It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The mysterious Dr. Schreck (superbly played with quiet menace by the magnificent Peter Cushing) relates five tales of terror to a quintet of men on board a train.First and just okay yarn, "Werewolf" -- A man resurrects a werewolf. Decent build-up with a fair pay-off. Second and most silly anecdote, "Creeping Vine" -- A house gets infected by a killer sentient vine. The inane premise makes this one impossible to take seriously. Third and oh-so-groovy vignette, "Voodoo" - Jazz musician Biff Bailey (a solid performance by Roy Castle) falls prey to a lethal voodoo curse after he steals a sacred song. Cool premise and swinging music make this baby a total gas. Fourth and most entertaining segment, "Disembodied Hand" -- Pompous snob art critic Franklyn Marsh (Christopher Lee in sterling supercilious form) finds himself being terrorized by the severed hand of painter Eric Landor (the always excellent Michael Gough) after he drives Landor to commit suicide. The relentless attacks by the disembodied hand are a hoot and Lee excels in his sublimely obnoxious portrayal of a hateful arrogant jerk. Last and very well done story, "Vampire" -- Newly married physician Bob Carroll (a very young and engaging Donald Sutherland) discovers that his bride Nicole (the fetching and enchanting Jennifer Jayne) is harboring a dark secret. Dandy eerie mood and a total corker of a surprise bummer ending.Director Freddie Francis maintains a steady pace throughout and adroitly crafts a tense spooky atmosphere in the wraparound segment. Milton Subotsky's crafty script delivers a few neat grim twists. Alan Hume's crisp widescreen cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. The shivery score by Elisabeth Lutyens hits the spine-tingling spot. An immensely enjoyable omnibus outing.

This is one of the better horror anthologies on the market. 5 really good segments horror with a great cast. This one is a great watch. In-between the stories is a great story in itself of Dr. "Terror" Schreck who is on a train with 5 other men and read their tarot cards thus our 5 segments. The stories include: a werewolf, a human-killing plant, voodoo, a zombie crawling hand and a vampire - all of which are good.I'm still trying to decide on which of the 5 tales is my favorite - I think I'm torn between the werewolf, zombie hand and vampire as my number one pick. But what I liked the best about this anthology was the train ride scenes where they were getting their tarot cards read.Really good film for late at night or for the 31 Days of Halloween Movie Fest.8.5/10

