long afterwards Mabel dies under mysterious circumstances leaving Lowe free to marry Angela with whom he had previously been enjoying an extramarital affair. However, Lowe’s newfound happiness turns out to be very short-lived as he discovers in horrifying fashion that the Underwood’s harbour their own secret agenda.
The third story The Elemental begins with Reggie Warren (Carmichael) deliberately swapping the price tags on two snuff boxes in order to purchase a more expensive box for just £4. Evidently pleased with his underhand spot of deception Warren sets out on the train journey home. He is joined in his carriage by eccentric female medium Madame Orloff (Leighton) who informs him much to his dismay that he has an Elemental perched on his shoulder – an invisible, malevolent being which yearns for the pleasures of the flesh. Warren dismisses her claims but soon changes his tune when upon his return home his beloved wife Susan (Dawn Porter) is repeatedly attacked by an unseen force. In his desperation Warren enlists the assistance of Madame Orloff to drive out the Elemental but her intervention ultimately makes things much worse for Warren.
Finally From Beyond The Grave concludes with The Door in which hard up William (Ogilvy) visits Temptations Ltd and spends £40 he can ill afford on a curious looking antique door. When the proprietor momentarily leaves the cash register unattended William momentarily seems to contemplate swiping back his £40 but tellingly refrains from doing so. Back home William installs his new purchase as the door to his stationary cupboard but is plunged into the heart of a mystery when he opens the door only to discover a mysterious room beyond the door bathed in an eerie blue light. William and his wife Rosemary (Down) soon discover that the mysterious room is the lair of a wicked necromancer from the reign of King Charles II who has evil designs upon the happy young couple. Are William and Rosemary doomed or will William’s earlier honesty save him from the same sort of gruesome fate meted out to Temptations Ltd’s three previous customers?
The Gate Crasher gets things off to a strong start despite feeling somewhat rushed. The central séance is atmospherically unsettling and the perennially reliable David Warner is terrific as Carl, beautifully conveying the young man about towns spiraling descent into insanity as the horror of his predicament sets in. Second tale An Act of Kindness is by far the gem of the collection. Unlike the rather hurried opening yarn this story is afforded plentiful time to develop and unfolds with a pleasing subtlety en route to its startling and altogether unexpected twist denouement. The performances in this chapter are universally excellent with Ian Bannen suitably restrained as the mild mannered and ultimately rather sympathetic Lowe. Aging sex siren Diana Dors lends a deliciously poisonous supporting turn as Lowe’s thoroughly unpleasant wife and the legendary Donald Pleasence is as good as ever as the seemingly benevolent and unassuming ex serviceman turned street peddler Underwood who is not as benign as he initially seems. The real surprise here though is Pleasence’s real life daughter Angela in the role (funnily enough) of Underwood’s daughter Emily. Her alluring, enigmatic and oddly unsettling presence is the highlight of the tale. The third offering The Elemental sticks out like a sore thumb in that it is for the most part a decidedly light-hearted piece played primarily for laughs. A delightfully over the top performance from one time Oscar nominee Margaret Leighton as the eccentric medium Madame Orloff delivers the requisite amusement right up until the finale where events take a sudden and unexpected – if somewhat contrived – shift into much darker territory resulting in perhaps the most palpable chill From Beyond The Grave has to offer. The film then concludes with The Door which is a something of a horror by the numbers affair but a passable enough way to round out the film with Ian Ogilvy as solidly personable as always and a genuinely creepy, visually arresting sequence in which he explores the mysterious, sinister blue room which appears intermittently behind the door of the title. Ironically however, the excellent wraparound sequence is actually more memorable than any of the four stories and is arguably the best framing device that Amicus would formulate for any of their seven anthology opuses. The ramshackle interior of Temptations Ltd is wonderfully atmospheric with all its odd little knick knacks and just as wonderful is Peter Cushing as the shops equally ramshackle proprietor. Whilst arguably cast against type the Gentleman of Horror is tremendous fun as he covertly observes the misdemeanors of his thrifty customers and delivers amusing tongue in cheek lines such as “hope you enjoy snuffing it sir”.
It is perhaps not entirely unfair to say that years of unavailability have actually in some ways done From Beyond The Grave a favour. Indeed years of clamour amongst British horror fans for a reissue has played no small part in making From Beyond The Grave one of the most revered films in the Amicus cannon. In actuality however, From Beyond The Grave in the opinion of this reviewer is easily one of the lesser Amicus anthology pieces. Whilst the basic format remains very much the same, From Beyond The Grave for the most part does away with the playful sense of darkly comic irony that had characterised most of Amicus’ prior horror omnibuses and instead adopts a more dry and straight-faced approach to its cavalcade of terrors. The problem is that while all four are pleasantly creepy none of the four tales ever come close to being truly chilling and the lack of any of the gleeful EC-ish gruesomeness that defined Amicus’ previous anthologies is rather disappointing. To his credit first time director Kevin Connor’s work is seldom anything less than tightly efficient and on occasion encapsulates moments of genuine atmosphere. However, Connor’s direction whilst competent and occasionally even inspired lacks the macabre sparkle that Freddie Francis or even Roy Ward Baker could potentially have bought to the table. Connor’s later American based forays within the horror genre the southern fried horror comedy Motel Hell (1980) and the oriental flavoured haunted house story The House Where Evil Dwells (1982) would be directed in similarly precise yet uninspired fashion.
Having said that From Beyond The Grave is still certainly a sufficiently entertaining diversion with all four tales proving at least solid if not especially exceptional. If nothing else From Beyond The Grave at least represents an engaging example of the then dwindling British horror genre which was at the time in a state of sudden commercial and some would say creative decline as audiences worldwide shifted their attentions towards the more overt horrors being offered by American offerings such as The Exorcist and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In some ways time has been kind to From Beyond The Grave while in other respects it has been less so. At best the horror is only modestly horrifying and the occasional stabs at comedy only modestly amusing but largely enthusiastic performances from the terrific ensemble cast add considerable extra spice to what could otherwise have been a rather humdrum affair. It is hard not to draw comparisons between this and Amicus’ previous six experiments with the anthology format and in doing so it must be said that despite its reputation as something of a favourite amongst British horror cultists From Beyond The Grave is not a patch on either Tales From The Crypt or Asylum. However, in its own right From Beyond The Grave is an atmospheric, sometimes creepy, sometimes amusing and beautifully acted conclusion to Amicus’ much loved run of horror compendiums. Over thirty years on it’s hard to see anyone being bowled over by From Beyond The Grave but the discerning British horror film lover should still find plenty to enjoy nevertheless.
Also Try… Dr Terror’s House Of Horrors / Torture Garden / The House That Dripped Blood / Asylum (1972, Roy Ward Baker) / Tales From The Crypt / Vault Of Horror / Tales That Witness Madness / Creepshow / Dead Of Night (1945, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer & Albert Cavalcanti).
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