Review of From Beyond the Grave (1974) by Zarinah H — 10 Sep 2009

"From Beyond the grave" (1973) is one of the better Amicus productions. It stars Peter Cushing as the owner of an antiques store, Temptations Ltd, who sells relics that may be more than the potential buyer can handle. The movie is actually an anthology of four stories - the first stars David Warner as a customer who purchases an antique mirror from Cushing's character, and he delights in the fact that he got it at a 'bargain', effectively cheating the antiques' store owner of a profit. But, Warner's character soon learns that he got more that he expected when a seance unleashes an evil entity that demands a high price. In the second story, a henpecked husband strikes up an awkward friendship with a retired army officer [played by Donald Pleasence]. The husband steals a medal from Cushing's store, and later finds himself getting tangled up with Pleasance's character and his rather strange, otherworldly daughter, Emily. In the third story, a well-to-do man cheats Cushing by switching the price tags on a snuff box, and on his way home, finds himself confronted by a psychic, Mdm Orloff, who warns him that he is being haunted by an elemental, a parasitic spirit that sucks the very life force out of its victim. In the final story, Ian Ogilvy [who was also in another Amicus chiller] plays a man who purchases an ancient door from Cushing's store, and places it in his house, discovering to his horror that the door is a portal to a place that houses an evil spirit. Time slowly runs out for him and his wife [played by a very young Lesley Anne Down] as they try to escape a gruesome death.

The acting is top-notch for this genre, and Cushing impresses as always. Fans of atmospheric supernatural tales will love these four stories, that have a moral in them too. A must-have for fans of the genre.