Review of Tales from the Crypt (1972) by Brian C — 06 Jan 2015

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, Amicus Productions developed and released a little over two dozen films from the science fiction and horror genres, as well as a couple of musicals and dramas here and there.

Their bigger successes were their portmanteau horror films, or horror anthology films, including Tales From the Crypt. It's much more serious in tone than any of the other horror anthologies that the company made, and as a consequence, is a lot more memorable.

The other films have a much broader sense of humor and don't take themselves as seriously. Obviously, the film isn't entirely devoid of humor, both intentional and unintentional, but it has some of the more heart-stopping and chilling moments that catch you off guard.

The opening titles, for example, feature a rendition of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor over them, which is one of the creepiest pieces of music ever written. It adds to the atmosphere perfectly, and keeps you on edge for the rest of the film, at least to me.

If I had to pick a film wherein the opening title sequence sets up the atmosphere of a horror film the best, it would have to be this one. All of the stories in the film come from different EC comic book sources and not just from the film's namesake, but they're all effective in different ways.

In actual fact, the film carries the broadest range of story material overall. Not all of the stories are the finest kind, but they're much more varied. Credit also has to be given to Freddie Francis, a veteran cinematographer who took a turn at directing some horror films, making some great ones in the process.

Thanks to him, Tales From the Crypt is a beautiful horror film that, while dated, continues to hold up best amongst all of the horror anthology films because of how well-made it is.