Love hurts. Sometimes it even brings you back from the dead.

In Episode 10 of It Hails From the Crypt, hosts Fred and Tim dig into “’Til Death,” Tales from the Crypt Season 2, Episode 4, originally aired April 24, 1990.

We head back to the source material and open up EC Comics’ The Vault of Horror #28, comparing the original “’Til Death” comic with HBO’s adaptation. What did the television version keep? What did it change? And how does the original EC story stack up against the considerably more elaborate version produced nearly four decades later?

Then we dive into the episode directed by Academy Award-winning makeup-effects legend Chris Walas (The Fly, Gremlins, The Fly II) and written by Jeri Barchilon, the episode follows devious developer Logan Andrews, whose plan to use a voodoo love potion on a wealthy heiress turns into a particularly gruesome lesson in why you should always follow the instructions.

We break down the episode’s mixture of voodoo horror, black comedy, romance and full-blown EC Comics grotesquerie, along with Walas’ direction and the practical makeup effects that turn an ill-advised love affair into a wonderfully macabre tale of devotion beyond the grave.

And, as always, we descend even further into "The Vault of More" for our Deep Cut Recommendations — a selection of movies, comics, books and other oddities connected to the episode’s themes, influences, cast and crew. If undead romance, voodoo curses, obsessive love, practical creature effects and forgotten corners of horror history are your thing, we’ve got you covered.

🎬 Chris Walas — Director
The Oscar-winning makeup-effects artist behind The Fly and Gremlins, and director of The Fly II.
Chris Walas on IMDb

✍️ Jeri Barchilon — Writer

🎭 D.W. Moffett — Logan Andrews
D.W. Moffett on IMDb

🎭 Pamela Gien — Margaret Richardson
Pamela Gien on IMDb

🎭 Janet Hubert — Psyche
Best known as the original Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Janet Hubert on IMDb

🎭 Aubrey Morris — Freddy
The legendary British character actor whose credits include A Clockwork Orange, The Wicker Man and Lifeforce.
Aubrey Morris on IMDb

💀 John Kassir — The Crypt Keeper

🎥 John R. Leonetti — Cinematographer

🎼 Nicholas Pike — Composer

📺 “’Til Death” — Tales from the Crypt (1990)
Full episode cast & crew on IMDb

Join us as we exhume another story from the glory days of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, revisit the original EC Comics, and uncover some horror deep cuts you may have missed.

It Hails From the Crypt — where every episode of Tales from the Crypt gets dug up, dissected and dragged back into the light.

Ante up, Creeps! This week on It Hails From the Crypt, Fred and Tim put “Cutting Cards” on the chopping block... and by the end, we may be a few fingers short.

First, we dig into the original EC Comics story “Cutting Cards!”, published in Tales from the Crypt #32 (1952). Written by legendary EC editor Al Feldstein and illustrated by Fred Peters, the six-page story pits two compulsive gamblers against each other as their rivalry escalates from cards to Russian roulette to the wonderfully named “chop poker.” We examine the comic, its creators, and that classic EC formula of human vice + terrible decisions = beautifully gruesome consequences.

Then we jump ahead to HBO’s 1990 adaptation, directed and co-written by Walter Hill, starring Lance Henriksen and Kevin Tighe as two gamblers who decide the town isn't big enough for the twos of them. We compare the episode with its comic-book origin, look at what Hill and company changed, and discuss Henriksen and Tighe’s gloriously hateful (love filled?) chemistry.

Finally, Fred and Tim offer their recommendations inspired by “Cutting Cards” some deep cuts for anyone who needs another fix after leaving the Crypt.

So shuffle the deck, place your bets and keep your hands where we can see them.

You might not have them much longer.

The Original Comic

• Tales from the Crypt #32 — Grand Comics Database
• Al Feldstein — EC writer/editor
• Fred Peters — Artist

The HBO Episode

• “Cutting Cards” — IMDb
• Full Cast & Crew — IMDb
• Walter Hill — Director / Co-Writer
• Lance Henriksen — Reno Crevice
• Kevin Tighe — Sam Forney
• John Kassir — The Crypt Keeper
• James Horner — Composer
• John R. Leonetti — Director of Photography

What would you give up to be young, beautiful…and desirable again?

This week on It Hails From the Crypt, Fred and Tim crack open “The Switch,” Season 2, Episode 2 of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt — a wonderfully nasty tale of vanity, greed, body swapping, and the very high price of looking good.

Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his directorial debut behind the camera, bringing along a cast packed with familiar faces. William Hickey stars as aging millionaire Carlton Webster, who becomes obsessed with transforming himself to win the affection of the much younger Linda, played by Kelly Preston. His increasingly extreme procedures involve the considerably younger — and considerably more muscular — Hans, played by Rick Rossovich (The Terminator, Top Gun).

We dig into Schwarzenegger’s unlikely turn as a Tales from the Crypt director, the episode’s grotesque take on the pursuit of eternal youth, and its roots in the original EC Comics story from Tales from the Crypt #45, written by Carl Wessler and illustrated by the legendary Graham “Ghastly” Ingels. We compare the comic to HBO’s adaptation and look at what changed on the journey from the gruesome 1950s page to premium cable television in 1990.

Then we take a deeper look at the episode’s cast and crew, including:

Arnold Schwarzenegger – Director
IMDb

William Hickey – Carlton Webster
IMDb

Kelly Preston – Linda
IMDb

Rick Rossovich – Hans / Younger Carlton Webster
IMDb

Roy Brocksmith – The Doctor
IMDb

Ian Abercrombie – Fulton
IMDb

John Kassir – The Crypt Keeper
IMDb

And, as always, we finish things off with deep-cut horror and movie recommendations inspired by “The Switch” — more stories of vanity, transformation, aging, obsession, body horror, and people discovering that getting exactly what they want may be the worst thing that could happen to them.