Walter Craig (Johns), an architect meeting a group of people for the first time, realizes he has dreamt the whole experience before. As each person recounts a tale of personal brushes with the supernatural, he begins to recall more, eventually remembering how the dream turns into a nightmare.
A successful compendium of spooky stories, this dry comic-horror is a joy to watch, and the credits read like a who's who of the 'up and comers' who would later shape British cinema. Segment directors include Robert Hamer (who later made "Kind Hearts and Coronets"), Basil Dearden ( who went on to direct "The Captive Heart" and "The League of Gentlemen") and Charles Chrichton ("The Lavender Hill Mob"). Whilst writers include T.E.B. Clarke ("Sons and Lovers") and Angus MacPhail who, between them, were responsible for writing the majority of Ealing's better films. Also worthy of mention is cinematographer Doughlas Slocombe, who shot the "Indiana Jones" films.
Each character brings something different to the film, making it a diverse but coherent exercise in storytelling. The five strangers each recount a spooky tale; one saw a vision of his own death and was able to avoid it, another bought a mirror that reflected a different image to the one it should, etc. Penned by H.G. Wells, the red herring of the bunch is particularly good. Two golfers play for the hand of a beautiful woman, the winner cheats and the loser chooses to commit suicide, later returning to haunt his old friend in the most agreeable manner possible. ('Just because a chap becomes a ghost, surely that doesn't mean he ceases to be a gentleman.')
The transition between tales is subtle and seamless, and the amiable group of storytellers are all a pleasure to watch, so much so it's possible to forget the film's a horror...until the grimly surreal conclusion.