Five travelers find themselves on a tour of some strange catacombs with a mysterious monk awaiting them in one section and it seems this man has the uncanny ability to forsee the futures of these five guests.  Now for a closer look at each story.....

All Through the House......

Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) chooses Christmas Eve to murder her wealthy husband and carries out the deed as their young daughter Carol lay in her bed awaiting the arrival of Father Christmas.  Soon after Joanne murders her husband and is doing her best to clean up the mess and make it appear as an accident, an announcement on the radio warns of an escaped homicidal maniac and his escape from an asylum....dressed as Father Christmas.  Joanne is terrified to see the man standing outside their home and quickly begins to barricade the home from any enterance by the lunatic.  The question is, will she succeed or will Father Christmas gain entry through an unlikely source......

Blind Alley.......

 Major William Rogers (Nigel Patrick) becomes the superintendent at a home for blind men and quickly proves he cares nothing for the men he's in charge of, he's more concerned with his own comfort and that of his dog.  When one of the men in his charge dies as a result of his neglect, the men decide to exact their own revenge involving the Major's starving dog and a darkened tunnel of razor blades.                                   

Tales From the Crypt is a film based on the E.C. Comics of the 1950s and what a job Amicus did with this effort!  Directed by Freddie Francis and starring some of the biggest names in British cinema, this film is non-stop thrills from beginning to end.  All five stories are well done and performances are strong in each, but my personal favorites are; "All Through the House" and "Poetic Justice".  Joan Collins fighting off a maniac Father Christmas is a scene not soon forgotten and Peter Cushing as poor Grimsdyke in "Poetic Justice" is a role that pulls at the heart....made even more remarkable by the fact that this was Cushing's first role in a film following the death of his wife, Helen and the mourning of that loss makes the character of Grimsdyke that much more real.  Amicus hit the mark right on with this 1972 film and in my opinion, it's the anthology that all others can only be compared to.