Leofwine_draca FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE is one of the best of the Amicus horror anthologies, in that the stories are some of the most inventive and eeriest. It also benefits from an exceptionally strong cast, with at least a couple of famous actors in each and every story giving their all in the interests of horror. It's hard to pick the best anthology when Amicus were making so many good ones around this time, but FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE at least has stories which are all above average with no real duffers. It also contains a brilliantly atmospheric pan through a ghostly green Highgate cemetery while quiet orchestral music plays in the background - great stuff.The first story is basically a variant of one of the tales in DEAD OF NIGHT, except with added '70s-style sleaze and gore. Although not a gruesome film by today's standards (it got a PG certificate in the US actually), for the time it was made this is still a pretty grisly little movie with flowing blood on occasion - just don't expect to see any severed body parts as in THE VAULT OF HORROR. David Warner takes the lead and is very good as the possessed man, and there are plenty of spooky bits to enjoy (like the ghostly face in the mirror and the dream forest, plus some choice dialogue (eg. "come - you must feed me!"). The way that Warner hides all the murdered prostitutes under the floorboards recalls 10 RILLINGTON PLACE and the segment's packed with atmosphere and gritty realism.The second segment is chiefly memorable for its excellent performances by the father and son team of Donald and Angela Pleasence (who also put in a very good spooky turn in THE GODSEND and other movies). Initially they seem to be a kind and charitable people but things turn darker when Angela practises voodoo, creating a doll of Diana Dors (of all people!) and murdering her with it! This is stuff you won't see anywhere else and is highly recommended. Ian Bannen also puts in a good turn as the stuffy Christopher Lowe who is totally suckered by the Pleasences and ends up regretting his decision. Although the cast is great, the story - by once-famous horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes (upon whose stories the whole film is based) - is also solid, throwing in a nice, surprising twist ending.The third story is the "comic" tale of the anthology, kind of like the Terry-Thomas segment in THE VAULT OF HORROR. Ian Carmichael plays a businessman who finds an invisible elemental living on his shoulder. There's an over-the-top exorcism scene taking the mickey out of THE EXORCIST and a funny performance from Margaret Leighton as "Madame Orloff", clairvoyant extraordinaire. Despite having an unexpected downbeat ending, this is probably my least favourite of the stories.Thankfully, things are once again on top form with the final story, which stars horror veteran Ian Ogilvy as a newly-wed who comes to regret his decision to purchase an ancient carved door. This has some fun, effective clichés to enjoy (the dragging steps coming from behind a closed door), a spooky set of the blue room, and an excellent ending in which Ogilvy discovers that if he "hurts" the door, the evil ghost will also be injured. Thus we have a scene of Ogilvy madly axing a bleeding oak door, classic stuff. This segment also has a brief, cheap Dracula-style death in which the ghost is reduced to a skeleton. I'm a sucker for those.The wrap-around story stars the inimitable Peter Cushing as the "Antique Shop Proprietor", who owns one of the dingiest, dustiest and most genuinely spooky antiques shop you are every likely to see. Cushing is excellent, giving life to his oddball character and enjoying himself in his flat cap, northern accent, shabby coat, and playing with a pipe. He gets lots of darkly humorous lines to deliver ("I hope you enjoy snuffing it") and is great as he chuckles to himself. The finale - in which Cushing is attacked by a robber who discovers he has made a terrible mistake - is also classic stuff. Kevin Connor's direction is pacing and interesting, the stories are all above-average and genuinely creepy, and the cast is brilliant: what more could you possibly want from a horror film?

