''Grave Tales'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

anthology horror film made in 2011 at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

by FGS Productions and Ivory Tower Entertainment. It was directed by Don Fearney. It premiered on 30 April 2011 at Southend on Sea Film Festival, however an earlier premiere took place on 30 October 2010 at Cine Lumiere in South Kensington, London SW7. The film was released as a DVD in August 2012. The film is based on the Amicus portmanteau horror genre.

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

starred in the original theater movie release, however he does not appear in the DVD release.

Plot

A young, genealogist ( Heather Darcy) whiles away her afternoon in an eerie graveyard to identify graves but stumbles upon an elderly gravedigger (

Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to: Sportspeople * Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer * Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer * Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coach ...

) anxious to share horror stories with her. The gravedigger delights in telling her four, ghoulish tales.

One Man’s Meat

The local butcher ( Frank Scantori) has a lethal confrontation with a vampire and decides to use his shop as a perfect way to dispose of the remains. A regular shopper returns with her family to complain...

Callistro’s Mirror

After killing a junk shop owner (

Edward de Souza Edward James de Souza (born 4 September 1932) is a British character actor and graduate of RADA, who is of Portuguese-Indian and English descent. Early life De Souza was the only child of Annie Adeline Swift (née Calvert) and Edward Valentine De ...

) and stealing his antique mirror, a greedy man (

Damien Thomas Damien Thomas (born 1942 or 1943) is a British actor noted for his roles in British films and television, such as his role as Father Martin Alvito in the 1980 hit miniseries ''Shōgun'' and as Richard Mason in the 1983 BBC production of ''Jane ...

) discovers it reveals a portal to another world.

The Hand

A couple of escaped prisoners find themselves on the run. The only problem is that they are shackled together. They don't have time to go to the locksmith - what's the quickest way to remove the handcuffs? The Nightwatchman : Peter Irving

Dead Kittens

A newly recruited member of an all-girl rock group is invited to do a video for their up-and-coming single. Its got to be realistic and it involves blood and guts. The lengths that modern record companies need to go to sell records is shocking.

Production

Casting

is the best known of the cast due to his longevity in British TV roles such as ''

George and Mildred ''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from ''Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple Ge ...

'' and ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...

''. Due to the low budget nature of the project, friends and associates of the director and production crew also starred in minor roles and extras.

History and development

Conceived originally as a three-story anthology in the style of British Amicus horror movies, during production a fourth story was added. The films were shot and edited at Pinewood Studios and filmed in Iver Heath, Windsor and the London area. The original script ideas came from horror comics published in 1991 Footage of Christopher Lee as himself appeared in the story "Dead Kittens" in the original cut shown at Cine Lumiere and Southend Film Festival and was shown in the original cast list. The footage was removed from the final cut and DVD release. Cameo appearance by British Horror Film Director

Norman J. Warren Norman John Warren (25 June 1942 – 11 March 2021) was an English film director best known for such 1970s horror films as '' Satan's Slave'' (1976), ''Prey'' (1977) and '' Terror'' (1978). Warren is also known for sex comedies such as '' Oute ...

as a music video director in "Dead Kittens".

References

External links

''Grave Tales'' at horrorbug.com
* {{IMDb title, id=1813338
wirralwriter.com blog

Mandy Actors website

filmdates.co.uk

2011 horror films British horror anthology films 2011 films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films