From Beyond the Grave Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

From Beyond the Grave Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 10, 2019

The last of seven anthology films by Amicus Productions (which also includes Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, Torture Garden, The House That Dripped Blood, Asylum, Tales from the Crypt , and The Vault of Horror), Kevin Connor's From Beyond the Grave offers another accessible mix of low-impact but memorable tales of suspense. The formula doesn't vary much from previous installments, placing us in a central hub that ties four short stories together: this time it's "Temptations Limited", a rustic antique shop owned by a nameless pipe-smoker (Peter Cushing). As each of the four protagonists browse the shop's inventory, moral actions seal their fate after leaving with item(s) in hand.

The Gatecrasher follows Edward Charlton (David Warner), who shrewdly haggles on the price for an antique mirror and later holds a seance with friends. When a horrifying spirit appears only to Edward, his life spirals downward after it demands the blood of innocent victims. The increasingly sick Edward seems helpless to refuse the spirit's commands, which continues a tradition that predates his own life...and may continue long after his own.

An Act of Kindness zeroes in on Christopher Lowe (Ian Bannen), whose failing marriage makes him take the long way home from work every evening. He befriends a war veteran Jim Underwood (Donald Pleasence) and hopes to impress him by stealing a medal from the antique shop after failing to produce military records. Things get worse from there on out, especially after he meets Jim's enigmatic and creepy daughter Emily (Angela Pleasence).

The Elemental introduces Reggie Warren (Ian Carmichael), cursed by the shop owner after switching price tags. The curse is spotted by loopy Madame Orloff (Margaret Leighton), who later visits Reggie and his wife to remove it. Easily the least essential of the four, but there's some decent comedy here and Margaret Leighton's performance is a riot.

The Door revolves around young William Seaton (Ian Ogilvy) and his wife Rosemary (Lesley-Anne Down), who buy an ornate door from the shop for his parlor...only for it to randomly reveal a mysterious blue room, who sole inhabitant needs to find a new replacement. However, William's honesty at the shop might come back to save him.

All told, From Beyond the Grave offers a lightweight and mostly inconsequential quartet of 20-25 minute tales whose bookending antique shop segments weave a reasonably compelling through-line. Acting is terrific, while its tight editing and cinematography are also highlights. The latter is given an especially nice boost on Warner Archive Collection's new Blu-ray, which serves up another predictably great A/V presentation that die-hard fans are sure to enjoy.

From Beyond the Grave Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

With very few exceptions, this 1080p transfer of Form Beyond the Grave looks very good from start to finish. As usual, this new transfer is sourced from a recent scan of the fine-grain master positive along with plenty of additional cleanup. There's a lot to appreciate about Warner Archive's attention to detail here, starting with the distinctly great appearance of all five separate segments; though only one of them features a strikingly different location than the others (that eerie blue room seen so frequently in "The Door"), each has a few unique strengths that translate nicely to Blu- ray. From the ornate interiors of apartments and houses to the cozy but cluttered corners of "Temptations Limited", image detail can be quite impressive at times. Infrequent exterior scenes -- which include establishing shots and those trips to the peddler in "An Act of Kindness" -- feature striking uses of light and shadow to achieve much greater levels of depth. Colors are typically rich and robust, especially primaries, while skin tones also look accurate...among the living at least. But the real star of the show is film grain, which gives Form Beyond the Grave an organic appearance right on par with other top-tier catalog releases from its era. This is truly first-rate work and, aside from a few instances of black crush and some unavoidable print damage, everything that die-hard fans could possibly hope for in a Blu-ray.

From Beyond the Grave Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio (Mono) mix does a fine job of preserving the film's one-channel roots from start to finish. Dialogue is extremely clean and crisp with no sync issues or other defects, contributing to a robust listening experience that sounds as good as its source material will allow. Although Form Beyond the Grave remains heavy on atmospheric visuals, Douglas Gamley's has a more sporadic presence than expected -- but when it kicks in, it maintains a relatively strong dynamic range that isn't hampered by a thin high end (the same can be said for suspenseful sound effects, such as the exorcism sequence in "The Elemental" and the blue room atmosphere behing "The Door"). Like its video presentation, this lossless track makes Form Beyond the Grave sound a bit younger than it really is.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during the film. Like most recent WAC releases, these are formatted in ALL CAPS but likewise display no obvious sync issues and sit nicely inside the 1.85:1 frame.

From Beyond the Grave Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

From Beyond the Grave is packaged in a standard keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover artwork; no slipcover or inserts are included. The only on-disc bonus feature is carried over from Warner Bros.' 2009 DVD edition.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:49) - This trailer is presented in 1.78:1 format and looks to be in fairly rough condition. It's also available on Warner Archive's official YouTube channel if you haven't seen it.

From Beyond the Grave Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Like most anthology movies, Kevin Connor's From Beyond the Grave has its fair share of highlights and weak moments. However, its outstanding cast, intriguing tie-in setup, and sharp editing help to keep the ship afloat, and the film's sporadic jump scares and spooky moments are, for the most part, very well-earned. Like the other anthology films by Amicus Productions during the late 1960s and early 1970s, From Beyond the Grave has maintained a feverish cult following since its theatrical release, and is still young enough that many film fans still likely have very vivid memories of its jagged influence on their younger eyes. They'll certainly appreciate this new Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection, whose top-tier A/V restoration efforts breathe new life into this minor but memorable production.