www.imdb.com/title/tt0070078/
Dir: Kevin Connor
Cast: Peter Cushing, David Warner, Ian Bannen, Donald Pleasence
He sells them antiques
dead things haunt the wicked ones
let's have a seance
May's one-off FrightFest day began with a witty introduction from Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen) explaining exactly why he likes this Amicus anthology movie from 1973 so much. Each individual episode is linked by a shopkeeper (Cushing) who runs the aptly named Temptations antique store where customers who are greedy or mean towards him tend to suffer an unfortunate fate. We have four tales here: The Gate Crasher in which Edward Charlton (Warner) is drawn to sacrifice young prostitutes to feed the spirit behind his mirror; An Act Of Kindness in which Christopher Lowe (Bannen) befriends a war veteran (Pleasence) and falls for his daughter who he soon learns has hidden powers; The Elemental in which Reggie Warren (Ian Carmichael) enlists the help of batty old psychic to rid himself of the invisible demon that's burrowing into his shoulder; and The Door in which William Seaton (Ian Ogilvy) purchases an ornate old door for his stationary cupboard which then opens up to reveal a whole lot more than headed paper and envelopes. It's easy to see why Mark likes this film so much; watching it over twenty years after its initial release proved to be a real fun way to start the day. Whether the film was actually creepy back then is a moot point - in today's world this time capsule of early seventies England is a real comedy classic. The stories are fairly standard hokum that wouldn't be out of place in Tales Of The Unexpected, but they're packed full of familiar faces and all are entertaining to watch aside from the rather dreary fourth segment. Some of the exchanges of dialogue here are fantastic; witness Edward's friends when they spy his new mirror - "It looks like it belongs in a medium's parlour," says one. "Let's have a seance!" replies another - this is funny the first time around, but downright hilarious when it happens for a second time! Then in the second story there's Lowe's wife (Diana Dors) and her thinly-veiled contempt for her husband and her fixation for cooking sausages and beans for supper. In the third segment when Reggie switches price labels on some snuff boxes we have Cushing delivering the immortal line, "I hope you enjoy snuffing it." And that's before the turn of Margaret Leighton as the barmy Madame Orloff exorcising the invisible 'elemental', followed by one of the best exit scenes I've seen in ages courtesy of Reggie's wife. Despite the rather weak final chapter which fails to thrill or chill, there should be something here to tempt any potential unsuspecting viewer.
soulmining rating ***
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