BA_Harrison By the mid-1970s, Amicus had pretty much perfected their anthology formula, making From Beyond the Grave (1974) one of their most entertaining efforts to date, a ghoulish star-studded portmanteau chiller boasting four equally strong tales and a neat wraparound featuring Peter Cushing at his most creepy, as the owner of an antique shop whose less honest customers get more than they bargained for.In tale number one, 'The Gate Crasher', Edward Charlton (David Warner) cons the shop's proprietor out of a valuable mirror, but realises the error of his ways after he accidentally frees the evil, bloodthirsty spirit trapped within! An excellent opening story, 'The Gate Crasher' is both atmospheric and bloody, the manifestation of the malevolent being behind the mirror being extremely well handled and Charlton's frenzied killings suitably bloody.Story two sees downtrodden husband Christopher Lowe (Ian Bannen) befriend ex-serviceman peddler Jim Underwood (Donald Pleasence), and in an effort to impress him, turn to theft, stealing a medal for bravery from Cushing's shop. To avoid his harridan of a wife Mabel (a convincing performance by Diana Dors), Lowe takes to visiting Jim and his creepy daughter Emily (Angela Pleasence, Donald's real life daughter) in the evenings, but has little idea of what they have in store for him... A slow-burner of a tale, 'An Act of Kindness' is delightfully twisted and packs a really neat ending.Next up is 'The Elemental'. Much lighter in tone, it provides the opportunity for a few laughs and benefits from spot-on performances, particularly from Margaret Leighton as Madame Orloff, the kooky clairvoyant who spots an evil elemental residing on the shoulder of Reginald Warren (Ian Carmichael), who had earlier purchased a snuffbox from the antiques shop, having switched price-tags with a cheaper item. Lots of fun to be had in this episode, my favourite part being Cushing's droll farewell to Warren: 'I hope you enjoy snuffing it'.The final story, 'The Door', stars Ian Ogilvey as William Seaton, who buys an old, carved wooden door from Cushing (but who does so fairly, and is not tempted by the money left within reach in the open cash register) and installs it in on a stationery cupboard in his home. William still battles with the supernatural, coming face-to-face with a centuries old satanist in a cobweb-strewn room that manifests behind the door, but he fares much better than the customers before him.Working from stories by R.Chetwynd-Hayes (who would also write Amicus's final anthology The Monster Club), director Kevin Connor displays a great sense of style right from the start with the very atmospheric opening credits in which a camera crawls through an ancient cemetery accompanied by a really haunting score (complete with chanting, screams and babies crying). Other impressive moments worthy of mention are a wonderful 360-degree shot during a séance (with the flame of the candle at the centre of rotation signalling the presence of a spirit), the realisation and spectacular destruction of the blue room behind Seaton's haunted door (great use of colour and lighting throughout this entire tale), and the well executed 'exorcism' of the elemental (so fun that I can easily forgive the occasional visible wire or two!).

Paul Andrews From Beyond the Grave is set in London where a shop called Temptations Antiques is located, Edward Charlton (David Warner) lies to the shopkeeper (Peter Cushing) & gets an old mirror for far less than it's worth but after a séance at his apartment Edward finds out that the mirror has a supernatural secret...Hen pecked husband Christopher Lowe (Ian Bannen) steals a medal from the shop in order to feel a little better about himself & impress a street beggar Jim Underwood (Donald Pleasence) who strike up a friendship but things get creepy when Jim introduces Christopher to his daughter Emily (Angela Pleasence)...After stealing a snuff box from the shop businessman Reggie Warren (Ian Carmichael) is told by a dotty old medium named Madame Orloff (Margaret Leighton) that he has an invisible spirit called an Elemental on his shoulder & he needs an exorcism to get rid off it, naturally Reggie doesn't believe her...William Seaton (Ian Ogilvy) buys a large wooden door from the shop & fits it to his stationery cupboard only to discover a ghost room behind it that some evil sorcerer uses to collect souls...This British production was directed by Kevin Connor & comes from Amicus who specialised in this type of horror anthology film having also made Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1963), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), Tales from the Crypt (1972), Asylum (1972) & The Vault of Horror (1973) & despite all the praise for From Beyond the Grave I actually think it's my least favourite Amicus anthology. The first story 'The Gate Crasher' is predictable & has a weak ending. The second story 'An Act of Kindness' is the best out of the four & has a nice dark twist at the end that is notably absent from the other three stories & is kind of weird but memorable. The third story The Elemental is more of a comedy with an outrageous turn by Margaret Leighton as a dotty medium & once again a really dull & predictable twist which ends in silly fashion. The fourth & final story 'The Door' has a neat idea with the novel notion of a ghost room but little is done with it & there's no twist here at all. All four stories run just over twenty minutes, three out of the four are rather dull & forgettable & I think the source material just needed to stronger with more emphasis on the twist endings.One area where From Beyond the Grave excels is in it's direction & style, the blue tinted room in the final segment looks great & there's even a terrific looking setting sun outside the window & a cool 360 pan around a table with a candle as the central focal point together with an atmospheric opening sequence as the camera moves through a spooky graveyard which in reality is Highgate Cemetery in London. The gore is minimal, there's a few atmospheric moments & it looks good but it lacks a certain something.The wraparound segment features Peter Cushing & he actually speaks to the audience at the end which just feels odd. The cast here is great & everyone is in top form & I just wish the stories were better.From Beyond the Grave is an OK time-waster but I don't have as much love for it as some obviously do, out of the Amicus anthologies of which I have seen all I reckon it's the worst with only the second story & a good cast going for it.

