Tales from the Crypt (1972)
(On TV, October 2019) Anthology movies aren’t meant to be consistent, but I’m finding myself generally disappointed by the overall level of quality from the five Tales from the Crypt. The framing device actually isn’t too bad, but once we dig into the five stories themselves, we end up with fairly basic concepts developed limply. I suspect that the passing of time may have had something to do with it—horror build upon itself and the basic stories in this 1972 film often appear just a bit too simple, just missing an extra twist to be truly interesting. (To be fair, Tales from the Crypt is indeed aware of horror history—it adapts an old comic book series, after all, and even has characters explicitly mentioning “The Monkey’s Paw” in its best segment.) Perhaps the best reason to watch the film today is for its early-1970s atmosphere: In the hands of director Freddie Francis, the fashions and décor, as dated as they can be, do offer a contract to other horror aesthetics. As for the rest, I remain lukewarm.