Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Tales from the Crypt Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 7, 2014

Note: This film is currently available as part of the double feature Tales From the Crypt / Vault of Horror.

That “usual gang of idiots” at the iconic Mad Magazine probably relished in the unintended irony that the company that published the self described “rag” had originally been called Educational Comics. For millions of Baby Boomers, Mad was indeed a major source of a certain kind of “education,” though by the time EC started making Mad its main focus, the “E” in its title had already been changed to represent “Entertaining” rather than “Educational.” That change was prompted at least in part by the company’s previous emphasis on typically whimsical horror outings like Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, brainchildren of William Gaines, the son of EC’s founder Max Gaines. The strictures of the early Eisenhower era ultimately brought the censor’s hammer down rather hard on EC and some of its publishing kin for supposedly contributing to the perceived delinquency of minors, which is when EC decided to promote delinquency in a different way by concentrating on Mad. But for kids who had at least a few years relishing in the delights of EC’s horror magazines, indelible impressions were made, and, later, when a new generation sought out old issues in a wave of kitsch collecting, early EC magazines attained a new (and at times considerably lucrative) luster. Another vaunted name in the annals of international horror, Amicus Productions, brought out two films in 1972 and 1973 which capitalized on the increasing fame of those early fifties’ comic books. Tales from the Crypt is undoubtedly a more generally entertaining film than its follow up The Vault of Horror, even if some might argue that the second film more adequately captures the sly combination of gross out gore and bizarre humor that made those early EC efforts so memorable.

Tales from the Crypt follows a typical “portmanteau” structure by presenting a quintet of characters who are touring some ancient catacombs, only to become lost from the main tour group, ending up in a mysterious room where they’re greeted by the Crypt Keeper (Sir Ralph Richardson, certainly a far cry from other “horror hosts” found in such films as Body Bags). This enigmatic hooded figure begins asking each of the five why they think they’re there, inquiring further about their plans after they leave the catacombs, which provides natural segues into little vignettes featuring each of them. There’s a supposed “twist” revealed at the end of the film that any devotee of The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series will figure out long before it’s overtly discussed.

In fact a certain Twilight Zone ambience suffuses most of the stories unfolding in Tales from the Crypt, with sometimes droll, sometimes unsettling, denouements capping each vignette. First up is a Christmas themed murder story (and you thought your family Christmas get togethers were contentious). Housewife Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) gives herself a little early Christmas present by thwacking her apparently affectionate husband with a fire poker, and then suffering every housewife’s nightmare of having to clean up the horrible mess afterward, all while a homicidal maniac in a Santa Claus outfit stalks her from outside her barricaded home.

The second episode is in some ways the most interesting, at least insofar as it presents a neatly ambiguous tale that turns back on itself, offering no real clear “answers”. A workaday guy named Maitland (Ian Hendry) leaves his apparently happy home life in order to take up with a girlfriend, but almost instantaneously is involved in a horrifying car accident. What happens next seems to suggest he may be caught in a kind of spiritual and physical limbo.

The third vignette is in some ways the most darkly humorous, at least for those who enjoy a little “gross out” comedy involving body organs that are usually kept inside the body. A sweet elderly man named Grimsdyke (Peter Cushing), keeps the neighborhood children entertained with Punch and Judy shows, but he’s a thorn in the side of uppity neighbors Edward (David Markham) and James (Robin Phillips) Elliott. The Elliots embark on an agenda to get Grimsdyke out of the neighborhood, but of course things don’t go exactly as planned.

That old adage “be careful what you wish for” is front and center in the fourth vignette, featuring a well meaning wife named Enid (Barbara Murray) who attempts to forestall financial disaster caused by her scheming husband Ralph (Richard Greene) when she finds a little tchotchke that supposedly grants three wishes. Her first wish that the couple’s money problems are solved only leads to unexpected (and rather gruesome) consequences, despite Enid’s attempts to make her second two wishes ameliorate the effects of the first.

Bringing up the rear is a rather neatly disturbing tale involving a martinet headmaster of sorts of what appears to be a retirement home for blind men. This executive (played by Nigel Patrick) lives in relative luxury while the residents of home are freezing and starving. When one of them dies, one of the blind men (Patrick Magee) leads the other residents in a rather convoluted round of revenge. In this case, the blind leading the blind turns out to be surprisingly effective.

Tales from the Crypt Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tales from the Crypt is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While the elements have some minor age related issues like tiny scratches and a few flecks and specks, things are in rather good shape overall. The film starts out a bit soft, with underbaked contrast, most of which is probably due to an extended optical credits sequence. While the interstitial catacombs material does tend to be a bit soft and ill defined at times, once the film gets into the vignette sequences, things look suprisingly spry, with good, full bodied (and blooded) colors, though there has been just a very slight, incremental fade that's apparent in aspects like the reds. Detail is generally very good to excellent, with a nicely organic looking image retaining a natural grain field. There are no signs of intrusive digital tweaking of the image harvest.

Tales from the Crypt Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tales from the Crypt features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix that provides ample support for the film's dialogue, even if some musical elements like the use of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor sound just a tad bit boxy and confined at times. Fidelity is very good, dynamic range is wide, and there are no issues of any kind to warrant concern.

Tales from the Crypt Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements for Tales from the Crypt.

Tales from the Crypt Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tales from the Crypt delivers a few decent chills, and it has a nicely pervasive sense of morality gone awry (something that plays into that supposed "twist" ending). The venerable Sir Ralph Richardson is certainly among the stranger choices for a Crypt Keeper in the annals of film and/or television, but the colorful cast of British stalwarts makes the most of their roles in this enjoyable if ultimately lightweight piece of horror fluff. Technical merits are generally strong, and Tales from the Crypt comes Recommended.