“Ahhh…. Greetings boils and ghouls. Grab some popgore and a choke and enjoy some putridly ghastly tales from your old fiend… the Cryptkeeper. When I was growing up I had a thing about the horror genre. Thanks to my parents, I watched horror movies all the time and read scary comics and books whenever I could get my hands on them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was a bit older that I had the chance to read some of the old “Tales from the Crypt” comic books that EC had published back in the 1950’s. I was aware that they had existed, so I was on the constant hunt for reprints since the original comics had become rare collector’s items. Not to get into too much detail, these comics were the brainchild of William Gaines and Al Feldstein (who would later go on to found Mad Magazine) and each issue would deliver incredibly grisly horror stories punctuated by highly detailed artwork.

Of course, as the public’s mindset at the time was as backwards as it is today (only over different things), they were swayed by the government that these comics were rotting the minds of children. It didn’t seem to matter that they were usually stories of comeuppance, where the antagonist would get his just desserts; they were eventually forced to close shop due to the ridiculous standards and codes that were set forth for the comics industry to hold up to.

It wasn’t until 1972, that “Tales from the Crypt” was brought back into the public’s eye with a British film where some of the stories were brought to life… or would that be death. I still remember seeing this film when I was very young, and though it didn’t turn out to be very popular, I loved it. Then in 1989, a group of gore hungry veteran directors and producers, which included Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill, Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis, created an anthology series for the then fledgling HBO cable channel. They produced six episodes for the first of what was hoped would be many seasons and I was glued to the tube each and every night they ran.

The style of the series felt very much like a comic book come to life and utilized garish colors and lights to punctuate the stories. Kevin Yagher was brought in to create most of the special effects, and as he has a reputation for creating some of the most realistic fake body parts in the business, his work was instrumental to making the series the success that it was. But that was not the only key to the show’s success… not by a long shot.

The producers of the series knew they needed a hook, and that hook cane in the form of its host, The Cryptkeeper. The Cryptkeeper was one of the original hosts for the original comic books, along with the Vault Keeper and the Old Witch, and he was brought to life in the form of a highly articulated animatronic puppet. Actor John Kassir was hired to lend his voice to the character, and history was made. The Cryptkeeper became a pop culture icon that could be found on t-shirts, toys and eventually feature length films and fully animated children’s shows. (I myself have a little collection of Cryptkeeper memorabilia and am constantly trying to improve my otherwise terrible impression…) “Tales from the Crypt” would go on to survive through 7 terrific seasons, airing on HBO, Fox and the Sci-Fi Channel.

Looking back over the different seasons, it is interesting to point out that almost every episode featured actors or directors that were either well on their way to becoming or were already considered A-list actors. The list is seemingly endless with the likes of Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Malcom McDowell, Timothy Dalton, Treat Williams, and Christopher Reeve. It’s no wonder the series did so well.

Warner Brothers finally released the 1st season on DVD last year and of all the series that have come out over the past couple of years this is on the list of top ten that I wanted to see!! The first season was comprised of only six episodes, but with what few they had to work with, they set the tone for the seasons to come. All of the stories were adapted from the original comics, as were almost all of the stories for the entire run.

There wasn’t a bad episode to be had in that first season, but one of my favorites was “And All Through the House”, which starred Mary Ellen Trainor as a murderous wife who is in turn being terrorized by a lunatic (Larry Drake) dressed as a Santa. This particular episode was also adapted as part of that earlier 1972 film, with Joan Colljns in the role of the wife.

Warner quickly followed this release up with the 2nd season, and I began to hope that this was a sign of things to come, with all the seasons coming out over the next few months. The 2nd season was a little more of a mixed bag as far as overall quality of episodes, in part due to the fact that they upped the ante to 18 episodes. However, even the worst of episodes still offered their fair share of thrills. Of that season, some of my favorites included, “Cutting Cards”, which I remembered reading in its original comic book format. It starred the great Lance Henriksen and delivered a whole new way of looking at poker. I’d really like to see this episode turn up in between one of those “World Series of Poker” shows.

The ones that really stood out for me the most though came from two entirely different ranges of the spectrum in terms of storytelling. The first, “The Thing from the Grave”, was a classic “Tales from the Crypt’ story of love and revenge from beyond the grave. It was directed by Fred Dekker and starred Teri Hatcher as a model who is unfortunately in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend (Miguel Ferrer). She meets and falls for a young photographer (Kyle Secor) who is killed by the boyfriend in a jealous rage. However, as we all know, death doesn’t always stop the ones we love…

Then in “Kormans Kalamity”, Harry Anderson starred as Jim Korman, a cartoonist for the “Tales from the Crypt” comic book. What he didn’t know was that his monster drawings were a little too real, so much in fact that a few decided to show up in the real world to create a little chaos. This was an extremely silly episode, again taken from the pages of the original comics and featured actors standing in for some of the real artists from the original comic book.

Now the wonderful people at Warner Brothers are up to Season 5, which came out just last month. This season continued to offer episodes of varying quality, but all in all, most of the episodes are well worth watching. And as always, the star power was top notch with the likes of Adam West, Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Miguel Ferrer, Steve Buscemi, Bill Paxton, Brad Dourif, John Stamos, Brooke Shields, Anthony Michael Hall, Martin Sheen and Lou Diamond Phillips getting their 'Tales from the Crypt' feet wet.

Aside from the episodes that are available in each of these sets, I usually push fans to buy them for the extras. Unfortunately, each season seems to skimp a little more in that department, the 5th Season having the least yet. There are no commentaries to be found, no featurettes, and no interviews. All we get this time around is a virtual comic book of the episode "Death of Some Salesman."

I consider “Tales from the Crypt” to be a classic series that deserves a lot of attention. With each and every episode it perfectly captured the magic of the original material and is a terrific tribute to the genius of Gaines, Kurtzman and all the writers and artists who created the comic books. Be warned however, a lot of the stories (unlike the original comics) might not be suitable for children. There is a fair amount of bad language and occasional nudity, so I suggest previewing before you decide which ones the little ones can see.

On a little side note, being that I was such a huge fan of the original comics, I happened across a 5-volume hardcover collected set of all of the "Tales From the Crypt" comics. It carried a price tag of $175.00… I keep fighting the urge to go back… otherwise I might end up a mutilated victim of my bank account savvy wife...

Episodes:
Death of Some Salesman
As Ye Sow
Forever Ambergris
Food For Thought
People Who Live in Brass Hearses
Two for the Show
House of Horror
Well Cooked Hams
Creep Course
Came the Dawn
Oil's Well That Ends Well
Half-Way Horrible
Till Death Do We Part

Extras: "Death of Some Salesman" Virtual Comic Book
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 10/24/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Tales from the Crypt: Season 5 a C+.