{"id":890,"date":"2013-10-21T03:43:11","date_gmt":"2013-10-21T09:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/?p=890"},"modified":"2014-02-08T04:34:51","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T10:34:51","slug":"from-beyond-the-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/?p=890","title":{"rendered":"From Beyond the Grave"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"the<\/a>

the VHS cover is a bit more sensational than the movie itself<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s strange what can draw a person to a movie, or repulse them as well. \u00a0Take this movie, for example. \u00a0Put out by Amicus<\/strong>, who did a lot of anthology movies around the late ’60s and early ’70s (such as Dr. Terror’s<\/em> House of Horrors<\/em> and Tales From the Crypt<\/em>), it was directed by their in-house director Kevin Connor (At the Earth’s Core<\/em>, Motel Hell;\u00a0<\/em>tho this was his first movie for them) in workmanlike fashion without much style or flair, but enough talent to develop an entertaining movie. \u00a0What puts it over the top and makes it more enjoyable is the performances. \u00a0They lift this movie away from being a silly, mediocre early ’70s British horror quickie (of which there are plenty) and turn it into, well, maybe not quite a classic, but an enjoyable watch.
\n\"fbg7\"<\/a>
\nAs mentioned above, it’s an anthology, featuring 4 stories (plus a wrap around story to tie them all together). \u00a0It details what happens to several dishonest customers who come into an antique shop named Temptations Ltd<\/strong>, which is run by Peter Cushing, looking rather haggard and older than he really was (his wife had passed away just a year or two before filming, which was very hard on him), but charming and gentlemanly as ever (Cushing brings something extra to most any role he played, but he seemed almost born to play this role- he is perfect in it). \u00a0His performance anchors the film, but it’s complimented by several of Britain’s finest actors.
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\nIn the first story, the always reliable David Warner fast-talks him into selling a valuable mirror very cheaply, which turns out to hold the spirit of a dangerous being who demands to be fed… with blood \u00a0This story is hampered by not having enough time to breathe and create suspense, and a pace that’s way too fast. \u00a0It’s probably the weakest story of the bunch, and even Warner can’t really save it from being a bit bland.
\n\"fbg3\"<\/a>
\nThe second segment is probably the best one, in which a worm of a man stuck in a loveless marriage with a shrew (played by Diana Dors, who was also in Theatre of Blood<\/em> with Vincent Price) befriends a down on his luck ex-military man (a nicely restrained Donald Pleasance) selling matches on the street corner. \u00a0He steals a medal from Temptations Ltd<\/strong>\u00a0to impress the ex-serviceman, who invites him over for tea, and to meet his daughter (played by his real life daughter Angela Pleasance). \u00a0Things are not as they seem, tho, and everyone gets what’s coming to them.
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\nThe third story is a comedy, and a showcase for the entertainingly hammy talents of Margaret Leighton, a British theatre actress who never did much on screen. \u00a0She plays an eccentric \u00a0medium who spies a homocidal (and invisible) imp attached to the shoulder of a man who just came from ripping off Temptations Ltd<\/strong> for a silver snuff box, and tries to help him get rid of it.
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\nThe last tale, like the first one, suffers from being too short and being hurried along at too fast of a pace, and involves young couple who buy an antique door that sometimes opens a doorway into another world.<\/p>\n

The storylines themselves are rather hokey and pedestrian, but the acting is outstanding. \u00a0You end up liking a lot of these characters (or disliking some of them, as they are played to be unlikable), and wanting to see them interact with each other more. \u00a0The set dressing and production values are also very nice, and provide a great atmosphere for the stories. \u00a0Unlike rivals Hammer<\/strong>, Amicus<\/strong> didn’t soak their movies in gore and blood much, and this one is no exception- the violence and bloodletting is rather tame, and the overall feel of the whole thing is actually very quaint and charming. \u00a0I find the old time urban British setting to be a nice place to visit on screen, which makes the whole thing even more appealing.
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\nSo, to sum it all up, From Beyond the Grave<\/em> is not a masterpiece, but is a nice little charming horror anthology that would go good on a cold October night with hot chocolate and peanut butter crackers (or whatever your snack of choice might be).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s strange what can draw a person to a movie, or repulse them as well. \u00a0Take this movie, for example. \u00a0Put out by Amicus, who did a lot of anthology movies around the late ’60s and early ’70s (such as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,86],"tags":[153,155,236,154],"class_list":["post-890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-beyond-the-grave-1974","category-movie-reviews","tag-amicus","tag-david-warner","tag-horror","tag-peter-cushing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=890"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":901,"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions\/901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.postmoderntrashaeology.thezombified.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}