This movie is a collection of five stories/segments which may have been terrifying horror when the movie was released in 1972 but now they may not really fit into that category. It is clear that the effects are pre-CGI and that standards have changed. It starts of when a group of five individuals gets lost on a tour of the crypt and they find themselves in the presence of the crypt keeper (played by Ralph Richardson). And he starts telling them what will happen to them in the future...
This movie goes from great to average depending on the segment. Overall it's a watchable movie if expectations are not too high. The effects are too dated to be very effective at times though. The acting is not always great but at the same time there are great performances most notably by Peter Cushing, Patrick Megee, and Ralph Richardson. Robin Philips and Nigel Patrick are also great in their roles.
The first story is about a wife (Joan Collins) who murders her husband and is then stalked by a serial killer who is dressed as Santa Claus. Not really a great story in my opinion, it's very simple and clichéd and the fake blood looks like some sort of pink runny cake icing. Very fake. Quite forgettable.
The second story deals with a cheating husband (Ian Hendry) who leaves his wife and children to run off with his mistress. He is killed and comes back to visit his wife and mistress who was blinded in the accident. This story has elements of horror but is predictable so even though it's watchable it is not that memorable.
The third story deals with a rich man (Robin Philips) who wants to get rid of his poor neighbor (Peter Cushing) and take his property. This story is much more entertaining. The acting is good, especially by Peter Cushing as the kind old man. The overall story has Dickensian elements to it, even though they seem to be piled on heavily at times i.e the poor elderly trash collector whose only joys in life are his dogs and making toys for the neighborhood children finds his dogs taken away, loses his job, and the children are not allowed to visit him. His wife passed away years ago and soon he is driven to suicide by his neighbor...but he comes back to seek revenge. Overall it's still a very good story.
The forth story is about a wealthy man and his wife who are about to lose everything. The wife discovers that a statue they obtained in Hong Kong has mystic powers to grant 3 wishes to its owners. She wishes for lots of money. Her husband is killed in a car crash and she stands to inherit the insurance money. She then attempts to wish her husband back to life with terrible results. This story is a complete rip off of the old story the monkeys paw which is even referred to in the segment. The effects are bad and distract from the story in my opinion. So a blatant rip-off and not the most memorable of the stories.
The fifth story is a about a career military man (Nigel Patrick) who is left in charge of a men's home for the blind. He is soon treating the men there worse then his dog and they in turn seek revenge using a hungry dog a contraption they built with razor blades, when they are led by Patrick Mgee's character. This is another good story in the collection and the acting is better than in the rest of the segments. Quite entertaining and worth watching.
Overall, this movie is not great but it's not bad to look at if you want to see what horror was like in the early 1970's. There are two very good stories and three average ones. If you enjoy watching movies like Creepshow and Cat's Eye or the newer tales from the crypt then this might be worth taking a look at. Just don't expect this to be exactly like the newer and more humorous tales from the crypt or horror films which emphasize violence, blood and gore. This is much more suggestive rather than visual at times end even though there are scenes of horror they are kept to a minimum.
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