From Beyond the Grave (1974)

Anthology film from Amicus adapted from four short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes strung together about an antique dealer who owns a shop called Temptations Ltd. and the fate that befalls his... See full summary »

Director:

Kevin Connor

Writers:

R. Chetwynd-Hayes (stories), Raymond Christodoulou,

Stars:

Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Peter Cushing

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Bannen	...	Christopher Lowe (segment 2 "An Act of Kindness")
Ian Carmichael	...	Reginald Warren (segment 3 "The Elemental")
Peter Cushing	...	The Proprietor
Diana Dors	...	Mabel Lowe (segment 2 "An Act of Kindness")
Margaret Leighton	...	Madame Orloff (segment 3 "The Elemental")
Donald Pleasence	...	Jim Underwood (segment 2 "An Act of Kindness")
Nyree Dawn Porter	...	Susan Warren (segment 3 "The Elemental")
David Warner	...	Edward Charlton (segment 1 "The Gate Crasher")
Angela Pleasence	...	Emily Underwood (segment 2 "An Act of Kindness")
Ian Ogilvy	...	William Seaton (segment 4 "The Door")
Lesley-Anne Down	...	Rosemary Seaton (segment 4 "The Door")
Jack Watson	...	Sir Michael Sinclair (segment 4 "The Door")
Wendy Allnutt	...	Pamela (segment 1 "The Gate Crasher")
Rosalind Ayres	...	Prostitute - Edward's first victim (segment 1 "The Gate Crasher")
Tommy Godfrey	...	Mr. Jeffries (segment 1 "The Gate Crasher")

Storyline

Anthology film from Amicus adapted from four short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes strung together about an antique dealer who owns a shop called Temptations Ltd. and the fate that befalls his customers who try to cheat him. Stories include "The Gate Crasher" with David Warner who frees an evil entity from an antique mirror, "An Act of Kindness" featuring Donald Pleasence, "The Elemental", and "The Door".

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Plot Keywords:

antique | shop | anthology | mirror | antique dealer | 

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Taglines:

THE CREATURES - They Came From Beyond The Grave! They weren't born!! They were kicked out of HELL!!!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Creatures

Filming Locations:

Highgate Cemetery, Swain's Lane, Highgate, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marcel Steiner was dubbed by Robert Rietty

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Goofs

In "The Elemantal" scene when the mans wife is scratched by the elemental, we see claw marks on her shoulder, which have disappeared by the time they are in bed later

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Quotes

The Proprietor: I hope you enjoy snuffing it.

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Connections

Follows Tales from the Crypt (1972)

User Reviews

Peter Cushing has all kinds of temptations in his very special antique store.

Another anthology horror movie from Amicus, this time based on the stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes and directed by Kevin Connor, this one deserves to be regarded as one of the very best. Because it is.

The framing story of this movie revolves around an antique shop run by Peter Cushing. People visit the shop and usually try to "pull a fast one" and grab themselves a bargain/freebie. What they don't realise is that giving in to their temptation (and the store itself is called "Temptations Ltd.") will see them leave with an object that will bring about some dire consequences.

In the first story David Warner drives a very hard bargain indeed to get himself a mirror and then, one seance later, finds that the mirror contains a presence that needs sacrifices. As the death count rises, the mirror's inhabitant gets stronger while Warner gets weaker.

The second story sees Ian Bannen as a hen-pecked husband who ends up stealing a war medal from the shop to befriend an ex-serviceman (Donald Pleasence) who now sells goods on a street corner. As Bannen gets to spend less time with his nagging wife (Diana Dors) and more time with his new friend and the man's daughter (played by Angela Pleasence, Donald's daughter) things seem to be getting better and better, though there is a hint of the sinister about the situation.

Story number three has Ian Carmichael as a man who gets a snuff box at a bargain price, after swapping the tags, and then is plagued by an elemental sitting on his shoulder. Nobody can see the elemental, except for a psychic woman (Margaret Leighton) who offers to help, but it's there alright and it's causing trouble.

And finally, Ian Ogilvy buys a large, ornate door that he then fits in his home. Everything gets a bit strange when the door opens up into a large, blue room that shouldn't be there and could actually be a trap for anyone who stumbles into it.

With just the right balance between scares and character moments, From Beyond The Grave is never less than entertaining and is frequently a joy to watch. The first story has some impressive spookiness to it, the second tale is ominous even when nothing much seems to be occurring, the third tale is a nice balance of comedy and the supernatural and the last story is strong enough for a decent finale (and also has a nice twist linked to the wraparound material).

The acting is all pretty solid, the script has some particularly nice exchanges between Cushing and his customers ("enjoy snuffing it" made me laugh out loud) and the material is so good that it doesn't seem to drag in between the more effective sequences. I highly recommend this movie to fans of anthology horrors, even if others only end up enjoying the wonderful performance from Peter Cushing which is worth the asking price alone.

N.B. Horror fans may, as I did, find it amusing to wonder if this movie was a favourite of Clive Barker - the first tale has a distinct Hellraiser feel to it while the third reminded me of The Yattering And Jack (one of my favourite tales from The Books Of Blood)