From Beyond The Grave (DVD)

From Beyond The Grave (DVD) ... Rosalind Ayres ... / DVD released 15 October, 2007 at Warner Home Video / Features of the DVD: PAL / From Beyond the Grave is an anthology film adapted from four short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, strung together under the pretext of an antique dealer who owns a shop called Temptations Ltd. and the fate that befalls his customers who try to cheat him. First up is "The Gate Crasher" with David Warner who frees an evil entity from an antique mirror; then "An Act of Kindness" featuring Donald Pleasence; followed by "The Elemental;" and "The Door." From Beyond The Grave was the directorial debut of Kevin Connor who would go onto become a modest name in genre cinema. It was actually one of Connor’s best films and he demonstrates exceptional directorial style. Particularly good are the seance scenes in the first episode where Connor conducts some inventive 360-degree pan shots with a candle that explodes between a flickering flame and a jet in the foreground. The murders in this segment are vividly staged, with Connor creating some marvelously sinister images of David Warner standing about in bloodstained clothes and a totally wrecked apartment. --Sally Giles