House of the Dead (1978)

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This low-budget horror anthology from Oklahoma presents a quartet of eerie tales, told by a strange mortician (Ivor Francis) to a young man on the run from his lover's irate husband (John Ericson). The tales involve a crotchety old woman whose hatred of children sparks an attack from a group of… More This low-budget horror anthology from Oklahoma presents a quartet of eerie tales, told by a strange mortician (Ivor Francis) to a young man on the run from his lover's irate husband (John Ericson). The tales involve a crotchety old woman whose hatred of children sparks an attack from a group of homicidal kids; a "Spy vs. Spy" detective story; a foul-tempered curmudgeon who gets his violent comeuppance in a grim variation on "A Christmas Carol"; and a serial killer with a penchant for photography a la Peeping Tom. Young Ericson's sins are not forgotten either, as we learn at the film's creepy climax. A passable home-grown omnibus, comparable with the similarly themed Chillers or Screams of a Winter Night. Released to video as House of the Dead. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi