- Directed by Freddie Francis
- Written by Milton Subotsky, Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, Bill Gaines
- Stars Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ralph Richardson
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 32 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4MvRkWek
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s an anthology of short stories from the old comic books and they all hold up pretty well. Don’t be bad is the lesson here. Bad people get their comeuppance. The stories are entertaining and hold up pretty well.
Synopsis
We wander through a cemetery as credits roll, finally settling on a crypt. A group of people take a tour of the catacombs, and the tour guide warns them all not to stray from him; it’s easy to get lost down here. Five people soon get separated from the group. They get trapped in a room with the cryptkeeper. He asks them what their plans are for when they leave here…
And All Through the House
Joanne answers him first. It’s Christmas time, and her husband has gotten her a nice gift and gotten everything ready for their celebration. Joanne kills him with a fireplace poker. She cleans up the blood while her daughter calls from upstairs wanting to know if Santa has come yet.
The radio alerts her that a homicidal maniac has escaped from the asylum, and he may be wearing a Santa costume. Sure enough, he starts rattling the doorknobs and peeking through the window. She can’t call the police because her husband’s body is still lying in the living room. She runs around locking all the doors and windows; finally, she’s safe from the maniac. She poses her dead husband’s body to make it look like he fell down the stairs.
At least, all the blood is gone and the evidence is set up. She then notices her daughter is missing; her daughter has let “Santa” into the house. And of course Santa punishes the naughty.
Reflection of Death
Carl goes next. He’s packed up and needs to drive all night to his appointment in the morning. He goes to his girlfriend’s house; he and Susan are leaving together. He’s abandoned his family for her. She drives while he has nightmares in the back seat. The car crashes and burns.
Carl gets out of the car, but everyone he runs to for help is terrified of what they see. He goes to Susan’s house and finds her there. She’s blind now after the crash; it’s been two years since Carl was killed in the crash. Carl wakes up from the nightmare and the crash happens again…
Poetic Justice
Elliot tells his plans next. His elderly neighbor, Grimsdyke, is very popular with the local children. Elliot doesn’t like the old man; he’s just a junk collector. The old man’s wife died not long ago, and Elliot wants him to move out. Elliot destroys another neighbor’s garden and blames Grimskyde’s dogs. The police take away the old man’s dogs.
Grimsdyke talks to his dead wife with a Ouija board. “Danger,” it says. Elliot arranges for the old man to lose his job just short of getting his retirement pay. One of his dogs comes home, which makes the old man happy. Elliot turns the local mothers against Grimsdyke, who forbid their children from going near the old man.
No visitors. No work. No children. Grimsdyke is getting depressed. Elliot makes fake Valentine cards, looking like they came from everyone in town, telling how much they all hate Grimsdyke. Several days later, they find Grimsdyke’s body; he has hanged himself in despair.
Exactly one year later, on Valentine’s Day, old man Grimsdyke rises from the grave and comes after Elliott. Now Elliott is really heartless!
Wish You Were Here
Jason takes his turn. He’s gone bankrupt from bad investments. He’ll have to start selling his possessions. His wife brings up the little Chinese statue they bought on a trip. It’s got an inscription that says it will grant three wishes to its owner.
He warns about “The Monkey’s Paw” when his wife wishes for a lot of money. A man in a skull mask follows his car on a motorcycle and causes him to fatally crash. The lawyer tells Jason’s wife that he had lots of insurance money coming. She remembers the wish. She wants to wish for her husband to return, but the lawyer tells her the Monkey’s Paw story. She wishes for him to come back exactly as he was immediately before the accident.
There’s a knock at the door. Men in suits bring in a coffin. He died of a heart attack before the accident, so he was already dead before the accident. She wishes for him to come back to life, and he wakes up screaming. He’s already been embalmed. She cuts him to pieces with a sword, but he won’t die. She wished him alive forever.
Blind Alleys
Major Rogers goes last. He’s been put in charge of a hospital full of blind men, and he goes to talk to the patients. Mr. Carter glares at Rogers as he leaves. There’s no heat in this hospital; everyone suffers in the cold. There aren’t even any extra blankets. Carter goes to Rogers to complain, but Rogers says there’s no money for heat or blankets.
Carters explains that blind people aren’t soldiers; their other senses are sharpened. This means that they suffer more in the cold, they taste the bad food more, they hear the bugs crawling on the walls. Rogers is not sympathetic. He cuts their rations, but he eats well himself.
Carter and several others confront Rogers, but the major sics his attack dog on them. That night, the man in the bed next to Carter dies because Rogers won’t call the doctor.
The next day, the blind men all donate a bit of their food, and Carter takes a plate to lure Rogers’ dog. They lock the dog in a storage room. “It’s our turn to give the orders now,” says Carter ominously. They lock Carter in the room in the basement next door to the dog. Days pass. Rogers begs Carter to feed his dog. “All in good time,” he answers.
Finally, the door opens and Rogers goes outside to find himself locked in a cage lined with razor blades and his own starving dog. One of them’s going to eat the other…
Back in the crypt, the cryptkeeper explains that these visions are not of the future, but of the past. These stories all tell how these five people died before sending them to Hell. “Who’s next? Perhaps You?” he asks.
Commentary
The stories had all previously appeared in the Tale from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear comics books.
They’re all good stories, but that last one did seem to drag on a bit too long with all the construction and building. The others, on the other hand, were well paced and a lot of fun.
This one was so successful that they did a sequel, “Vault of Horror” the very next year. In my opinion, that one was better than this, but it never achieved the success of the first film.