Dr Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)
Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Max Adrian, Ann Bell, Michael Gough, Neil McCallum, Jennifer Jayne, Bernard Lee, Donald Sutherland, and Roy Castle
Director: Freddie Francis
Nutshell:  Amicus’s first film containing five short stories of a macabre kind.  Impressively performed and presented.
Review by Omar Khan

 

Several strangers find themselves sharing a railway compartment. Conversation soon reveals that one of them is a Tarot card-reading fortune teller with the wonderfully exotic name of Dr Schreck—or Dr Terror, as he prefers to be known. Intrigued, each passenger asks him to reveal his future, and from each reading unfolds one of the film's five macabre tales.

The first story concerns architect Jim Dawson (Neil McCallum), who is summoned by the beautiful but mysterious woman to convert her country estate into a museum dedicated to her late husband's legacy. As work begins, Dawson uncovers several sinister relics, most notably an ancient coffin hidden within the house. Gradually he realises that dark secrets lie buried within the estate and that his own involvement extends far beyond that of a mere architect. Events build towards a chilling climax, after which the horrified Dawson demands to see the final card in Dr Terror's spread. It is the one card Dr Terror quietly refuses to reveal.

The second tale sees nature itself turning murderous as a seemingly indestructible vine lays siege to a quiet country home. Attempts to destroy the strange plant prove futile as it begins to reveal an increasingly malevolent nature. The family dog dies under mysterious circumstances, and the attacks steadily escalate until the occupants discover what appears to be the vine's only weakness. Unfortunately, that hope proves short-lived and, once again, the final Tarot card promises a fate no one would wish to contemplate.

The third episode stars Roy Castle as the leader of an up-and-coming jazz band who receive the opportunity of a lifetime when they are booked to perform at an exclusive resort in Haiti. What begins as the perfect career break soon descends into a nightmare as the musicians find themselves drawn into a world of voodoo, superstition and dark forces beyond their understanding.

Two further tales follow, each with its own flavour of the supernatural and each ending with Dr Terror's cards delivering another ominous verdict.

Surely it is all nothing more than coincidence. After all, who in their right mind would place their faith in Tarot cards and such discarded superstitions? Perhaps Dr Terror is simply another smooth-talking charlatan, peddling illusion to a willing audience. Or perhaps he knows rather more than he is letting on.

Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg's first production under the Amicus banner proved an inspired alternative to Hammer's more traditional Gothic horrors. Beautifully mounted, boasting an enviable cast of seasoned British performers and written by Robert Bloch—already famous for Psycho—Dr Terror's House of Horrors established the anthology format that Amicus would return to repeatedly over the following decade.

Influenced heavily by Dead of Night, the five stories inevitably vary in quality, but the framing device is highly effective, and the film maintains an enjoyable atmosphere of mystery and impending doom throughout. Critical and commercial success ensured that Amicus would produce a further series of horror anthologies, but this inaugural effort remains one of the company's finest and certainly among its most entertaining.