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.
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.