Review: Gallery of Horror(1967)
By William Pattison
For Horror Bob’s Blog
John Carradine narrates five horror tales, each with a
comically predictable surprise ending. In the first, "The Witches
Clock" (sic), The Farrells have purchased an old mansion in Salem
Massachusetts, and are warned by the town doctor, Finchley, of the history of
witches in the community, and the old clock which they brought up from the
attic. Then an old man named Tristram Halbin comes for a visit. The second
story, "King of the Vampires" deals with a slight-figured killer,
called the King of the Vampires by Scotland Yard, which sends Brenner to
investigate. The third, "Monster Raid," is about a man turned zombie
when he OD's on his experimental drug, who returns to avenge his death at the
hands of his widow and her lover-now husband. "Spark of Life" deals
with a doctor Mendell obsessed with the experiments of a thrown-out professor
named Erich von Frankenstein, and two of his students who try to restore a
cadaver to life. "Count Alucard" (called "Alucard" by
Carradine and "Dracula: on the end credits, is a variation on the Dracula
story, with the Count acquiring the deed to Carfax Abbey from Harker, as
vampiresses and dead bodies start turning up. It, too, has a surprise ending
unrelated to Stoker.
This film is a complete mess that even having John Carradine
and Lon Chaney Jr couldn’t save.
The stories are badly written and acted l. The only good
parts, and they aren’t that good is John Carradine’s monologues before each
story.
The final story is an off narrative adaptation of Dracula:Guest
with bad dialogue and a surprise ending that comes out of right field.
As a lover of classic anthologies I was horribly
disappointed.There is not even a gallery on the damn film. This film is actually
worse than the film I thought got the prize for bad anthology film, The Monster
Club, this is far worse. All hail the worst classic anthology film, and it is a
complete STINKER!!! You want an anthology with an actual gallery in it watch
Night Gallery, it’s worlds better.
Keep on Creepin’ , Horror Bob’s Blog…