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(aka "Creatures" )
directed by Kevin Connor
UK 1973
Visitors to an antique store run by a kindly proprietor (Peter Cushing) become the protagonists in four stories based on stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes (whose stories also provided the inspiration for the last Amicus portmanteau film THE MONSTER CLUB). In the first tale, Edward (David Warner) tricks the proprietor into charging less for an antique mirror which is inhabited by a spirit that needs the blood of innocent victims to cross over into the world of the living. In the second tale, cowed husband Christopher (an interesting turn from the usually gruff Ian Bannen, FRIGHT) steals a service metal from the antique shop and meets a war veteran (Donald Pleasance, HALLOWEEN) whose daughter (real life daughter Angela Pleasance, SYMPTOMS) has the power to get rid of Christopher's harridan wife (Diana Dors, BERSERK) but the joke is on him. In the third tale, Reggie (Ian Carmichael) switches the price tags on a snuff box and finds a deadly elemental spirit has latched onto him. In the last story, William (Ian Ogilvy, WITCHFINDER GENERAL) buys an antique oak door (with a really creepy face carved in the middle) and installs it in front of a cupboard. When the door opens, it reveals a cobwebbed room from several centuries before inhabited by an evil sorcerer with designs on William's wife Rosemary (Lesley-Anne Down, ASSAULT). The seventh of Amicus' eight horror anthologies has an excellent cast but the stories are a mixed bag. The mirror tale had the potential for atmosphere but the story is insubstantial and repetitive. The second tale and third tales have a nice strain of black comedy (with fun appearances by Diana Dors and Margaret Leighton) while the final story with the door sports the most atmosphere and really affords Alan Hume opportunities for color gelled lighting and interesting compositions. Initially released in the U.S. by Warner and then reissued as CREATURES by Howard Mahler Films (but seems to have reverted to Warner who first released the film on videotape in the eighties and then on laserdisc in the nineties). |
Posters
Theatrical Release: November 1975
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Warner Home Video (Twisted Terror Collection - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!
DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: |
Also available in the Twisted Terror Collection (Deadly Friend / Dr. Giggles / Eyes of a Stranger / From Beyond the Grave / The Hand / Someone's Watching Me - see REVIEWS and individual purchase links directly below.) | ||
Distribution |
Warner Home Video Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC |
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Runtime | 1:38:00 | |
Video |
1.76:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate |
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Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono | |
Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, none | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 26 |
Comments |
Warner DVD sports an anamorphic and progressive 1.76:1 image with softness that is appropriate to Alan Hume's atmospheric photography. English, French, and Spanish mono tracks are all strong (the English is the most bold) and subtitles are available in those languages. The fullscreen theatrical trailer shows wear. 26 chapters are provided but there is no scene selection menu.
The film is also available from Warner in a set with THE HAND, DEADLY FRIEND, DR. GIGGLES, SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME, and EYES OF A STRANGER. |
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Screen Captures
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DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: |
Also available in the Twisted Terror Collection (Deadly Friend / Dr. Giggles / Eyes of a Stranger / From Beyond the Grave / The Hand / Someone's Watching Me - see REVIEWS and individual purchase links directly below.) | ||
Distribution |
Warner Home Video Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC |
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