This is I believe the first of the Amicus portmanteau films and like all of the others I have seen it is flawed and variable in quality but a couple of the stories are pretty good and another two are real curios.The linking story is probably the weakest aspect of the film. Peter Cushing as the mysterious Dr Terror meets the five central characters of each of the five stories in a railway compartment - not a house at all so the title of the film is a misnomer- and shuffles his tarot cards and encourages each man to take his cards and see the story which will unfold. At the end of each sequence the man is to take a final card which will show what he must do to avoid what has happened in their tale and each chooses the death card. This is not a great device and from my memory of Tarot the death card is to signify the end of a particular phase of life or the end of a story not the death of the person who draws it. Even allowing for this misuse of Tarot symbolism the death of each of the five seems a bit harsh on at least two of the five are hardly the causes of their own misfortune. Cushing, normally one of my favourite actors, looks a bit silly too.The first story, Werewolf, stars the now largely forgotten Neil McCallum and it is pretty routine stuff whilst Creeping Vine is just a rip-off of Day of the Triffids though it does have one or two spooky moments with good performances from the dependable Jeremy Kemp and Bernard Lee whilst the often slightly kooky Ann Bell is fine as the increasingly scared young wife of the central character Bill Rogers. The curio of this segment though is that the central character is played by Alan 'Fluff' Freeman the Anglo-Australian disc jockey whom I had forgotten had also been an occasional actor in the 1960s until I saw this film for the first time in decades six or seven years ago. He is okay but he was a better DJ.Voodoo is the worst tale of the five featuring as it does Roy Castle at his most irritating - which is considerable- but there is a real bonus for fans of British Modern Jazz with the Tubby Hayes band doing a couple of pretty strong numbers. Castle himself was a jazz trumpeter but I am not sure whether he plays on the soundtrack of these scenes and certainly at one point when he is blowing away like a hurricane there is no sound of trumpet. The tale itself is hackneyed and more than a touch racist.Disembodied Hand is the best of the five stories and is so by some distance. Christopher Lee plays Franklyn Marsh who is a narcissistic art critic. During an exhibition of the Avant garde artist Eric Landor- played by Michael Gough- Marsh produced several pithy phrases to rubbish Landor's work to the delight of the critic's sycophantic acolytes before the artist trumps his sternest critic by showing that work praised by Lee's character was actually done by a chimpanzee. Marsh is stung by this public humiliation and eventually runs over Landor causing the artist to lose a hand. Unable to paint Landor kills himself and possibly tormented by guilt Marsh is haunted by the disembodied hand which follows him everywhere. Eventually the hand causes Marsh to crash his car causing and the accident leaves him blind- and unable to work. It is a neat enough morality tale and the brief appearance of the delightful Isla Blair would lighten a wet November morn but the real highlight is Lee who is brilliant here –possibly his best performance until The Wicker Man. The arrogance of Marsh is one of Lee's trademarks but he does snivelling fear really well here too. The final tale, Vampire, stars Donald Sutherland as Bob Carroll a doctor returning to practise in the US after marrying a glamorous young French woman played by Jennifer Jayne (who was English I think). Prompted by the advice of his older colleague Dr Blake (Max Adrian) it begins to dawn on Carroll that his lovely wife is in fact a vampire causing havoc in her new hometown. Eventually after some bidding by his colleague, Dr Carroll carries out the old stake through the heart trick on his wife and is arrested by the police who believe he is a madman as Blake dismisses the notion that he has had anything to do with the slaying. It is a bit corny that Blake turns out to be the vampire himself but it is slickly done – Freddie Francis directs all the 5 stories rather well in fact- and Sutherland is, as he usually was, very good whilst Adrian is good too.The final scene where those on the train/house are revealed to be already dead became something of an Amicus trademark and it is not particularly well done here – certainly in comparison with the generally superior Tales From The Crypt- and is a rather bland ending to a film that is short on gore but strong on atmosphere.

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors contains a very unique and eclectic concoction of tales that, while are not necessarily terrifying, are still very much entertaining. When combined with very good filming, editing, lighting, acting, and script, we find ourselves enjoyably sitting back for a wonderfully good time! * Synopses and Descriptions: Frame Story: 5 gentlemen board a train. A sixth man(Peter Cushing) arrives who goes by Dr. Schreck, which means "terror." As the ride begins, he offers to tell the men their fortunes by using his Tarot Cards, or as he calls them, his "House of Horrors." Thus, the 5 tales unfold. With three taps of the deck, four cards are sprawled out that decipher one's fate. However, after each man's story is told, they are given a chance to pull a 5th card to discover the way out. 1. Werewolf - When a man working as a contractor pays a visit to a client who just happens to be an old friend, the job ends up being much more problematic than he originally expected. Sometimes the past comes back to bite us. This tale doesn't necessarily offer the most original story, but the quality of everything is nice and I like the twist at the end. It can actually come as a genuine surprise. 2. Creeping Vine - When a family moves into a new home, they are quick to discover an odd plant that has a mind of its own. This one is a cool idea, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. This is possibly the weakest entry, but it's still enjoyable to watch. 3. Voodoo - When a trumpet player and his band get a new gig in the West Indies, he makes the mistake of stealing some voodoo music before returning to London. When he finally plays his new song on stage, it comes with terrible consequences This one does a good job of using suspense as you await the ending you know is coming. Quick paced, somewhat comical, and filled with some very amazing jazz/swing musical scores, this one is just a treat with a finale to die for. 4. Disembodied Hand - When a feud begins between an artist and a critic, things get way too out of hand. A pretty strong tale here, possibly the most horrific and entertaining of the tales. 5. Vampire - When a man and a doctor suspect the man's wife is a vampire, things get a little hairy. This one has a very surprising twist at the end. Wrap Around: Well the wraparound is very unexpected and enjoyable to say the least. I don't want to ruin it, so you'll just have to wait and see it for yourself. * Conclusion: While it may not be scary per se, the quality of the material is so good that it provides great entertainment. The entire movie has a good pace so that you don't get too bored with any one story and the acting, filming, and sound are solid.