Five young men on a train are suddenly greeted by an elderly tarot card reader (horror legend Peter Cushing) who convinces four of them that their perspective futures can be told through the cards, and in some cases, that future can be altered. Only obnoxious art critic Christopher Lee holds doubt, his reluctance forceful and aggressive. But three of the others listen to their possible futures (all macabre and eerie) before Cushing reads Lee's. By the time of the finale, it's very apparent that the warnings are real, and that the future isn't something you can't avoid.

This colorful but somewhat slow moving anthology horror compilation is mainly enjoyable with predictable elements in a few of the segments and a few delightful surprises in the others. The first segment, involving a buried death mask, ends up predictably with the next segment (vine style plants gone wild) is very creepy. The West Indies set third installment has a bit of humor to guide it, and Lee's segment (featuring Michael Gough as an artist Lee despises) is very intense. Then there's the seemingly disbelieving Donald Sutherland involving a young boy and a possible vampre, rather tenuous and confusing.

Each segment has quite a different style and speed, and that builds up to each one to suddenly end, going back to these six strangers on a train and preparing for the five follow-ups with not all of them ending happily or satisfactorily. It's a nice beginning to a series of similar like films from the same production company. Fortunately, the print I got ahold of is much clearer in picture than the old VHS copy I saw of this 30 years ago. These films deserve to be seen at their sharpest for the ultimate viewing quality.

The first of the many anthology horror films made by Amicus Studios in the UK (the main rival to their more successful counterparts Hammer),DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS is a great, fast paced movie that holds up to this day. It's a pretty gentle film that favours atmosphere over shocks and terror, but that doesn't stop it from packing a punch in the tale of five train passengers having their fortunes read by the mysterious Dr Schreck. This is one of those films where the wraparound story is even better than the individual tales, mainly thanks to Peter Cushing who excels as the shabby, sinister fortune teller. The twist ending is no surprise but it was enough to send chills up my spine by the time the credits rolled.

The stories are a mixed bunch but none are too poor. Ironically, the two average stories are those which plough the most familiar fields, the vampire and werewolf yarns which bookend the film. The werewolf section benefits from some good HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES-style atmosphere (think swirling mists, crumbling mansions, hidden vaults, lonely moors),an interesting werewolf and a good twist right at the end. The closing vampire story also has a twist, but by this time it's very predictable. Donald Sutherland doesn't register more than bug eyes and blond hair and the rubber bat stuff is quite tiring.

The second story is of the so-bad-it's-good variety. It involves a household being taken over by a killer plant, and is just as silly as it sounds. Still, the straight-laced approach makes it work and nowhere else will you see Bernard Lee battling an evil vine! The bit where the guy is strangled by a branch is also pretty funny. The third story goes for out-and-out comedy as an unlucky Roy Castle falls foul of a voodoo cult – all because he's trying to steal their music! Castle mugs for all his worth in this outing and the voodoo elements are hilarious dated and non-PC, but for the most part the comedy works.

The fourth story is the best and it's no coincidence that it stars Christopher Lee. He's not playing a villain here, but his art critic character is completely foul and watching him get his comeuppance is a joy. Michael Gough is also very good in a small part. This makes use of the classic crawling hand tale complete with a nice little special effect and it's quite brilliant, coming the closest out of all the stories to true horror. All in all a fine little film from Britain's golden age of horror.

This is a Freddie Francis film. It is remindful of some of the anthology series from the sixties that were seen on television. There are five supernatural tales concerning five men, riding in a train compartment. Along with them is a weird man with a pack of Tarot cards. He explains that these cards will tell the future of any man who wishes to take a chance. Of course, each is going to "tap the deck three times." The stories are disparate, and, sadly, have no connection to each other. The first involves a man who does house renovation who finds a stone casket in the basement of a house where he grew up. The second is about a plant that grows outside a house and begins to feast on living tissue. The third involves a musician who steals the music from a group of voodoo worshippers in the East Indies and finds you shouldn't mess with this. The fourth, played by Peter Cushing, tells of a severe art critic who tries to destroy the careers of artists, one in particular, who humiliated him. It's the old dismembered hand bit. And, finally, a man played by a very young Donald Sutherland, marries a beautiful French woman and gets more than he bargained for. They are held together by a contrived denouement. Still, the stories were fun and engaging.