Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Leofwine_draca Another in the long line of Amicus anthologies. The connection between these stories is a mysterious house which gives the owners whatever their personality deserves, which basically means that it's an excuse to use the same set over and over again. Certainly the wrap around story sometimes makes these films – who can forget the classic train journey in DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS? – but not so here. Little thought or imagination seems to have gone into it and you get the feeling that the title was conceived before the story.The first segment features the reliable Denholm Elliott as a writer who conjures up a strangler from his imagination. He's horrified when the strangler apparently becomes real. This story has a few shocks but is pretty formulaic and is singularly lacking in atmosphere, creepiness, or any form of terror. There's an interesting double twist at the climax but apart from that, this is nothing to get excited about.The second story is probably the best, and has Peter Cushing and Joss Ackland in it. Cushing is the lonely man who visits a wax horror show, where he sees a figure which reminds him of a girl he once loved. When his old friend visits town he too sees the figure and becomes obsessed with it. The story is atmospheric in the wax museum scenes and has a typically gruesome climax, and of course Cushing's acting lifts it above the norm. Ackland is also good value for money. I think this is the scariest of the lot when it comes down to it.The third story has Christopher Lee as a father of a young girl with "problems". A live-in nanny arrives and soon finds out what the problems are - the eerie taint of witchcraft is lurking in this one. Lee is good as his usual pompous, unlikeable self, but apart from him this story is nothing out of the ordinary. There's some fun to be had from trying to guess the resolution and the climax is suitably repulsive.The final story benefits from having Jon Pertwee in it, and Ingrid Pitt appears to add some glamour too. Pertwee is the arrogant actor who buys a mysterious cape for his new vampire role. However, the cape belonged to a real vampire and is affecting the owner in strange ways, such as turning him invisible in mirrors when he wears it. There's a twist ending as usual and an interesting film-within-a-film premise in this comic instalment. It's dated pretty badly and Pitt's lack of talent is more than evident, but Pertwee's spirited performance makes up for it.The wrap-around story, about the policeman investigating the deaths, is quite dull, apart from the ending which has some action in it. Altogether this is a very average anthology. It never gets boring to watch as none of the stories last more than 20 minutes. There's an interesting cast too, however it somewhat lacks from being mainly confined to a single set for much of the stories. It's worth having as it showcases the talent from the era, and, of course, it's a '70s British horror film so it gets a recommendation from me. And just look at the cast! Not brilliant, but eminently watchable for nostalgic fans of old fashioned horror.

gavin6942 A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house: 1) A writer encounters a strangler of his own creation, 2) Two men are obsessed with a wax figure of a woman from their past, 3) A little girl displays an interest in witchcraft, and 4) A film actor discovers a cloak which gives him a vampire's powers.Amicus made numerous anthologies in the 1970s, and this is one of them. Like others of the era, it came from the typewriter of Milwaukee writer Robert Bloch (who is best known for "Psycho"). Could we ask for a better scribe? (Well, Richard Matheson, perhaps, but not many others.) Like most anthologies, there are stronger and weaker segments. The wax museum is a bit weak, saved only by the joy of watching Peter Cushing. The strangler segment is also a bit lackluster. The vampire cloak is decent, even if the role was a bit over the top... seeing Ingrid Pitt in another vampire tale is cool. The best, though, by far, was the witchcraft story with Christopher Lee. Perfectly paced, perfectly acted, and just the right length.One thing that really made this one fun was the in-jokes, such as saying Bela Lugosi was a better Dracula than the "new guy", when that new guy was (of course) Christopher Lee. This has the double impact of ribbing Lee, as well as making a crack about Hammer, the inferior Amicus competitor.

Rainey Dawn This is a fun classic horror film... 4 creepy stories about the occupants of the house. Worth watching for fans of classic horror.Segment 1 "Method for Murder" - A writer rents the house as inspiration for his new horror book. He invents his main murderous character but things become all to real.Segment 2 "Waxworks" - A man named Philip Grayson (Peter Cushing) rents the house. An old friend comes to visit and the two men become obsessed with a beautiful wax figure that reminds them all to much of the woman they were fighting over years before.Segment 3 "Sweets to the Sweet" - John Reid (Christopher Lee) and his daughter rent the home. Reid seems overly protective of his daughter who is secretly involved in witchcraft.Segment 4 "The Clock" - A film actor rents the house and obtains a cloak that gives him the powers of a vampire.The first 3 segments are good - creepy. The last segment (The Cloak) was on the humorous side to me. All 4 segments are good - I enjoyed the movie.Strange, I really thought I have seen this film before - but after watching it I think I was mixing up the title of this film with another movie.... :D 8/10

TheRedDeath30 Amicus Studios was the biggest competitor to Hammer in the heyday of British horror during the 60s and 70s. While their movies never quite achieved the same cult status as Hammer's, Amicus cared themselves out a niche at producing excellent horror anthologies that are still some of the best ever produced. Unlike some of the later Amicus anthologies which were created by using the works of EC Comics, this movie was written by Robert Bloch, a well-known horror writer at the time who is best remembered for penning PSYCHO.This movie stands out from many other anthologies for a few reasons. For one, I don't see a "weak link" segment. Most any anthology you can think of had a throwaway part or two mixed with some excellent work, but the stories are all of a good caliber in this movie. The other thing that really stands out is the cast, which is comprised of a slew of Brit Horror all-stars, including Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and the luscious Ingrid Pitt, along with Indiana Jones' best buddy and a former Dr. Who.The drawback of the movie, in my opinion, is that it is often very "stage bound". There aren't many extravagant sets and locales here and nothing that approaches the lavish sets of Hammer's movies. You often get the feeling that you're watching a stage play, but the directing and acting are able to elevate the work beyond those confines.Of course, you have a wraparound framework story here involving a Scotland Yard detective who's investigating a murder at the titular house. For the interlocking segments this amounts to nothing more than brief interludes, but the story provides the movie's last big shock. Amicus would provide better framework stories in some of their later anthologies."Method for Murder" is the first segment with Denholm Elliot as a horror writer with a case of writer's block, who rents the house for inspiration and gets more than he bargained for. It actually has quite a bit in common with the Johnny Depp movie SECRET WINDOW. It's held back due to a poor makeup job on the killer and a bad cliché twist with your standard back-stabbing wife."Waxworks" stars Cushing, who is excellent here as he is in every role given to him. Two old friends/ rivals find a small wax museum and become obsessed with a statue that reminds them of their lost love. Cushing saves the segment from becoming nothing more than a clone of HOUSE OF WAX."Sweets to the Sweet" is an evil child story starring Christopher Lee in a rare non-villainous role. It's probably my least favorite segment in the movie as it takes a while to get rolling and leads up to a fairly boring climax as well."The Cloak" is the best segment involving an aging horror actor (John Pertwee) who really takes on his role. It's more than a little campy and has a PG vampire tone, but it's fun and well worth it if for nothing more than Ingrid Pitt.Amicus would produce better anthologies in the years to follow this, including their best work TALES FROM THE CRYPT, but this works very well as a Saturday Midnight movie.