Portmanteau horror films from Amicus
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Torture Garden (1967)
The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
Asylum (1972)
Vault of Horror (1973)
From Beyond the Grave (1974)
These films typically feature four or sometimes five short horror stories, linked by an overarching plot featuring a narrator and those listening to his story.
The casts of these films are invariably composed of name actors, each of whom play a main part in one of the stories-a small proportion of the film as a whole. Along with genre stars like Cushing, Lee and Herbert Lom, Amicus also drew its actors from the classical British stage (Patrick Magee, Margaret Leighton and Sir Ralph Richardson), younger actors (Donald Sutherland, Robert Powell and Tom Baker), or former stars in decline (Richard Greene, Robert Hutton, and Terry-Thomas). Some, such as Joan Collins, were in their mid-career doldrums when they worked with Amicus.
Torture Garden, Asylum and The House That Dripped Blood were written by Robert Bloch, based upon his own stories. An exception was the "Waxworks" segment of The House That Dripped Blood, which was scripted (uncredited) by Russ Jones, based on Bloch's story. Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror were based on stories from EC horror comics from the 1950s.