manchester_england2004 FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE is the seventh in a series of anthology movies produced by British company, Amicus, from 1965 to 1973. It is the final entry in the series, although a later movie, THE MONSTER CLUB, is considered by many to be also part of this series.I look upon the Amicus anthologies with great memories as I used to love them when I was in my teens. Naturally, I am pleased to realise that Amicus anthology movies are today looked upon as minor classics of the horror genre. Amicus is now considered to be as good a production company as its rivals at the time - Hammer and Tigon.FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE is easily the best of the Amicus anthologies as I shall demonstrate.There are four stories to be found in FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, neatly connected by a riveting linking story involving an antique shop. Each story begins with someone visiting the antique shop to purchase something and usually with the intention to con the proprietor. In fact the main message of the movie is - be careful who you con or you may pay the ultimate price.The late great Peter Cushing gives what is easily one of his best performances as the antique shop proprietor. I thought his performance here was better than those he gave in the Hammer Dracula series as Van Helsing or the Hammer Frankenstein series as Baron Frankenstein. In my opinion his only better performance outside of this movie was his portrayal of Grimsdyke in TALES FROM THE CRYPT.The first story sees David Warner purchasing an antique mirror. He invites some friends over to hold a seance and unleashes a demon who has spent centuries waiting for his release. Warner's character then has to murder people to give the demon human sacrifices necessary to release him. I won't spoil the more precise details but I will say that this first story has the darkest tone and is perhaps the best of the four. David Warner gives a superb performance as the tormented men who has unknowingly released an imprisoned demon. Marcel Steiner also delivers an equally great performance as the demon, who is very scary, menacing and merciless.The second story sees Ian Bannen befriend a shoelace and matches peddler, played by Donald Pleasance. The peddler gets the false impression that Bannen is a war veteran. Bannen then decides to steal a medal from the antique shop and keep up the pretence. Bannen's character is easy to sympathise with because of his marriage to a domineering nagging wife, played perfectly by Diana Dors. Bannen is naturally fed up of listening to his wife's constant nagging and decides to meet the peddler's family. I won't spoil any further details but I will say that this story is the quirkiest with a twist ending that you'll never see coming the first time. Ian Bannen and Donald Pleasance give superb performances. Donald Pleasance's daughter, Angela, also has an excellent role as the peddler's daughter. Her character is one of the creepiest seen in a British horror movie and the story is worth viewing just for her performance.The third story sees Ian Carmichael purchase a silver snuff box. On his way home, he encounters an eccentric spiritual medium, played perfectly by Margaret Leighton. Leighton's performance has to be seen to be believed. Anyway, she tells Carmichael that he has a demon resting on his shoulder that is eating away at his soul. Naturally, no one else can see it. Predictably, an exorcism is performed to get rid of the demon. But will it really go so easily? I won't spoil further details but I will say that this story has a lighter comic tone that provides a perfect backdrop for the final story. Ian Carmichael gives the performance who anyone familiar with him would expect. Special mention should be given to Nyree Dawn Porter, who plays Carmichael's wife. Her role is pivotal to the ending of this story and she plays it straight, ensuring the story ends with the necessary quirky twist. Nyree Dawn Porter's role is massively underrated here and in my opinion is one of the best in the movie.The final story sees Ian Ogilvy purchase a antique door. Although the door is only intended to be for a small stationery cupboard, Ogilvy finds an entire 17th century room behind it. It transpires that someone from that time period is using the room as a gateway to the future and his plans are not exactly pleasant. I won't spoil further details but I will say that this story has a lovely Gothic feel and is massively underrated by those who have commented on this page. Lesley Anne Down provides excellent eye candy as Ogilvy's wife.The ending of this movie is one that I won't spoil. I will admit that I never saw this coming as I anticipated an abrupt end. I was pleasantly surprised with the final result.Kevin Connor's direction is based almost entirely around a single objective - arousing the audience's curiosity of the various sinister characters to be found. He ensures camera-work makes use of quirky angles and focuses on various unexpected shock moments that genuinely make the audience jump. The relevant editing is razor sharp to add full impact. The opening credits showing a slow panning around a graveyard feature some superb quirky camera angles that give us a small taste of what is to follow. Each story closes with the camera focus on a still image, which then closes in and re-opens with focus on an antique in the shop window, making a perfect connection between the stories.Overall, FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE is a must-see for fans of the Amicus anthologies, fans of other Amicus movies or fans of portmanteau horror movies. If my summary provides the movie with enough appeal in your eyes, check it out. You'll enjoy it!