After their success with the anthology Dr Terror's House of Horrors, Amicus had a few flops so went back to the well for this entry. It's four stories, plus a sort of epilogue: Michael Bryant (one of those British actors whose face feels vaguely familiar) is attacked by a demonic cat; Beverly Adams is as a starlet who realises that robots are everywhere; Barbara Ewing is tormented by a killer piano; rich Jack Palance meets Edgar Allan Poe die hard Peter Cushing. Linking them is Burgess Meredith as a sideshow carnival operator.
I have really been enjoying these Amicus movies - it looks handsome, is well directed by Freddie Field, with a decent script and strong acting. It does lack a little in star power; you will laugh at the killer piano if you're not in the right mood; the robot actors story would work better if the actors were better and more youthful looking (who cares if old Robert Hutton wants to hang on to his looks?); and the final one with Palance and Cushing was surprisingly dull. Also there's a really silly pointless epilogue with Michael Ripper killing Meredith and then it turning out to all be a trick. Sorry, that's just lame.
But Meredith's hamminess suits his part; it's fun to see Peter Cushing act with Jack Palance; Beverly Adams is pretty and has a decent role; ditto Barbara Ewing.
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