Jacob's 31 Days of Halloween - Day 23: Tales from the Crypt

Jacob's 31 Days of Halloween - Day 23: Tales from the Crypt

Part of the Amicus Productions portmanteau film series, Tales from the Crypt is a horror anthology movie that spawned a cult-favorite TV series, and boy is it fun.

Asylum, which was also made by Amicus, came out only a few months later, but this is absolutely the superior film. Focusing far less on the framing story, Tales from the Crypt gives us five stories that are for the most part engaging and genuinely creepy.

The first story centers around a home invader dressed like Santa, which would be so much creepier if we didn't see his face till the end. It still works though, with a fun spousal murder plot to keep the viewer distracted from the truly scary thing lurking just outside the house. It truly feels like a nightmare scenario.

The second story is mostly shot in POV, which is very inventive and makes it feel all the more personal. There's wonderful use of the "it was all a dream" trope that's particularly impressive considering how the trope is typically so obnoxious. This is another authentic nightmare story.

In the third story Peter Cushing plays a wildly different character than what he typically does, going for a kindly Bob Cratchit-type, who ends up being horribly wronged. It's a blast to watch him play so against type, and makes me respect him all the more as an actor.

The fourth story is my least favorite, as it's not very scary due to it's playing a bit more like a comedy of errors, with a couple accidentally misusing a monkey's paw. Also, the main guy sounds like Matt Barry, which is always funny.

The last one sort of feels like a classic scary story kids would tell each other, revolving around losing losing eyesight and having to walk through what is essentially a torture tunnel.

It's perfect for Halloween and you get a lot of bang for you buck with five fun stories, so I highly recommend checking this one out. It's not exactly a fantastic movie, but it's a lot of fun.