From Beyond the Grave - 1974

 

From Beyond the Grave - 1974

Terror to delight worshipers of the Macabre.  

     From Beyond the Grave is an anthology of 4 stories written by British author R. Chetwynd-Hayes connected by use of an antique shop.  The stories include The Gate Crasher about a man who purchases a mirror at the shop that is a portal to underworld, An Act of Kindness about an unhappily family man who befriends a veteran and his daughter, The Elemental about a man who has a chance meeting with a medium who tells him he's got a demon on his shoulder, and The Door about a man who purchases an ornate door for his home and finds out the door opens to another dimension.

     Amicus Productions released several anthology horror films during the 70's and in my opinion this is the best, not to say that the others are lacking in any way.  From Beyond the Grave has this rather nasty and gloomy atmosphere that affects me more than the jump scares or visceral horror of today.  My favorite segment is The Gate Crasher which is very similar to Julia's plot in Hellraiser.  It involves a man who buys an antique mirror and a spirit who requires blood in order to return to the land of the living.  My least favorite segment is The Elemental.  Its like a lot of segments in anthology movies meant to lighten the mood with a comedic twist.  Its not bad and I don't skip it when watching the movie but at the same time its still a weak link.

 I find it amusing that Donald and Angela Pleasence are playing father and daughter in this movie.  I always love it when they do this in movies  This is my first time seeing her.  Heck I didn't even know he had a daughter.  She looks exactly like him too and I can't help but find her attractive.  This raises all kinds of troubling questions about my sexuality like do I really want to sleep with Donald Pleasence.

     Amicus seemed to be picking up where Hammer Films left off by leading the way in the field of British horror.  I feel like anyone who's a fan of the Hammer films is also going to be a fan of Amicus largely because they employed a lot of the same actors(Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing).  The characters are well developed, its well acted, and the stories are spooky.  I honestly can't think of a better movie to watch for Halloween. 90/100