The Amicus "Tales From The Crypt" poster

The Skeletal Spotlight shines this time on:
Amicus' "Tales From The Crypt" poster art
(Click to view monster-sized... if you dare!)

This is it, folks... the Big One. The Ultimate. This poster rocks, rules and reigns as the King of Skull Movie Posters. You would have thought that Peter Cushing's earlier film "The Skull" should have had such an awesome poster, but it didn't. This poster probably accounts for the remarkable box-office the film did, and as a result more Amicus anthology films came hot on it's bony heels. The opening credits, featuring a trip through an ancient row of crypts to the sounds of the classical "Toccata In Fugue," are eerily effective in setting the nightmarish mood. As a group of tourists follow a guide into the catacombs, the feeling of dread increases as the passageways grow narrower. And when they find themselves in a room facing a mysterious hooded figure, they are forced to recall the last thing they were doing before coming there.

As each one flashes back to the immediate events preceeding their entrance into the crypts, we find that they are events leading up to their deaths. After each person is made to face their own guilt, the horrific end awaiting them is revealed...

Be sure to click on any or all of the following images to view the full-size version.

Authur Grimsdyke returns from the grave to exact bloody vengeance on the selfish cad that drove him to suicide. The rising-from-the-grave sequence was one of the best filmed up to that time, and the empty eyesockets makeup was very effective.

It also makes a killer eye-catcher of a magazine cover! Painted to perfection and flipped to make it a little different, this FM cover is a classic.

I bought the book way before I ever saw the movie. The cover alone, scanned in above, was enough to give one nightmares. When I finally saw the movie on TV in 1981, it was truly a scary experience.

"My eye! Has anybody seen my eye?"

An alternate, less effective "eye-less" version of the poster. Perhaps the uptight British felt it was too scary for their straight-laced citizens? "I say... Boo! Sorry, old chap, didn't mean to put a fright in you!" The difference displayed really shows just how effective the lone eyeball was in making the image memorable.

More "Garfield In Disguise" comic strips:

To Be Continued!