Director: Freddie Francis
Year: 1972
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
During a museum tour, five strangers get separated and lost from the others. Trapped inside a strange tomb, they all meet a mysterious monk who begins to tell them how they are going to die.
Review:
And All Through the House-After murdering her husband on Christmas, a woman tries to hide it from her daughter. While trying to dispose of the body, she hears an announcement that a killer has escaped from a mental institution and is on the loose. Realizing that the killer is right outside her door, she tries to hide both the body and herself. After an attempt to break into the house, she finally hides the body in the basement and cleans up the crime scene. After a strange set of keys on the table alerts her that the killer is in the house, who is dressed as Santa Claus, her daughter inadvertently lets him into the house. What ruins this for me is that the Christmas music that is blaring throughout the entire story, while appropriate, is completely intrusive on the rest of the action. Suspense is shattered when music plays during scenes where tension should be. Instead, the happy Christmas sounds take you right out of the moment anything happens. It is, in fact, so loud that all other sounds except for a small amount of other noise are drowned out by it being played at the same volume as well. When she is three rooms away from the radio, we still hear it at the exact same level.
Reflection of Death-After saying he has to go out for the night on business, a man instead heads out to see his mistress. Deadly tired from a long day of work, she offers to drive instead. While sleeping, his nightmares accidentally force them off the road, and they crash. Stumbling away from the wreckage, everyone he meets acts like he is the devil incarnate. Making it back to her apartment, he learns that she survived the accident but became permanently blind. Seeing his face in a picture, he realizes that he is a zombie, which wakes him up from his dream. This has to be my favorite of the stories, for the punch-line at the end is so well thought out that it simply hits and hits well. This is the one I don't want to spoil, and is the main reason why this is recommended.
Poetic Justice-After spying on his neighbor, a man is appalled at how well liked he is by all the neighborhood kids and frames his dogs for digging up a neighbor's roses. After further acts of hatred against him leave the man even more humiliated, he simply vanishes on Valentine's Day after suffering his greatest humiliation. Wondering where he is, he goes over to check and see that he has hung himself in the bathroom. On the anniversary of his wife's death, the man returns for his final vengeance. What really sold this one was how well Cushing did in portraying Arthur. He really brought out a certain kindness and sympathy in his role. I can't speak enough about how well Cushing was in this story, and it is a major reason for watching this particular one. The story might be a little cliché and can be seen coming a mile away, as the supernatural vengeance here seems the most appropriate based on the treatment within, and the finale's pretty tense as well.
Wish You Were Here-In danger of declaring bankruptcy, a man finds a rare Chinese statue on his mantelpiece of acquisitions and learns that the statue is very similar to a monkey's paw. A wish is made for him to come into money, but on the way to receive it, he is accidentally killed. His wife wishes him alive again, but he is in so much pain that he can't stop screaming. Trying to hack him to pieces, she realizes that her wish was for him to be alive forever. What ruined this one was that it really only served as a way of introducing a swift punch-line at the end. It never gave me a jump as the other ones did, and I never really felt any emotion other than boredom during this story. It does have a cool gore scene when she hacks him up, and we can see his insides, but it is so obviously a set of pig intestines used. It is recommended only for that one cool scene, but it sticks out from the other scenes for its fake-ness.
Blind Alleys-Inheriting a retirement villa, a former Army Major runs it so shabbily that the residents are appalled at their treatment. Deciding to get rid of him, they build a giant tunnel full of razor wires that he has to successfully get through to live. Even though it is the longest of the stories, nothing of real importance happens until the very end. This is where the famous still shots of the movie come from, and it is a real famous one too, given plenty of impressive work here due to the build-up here in that uneventful first half that is all part of what leads to that point. It's a real showstopper and serves to end this on a high note.
Overview: ****.5/5
One of the best in the genre, this is a standout entry in the style and has some really likable segments overall that manage to hold off a few problematic aspects here that do hold this back. Those with an appreciation for this era of the genre, who appreciate the style, or who are huge fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like, while most others out there should heed caution.
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