Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

Five characters in search of a station. Five strangers on board a train and are joined by the mysterious Dr Shreck, he's a fortune teller and offers to read their Tarot cards. Five men, five stories, Werewolf, The Creeping Vine, Voodoo, Disembodied Hand & Vampire. Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors is one of those films that had a big impact on me as a child. When it was shown on British TV, the next day in the play ground would be kids talking about it, well those kids (un)lucky enough to have parents who would let them watch it that is! I finally got to see it one night in the 70s when my parents were out, I can even remember the time and channel it was shown on, in fact I can still remember now the feeling of dread that took over me as Christopher Lee is pursued by a severed hand, checking under my bed before turning the lights off. Now that's the beauty of horror films isn't it? Sure enough this Amicus compendium looks a trifle clunky now, but really we shouldn't be judging it by a new age standard, we should be judging it by the 1965 time frame and embracing the totally creepy vibe that infiltrates this particular railway carriage. The Werewolf and Disembodied Hand segments are great pieces of horror, while the others make up for in style what they lack in genuine horror. Peter Cushing, Alan Freeman, Roy Castle, Donald Sutherland, Kenny Lynch, Bernard Lee and of course the irrepressible Christopher Lee, I thank you all for leaving an indelible mark on me as a youth, it's a mark that I proudly wear to this everlasting day! 8/10

Peter Cushing is spookily menacing here as "Dr. Schreck" who joins a group of passengers on a late night train journey where he offers to read their tarot cards. Despite the sceptical objections of fellow traveller Christopher Lee ("Marsh") he proceeds to read to each fellow passenger a future full of, well, terror... The film acts out each scenario as depicted by the doctor's tales in graphic, gory - though, it has to be said not very scary, detail. The supporting cast deliver these well - especially Phoebe Nicholls and Bernard Lee; Roy Castle not so much. I can't help but think it would have been so much more effective in black and white, but it is still quite a fun watch with plenty to keep it interesting and it's nice to see Lee out of bandages!