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In my mind, horror comic imagery is very fragmented. I remember a hand emerging from the grave, a devilish skull with rubies for eyes, and a little boy who hated felines. I consumed these comics, realizing that some of them were better than the rest. The titles published by E. C. Publications were thrilling and superior with drawings that were more terrifying than the rest. They were the best when it came to portrayals of divine vengeance. These titles were my favorite.
Clearly, the “Tales from the Crypt” comics from E. C. publications were much better than the rest. However, just months after I stumbled upon them, everything changed. They were taken off the shelves while a national hysteria against comics novels was in progress. Dr. Frederick Wetham’s Seduction of the Innocent argued that kids were turning into sadists because of said novels, and suddenly there was an overwhelming influx of talking magpies.
Sadly, these events prevented me from completely delving into my career of a sadistic maniac. By the time the Disney Version by Richard shickel came out, portraying Mickey Mouse with sadistic tendencies, it was too late. The E.C. comics were no longer in circulation and instead had become collector’s pieces.
This story would have finished there, but it would have missed out on an extraordinary twist thanks to Milton Subotsky, the British producer of horror movies and an old E.C. fan. Subotsky procured the motion picture rights for all of the E.C. horror titles from Willaim M. Gaines’s publishing house, and the first movie made from those titles was “Tales from the Crypt“.
It was constructed in the manner of comic books, featuring the old Crypt Keeper as the host and storyteller.
In the movie, he is played with suitable ham by Ralph Richardson. A group of five people are on an organized tour of a crypt (which is really London Highgate Old Cemetery), when to their bewilderment, they are transported to a sinister stone throne room. The Crypt Keeper comes in and when they question what is happening, the response is you would know hell.
All five stories are governed by the same overall principle; a punished evildoer inverts the original wrongdoing in order to seem justified. Of course, I cannot divulge the nature of the punishments; however, I will say that the inmates of a blind institution “A Clockwork Orange” led by the writer Magee, have formulated a very sadistic plan to take revenge on their cruel superintendent Nigel Patrick.
Aside from such famous names as Richardson, Magee, and Patrick, the film includes beloved horror icons including Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, and (if I’m not mistaken) an uncredited cameo by Vincent Price. The direction is by Freddie Francis, who, like all directors, has his set of admirers. The visuals and decor are planned in bright basic colors, gray, and so they resemble comic panels.
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