Distributor:
Umbrella Entertainment Certificate: M15+ | 543 minutes Extras: Yes
ANYONE
IN IT WE KNOW?
Peter
Cushing, Christopher, Ingrid Pitt, Britt Ekland, Ian Olgivy, Robert
Powell, Jon Pertwee, Donald Sutherland
WHAT’S
IT ABOUT THEN?
During
a 10 year period from the mid
1960’s to the mid 1970’s the
Amicus studios really gave the
famed Hammer studios a run for
its money in the horror stakes,
not as well remembered these
days (although the fantastic
League of Gentlemen have done a
fair amount to spread the Amicus
word) the studio produced a
great line in Portmanteau horror
as well as some scary full
length features; This six disc
box set from Umbrella gathers
together some of there best
known titles starring some of
the biggest name in Horror
including the likes of Ingrid
Pitt and legends Peter Cushing
and Christopher Lee.
The
black and white CITY OF
THE DEADcomes from 1959 and is a
genuinely scary tale of
Witchcraft in
Massachusetts
where a 250 year old witch is
running a hotel, known as Horror
Hotel in the US Christopher Lee
headlines and all the hallmarks
are here from human sacrifice to
the fog bound village.
DR
TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS
from 1965 really put the studio
on the map, starring Peter
Cushing its five short tales
linked by a strange old man
telling the fortunes of five men
in a railway carriage, a very
interesting cast lifts it above
the norm and it features
appearances by Roy Castle of
Record Breakers, 60’s singer
Kenny Lynch, the legendary
Bernard Lee and even a young
Donald Sutherland.
THE
HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD from 1970 is another quartet of spooky
stories linked by a house that appears to have murderous intent. One of
the best of the Amicus movies with its script by Robert Bloch of Psycho
fame and featuring a great cast including the ever present Cushing and
Lee as well as Ingrid Pitt, Jon Pertwee, Nyree Dawn Porter and Denholm
Elliott.
ASYLUM
comes from 1972 and sees a young Robert Powell interviewing the inmates
of an insane asylum to try and find out which of the patients was once
its director; again it’s a portmanteau effort of short and generally
gruesome stories and again with a top notch cast including the sexy
Britt Ekland, Charlotte Rampling, Barbara Parkins, Sylvia Syms, Barry
Morse, Geoffrey Bayldon and Patrick Magee.
1973’S
AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS is pure seventies all the way,
groovy set design, flares ago-go and a classic Rebecca style story of a
new bride being haunted by the house’s own past. This clever ghost
story is headlined once again by Peter Cushing but Stephanie Beacham is
the real lead along with TV’s Saint Ian Olgivy.
THE
BEAST MUST DIE is from 1974 and is the final movie in this set,
it’s an Agatha Christie bump off all the guests one by one style flick
with an intriguing gimmick of stopping the movie for a “guess who”
break near the end and despite its mystery premise still finds time to
give us a werewolf as one of the leads. Cushing is on hand once again as
is the magisterial Charles Gray, a youngish Michael Gambon and Anton
Diffring.
This
is a fantastic set for the Amicus fan gathering together as it does all
the key films in one box and with its plentiful extras is a definite
must have.
EXTRAS
include commentaries on all discs except City of the Dead as well as
interviews with cast and crew, ample trailers and an inside the fear
factory featurette.
