As we steadily approach the end of another October, the end of another Halloween season, and the end of another Halloween Horrors series, I find myself already reflecting on all of the wonderful contributions that we received and have already showcased as part of this year’s event, as well as those last few posts yet to come. As is usually the case, I find myself in awe at just how well everything went, especially when you consider the delays that we faced earlier in the month, thanks to ol’ Hurricane Milton. Honestly, I’m quite content with the quantity and quality of the stories that our contributors shared with us this year.

And really, that’s what these Halloween Horrors posts are, stories. Stories from various lovers of horror and Halloween, each not only telling us a little about a specific film, but also a little about the authors of each. Stories upon stories upon stories. As such, it’s only fitting that we showcase a subgenre of horror film today that is known for its stories, the anthology. The anthology was clearly king in British horror during the mid-1960s and early 1970, and today’s Halloween Horrors entry takes a deeper look at one of these films.

My wonderful wife, Mandi Fallon, joins us for today’s Halloween Horrors look at one particular anthology, 1974’s From Beyond the Grave. The last in a line of horror anthologies released throughout the decade by the legendary Amicus Studios, this particular entry does tend to get discussed a little less than some of Amicus’ better remembered anthology pictures, such as The House that Dripped Blood, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, but in no way does that imply that the film is not as worth your time as those other titles. Frankly, you could do much worse than giving any of those films a watch this Halloween season. Our earlier Halloween Horrors 2024 look at The Mouse Trap hopefully proved that.

 

 

I am such a sucker for horror anthologies, and especially British horror anthologies – Tales From the Crypt, The House That Dripped Blood, and the like.  So, once I spotted From Beyond the Grave in the list of movies from 1974, I naturally looked no further.

I had not seen this movie in quite some time, but I assumed upon viewing it for this piece that I would quickly remember the stories.  Oddly enough, I was only familiar with the second of the four stories.  I don’t know how that happened, to be honest, because 50% of the time I fall asleep 20-30 minutes in, so how I only remembered the second story is beyond me, as well as the grave.  Anyway, I was happy I chose this movie because watching it again was definitely a treat.

Our four stories all center around four different customers who visit ‘Temptations Limited’, an antiques shop, operated by an elderly man played by Peter Cushing.  The shop’s motto is ‘Offers you cannot resist’, and that holds true with the behavior of each of our four patrons, all who cheat or steal to obtain the object of their desire.

The first story starts with Edward, played by David Warner (The Omen, Waxwork), who purchases a mirror from the antiques shop that, he comes to learn, contains a devious entity in the form of a withered and weathered looking man.  Although haggard looking, his voice and gaze are unmistakably menacing, as well as the instruction he begins to dictate to Edward, which is to ‘get him blood’.  The mirrored menace has an almost hypnotized control over Edward, so he obliges by picking off the easiest of prey – ladies of the night.  The more blood Edward provides, the stronger the entity becomes.  This culminates into our demon materializing in the real-world, but not without a trade from Edward.

Our second story (and my personal favorite, which is why I expound the most on this section) stars both Donald Pleasance (I don’t think I need to list what we all know him from 😊 ) and his real-life daughter, Angela Pleasance.  I’m going to sidetrack here and say that it is uncanny how much she looks like her father, and especially in this film.  She’s a striking but odd-looking woman, although captivatingly attractive, in my opinion.  Because of this, she is absolutely perfect in the part she plays in this second story.

We meet Christopher Lowe, a middle-aged milquetoast stuck in middle-management who is married to a nag of a wife, who is also mid.  (I had to throw in some of my son’s slang there).  They share a son, who is also seemingly devoid of respect for his Father, thanks to the example set by his ogre of a Mother.  Christopher visits the antiques shop and eyes a Distinguished Service Order military medal through the shop window but doesn’t go inside.  He passes the shop every day going to and from work, and in those travels, he also meets Jim Underwood, a beggar who is a self-proclaimed ex-serviceman who trades matches and shoelaces for donations.  Christopher, likely due to his hum-drum existence, decides to present himself as an ex-serviceman erroneously.  After striking up a pseudo friendship with Jim, he decides to take his deceit to another level and tries to purchase the service order medal from Temptation Limited.  However, when the shop owner relays that he must present a certificate to show he was once awarded the same medal in order to purchase the shop’s version, he steals it.  Of course, that seals his fate.  Christopher meets Jim’s daughter, Emily (Angela Pleasance), and she captivates him.  We learn that she also possesses supernatural powers.  They begin an affair and Christopher’s new lot in life is soon revealed.  I won’t spoil it, but it’s a good twist!

Story three is definitely the whimsical piece and is my second favorite.  It starts with Reggie, a businessman who visits our antiques shop and has his heart set on an ornate snuff box.  However, upon seeing the 40-pound price tag, he makes the fateful mistake of switching pricing with a cheaper box.  On his train ride home, he shares a carriage room with a clairvoyant named Madame Orloff (brilliantly played by Margaret Leighton), who tells him no less than three times that she sees an ‘elemental’ attached to his shoulder.  We learn that elementals are demon spirits who attach themselves onto people to feed on their souls so that they can materialize in the real world.  She offers her services, but he refuses and thinks the whole thing silly.  Over the next few days, elemental hijinks ensue, and Madame Orloff is employed to exorcise the demon.  Another twist awaits (although this one is more predictable).

Our last story surrounds writer William Seaton, played by Ian Ogilvy, who patronizes the shop and purchases a hugely ornate wooden door.  Of course, he also barters for a lower price.  Again, how are there so many crappy people in this neighborhood??  Anyway, the door is delivered and installed over a cupboard that houses stationary supplies.  William’s wife comments that it seems silly that this huge door covers such a mundane thing, and she imagines a beautiful room behind the door with a blue hue and a huge fireplace.  This vision comes to fruition, albeit with another sinister being, but this time contained in a portrait.

Throughout the antique shop scenes, the shop keeper keeps his eye on a shady character who looms around the alley in front of the store.  After our last thief/sheister makes his purchase, the shady alley guy makes his move, which is to rob the shop.  We’ll just say that Peter Cushing holds his own and no one who visits this shop for devious purposes has a happy ending.

The film is very well-made, and the acting is fantastic.  Some pieces are better than others for sure, but the entirety of the movie is a solid entry into the anthology genre.  If you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest it.

I hope everyone has been enjoying this year’s theme and all of the entries that have posted thus far.  Halloween time is such a magical and nostalgic time for my family, and this series is something that has become a wonderful part of our festivities.  As of this writing, we will be heading out for our Disney Halloween vacation in two days.  October 2024 came on like gangbusters this year with two hurricanes back to back for us here in the Tampa Bay area, so we will definitely appreciate and enjoy our sacred holiday time together.  I hope everyone reading this enjoys Halloween this year in the way that is most special to them, including all of the wonderful reviews in this series.  Happy Halloween!