The Amicus Box Set - Limited Edition [1965] [DVD]

A collection of five of the best-known works from Amicus Productions which enjoyed a reputation as one of the world's leading horror film producers throughout the 1960s and 70s. 'Doctor Terror's House of Horrors' (1965) is cinematographer turned director Freddie Francis' cult horror tale and stars Peter Cushing as the mysterious Dr Schreck. Schreck boards a train and offers to tell his five fellow passengers their fortunes using his ('House of Horrors') tarot cards. The deadly tales he tells includes werewolves, voodoo and a severed hand. Who is this sinister Doctor and where exactly is the train heading? In 'The House That Dripped Blood' (1970) a police investigation into the violent history of a house is led by a local policeman (John Bennett). He opens up the files of four deaths in the house and these are told as chapters: 'Method For Murder' tells of the death of a writer of mysteries (Denholm Elliott); 'Waxworks' sees another owner (Peter Cushing) being on the receiving end of a jealous husband's rage; 'Sweets to the Sweet' tells the story of a man (Christopher Lee) falling victim to his young daughter's voodoo dolls; and finally, 'The Cloak' tells the tale of an actor (Jon Pertwee) who insists on wearing authentic costumes for his latest horror film - with gruesome results. 'Asylum' (1972) sees Dr Martin (Robert Powell) sent to Dunsmore Manor, a home for the horifically insane, with the task of locating the asylum's former administrator. Rounding up some of the most demented inmates the hospital has to offer, Martin interviews each of them one at a time, hearing tales of killer dolls, rampaging body parts, depraved posh girls and unholy resurrections. He listens to each of the stories in turn, but can he guess which one of these lunatics once ran the asylum? 'And Now the Screaming Starts' (1973) sees a couple of newlyweds move into their marital home during 1785, only to discover that the terrible Fengriffen curse has been placed upon it. The couple are plagued by a murderous hand that crawls around the house with a life of its own, and engage the services of a mysterious doctor (Peter Cushing) in ridding them of their unwanted grisly guest. Finally, in 'The Beast Must Die' (1974) a variety of guests assemble at the lodge of big game hunter Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart), each of them in some way possessing a past involvement with cannibalism or murder. Newcliffe informs them that he is aware of their dark secrets, and reveals his purpose in inviting them all together: one of his guests is a werewolf, and he wishes to hunt him down.