Tales From the Crypt is a series of TV shows, comics, radio shows, and movies focused on horror and gore. They have been made over four decades and involve a range of different directors and actors. There's a range of different styles, stories, and themes as well. However, they all have one thing in common, and that is horror.

If you want to watch the Tales From the Crypt movies and shows, you may not know where to start. You could always watch them in order, or start with the best ones first to get you into the franchise.

Let's take a look at all parts of the franchise designed for the screen, and see what their ratings were.

8 Ritual (2002)

Rituals a Tales From the Crypt Movie 2002
Miramax Films

Unfortunately, while the series started off strong, it pushed too far and started to quickly go downhill. By the time the last movie was released, the score was below a five on IMDB.

Part of the problem was that Ritual was never meant to be a Tales From the Crypt movie continuation. This is why, when you do see the Crypt Keeper, it is minimal and the quality is starkly worse than the rest of the movie. They decided to make it a crypt movie at the last minute and simply threw in some shots of the Crypt Keeper and called it good.

In fact, when it was theatrically released, and released in other parts of the world, there were no signs of the Crypt Keeper at all, and it didn't carry the message that it was a Tales From the Crypt movie. The scenes were added for the US DVD release.

Despite the low score, many people felt they enjoyed the movie. Though it wasn't scary, it had a level of cheesiness that made it amusing to watch, and most people thought it definitely had the Tales From the Crypt vibe to it. Others appreciated the uniqueness of the story, even if it wasn't perfect in its application. Many people agree that while the story has a good idea and some interesting parts, most of the movie is just slow.

Some say if you are a true fan, you will enjoy the movie, but that is up to you to decide. Whether you like it or not, it certainly is the least enjoyed film of the whole series,

IMDB Score - 4.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 29%

7 Bordello of Blood (1996)

Bordello of Blood Tales From the Crypt Movie
Universal Pictures

Tales From the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood is the next lowest-rated Tales From the Crypt movie ever released. This one is about a vampire and is designed to be more of a comedy horror instead of a straight horror. This gave it a little bit better of a review than Ritual but not by much.

Related: Netflix: Some of the Weirdest Horror Movies You Can Watch Right Now

There were quite a few things wrong with the movie. The first was that a lot of fans felt there could have been more of a plot. And a lot of the female fans of the franchise felt that the movie focused more on nudity than horror or plot.

Compared to other movies from the franchise, this was pretty disappointing, even if it had potential and a decent cast. As a B-movie, Bordello of Blood isn't bad. However, when you put it in the franchise, it can't stand up to some of the others.

This one had such bad reviews that it actually scared Universal Pictures, who had been planning a trilogy of Tales From the Crypt movies.

IMDB Score - 5.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 31%

6 The Vault of Horror (1973)

The Vault of Horror Tales From the Crypt
Fox-Rank

The Vault of Horror is five stories rolled into one larger plot. Five men, trapped in a basement, start to tell scary stories to one another, which are all played out on the screen for viewers.

Interestingly, despite the name, none of the stories shown actually showed up in the comic of the same name. They were still stories from the Tales of the Crypt comics, they were just in different volumes.

While the stories themselves weren't bad, many people found that the horror was broken up with boring discussions between the main characters. This made the overall effect less horrifying than it should have been, but still good.

The stories themselves are nowadays considered pretty common and basic with no unexpected twists, which also leads to the lower rating. However, at the time, the stories were a little bit more original, so that is something viewers should take into account when watching the movie.

Interestingly, this one had an 80% score by critics, which is pretty high compared to any movie in the franchise, but fans felt differently and rated many others in the franchise higher than this one.

IMDB Score - 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 51%

5 Demon Knight (1995)

Demon Knight Presented by Tales From the Crypt
Universal Pictures

Despite a low critic review of 37, Tales From the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight is one that many people compare the rest of the franchise to. While it isn't the most well-loved of all the Tales From the Crypt movies, it is memorable and enjoyed by quite a few die-hard fans.

It is the first movie to only focus on one storyline, instead of a series of shorts. While some of the older movies had one background plot, much of the space is filled with a series of short stories, but that wasn't the case here.

This movie focused on demons attempting to collect the blood of Christ, but Demon Knights are protecting the key where the blood is located. It is considered an action and fantasy horror.

To build up the hype, Universal Pictures purposefully released it on a Friday the 13th, as that date is often associated with horror. The movie also has a lot of Easter eggs that fans enjoyed finding. The fantasy aspect of the story was also enjoyed by many fans, especially because there weren't many horror movies at the time that focused on it.

Despite this one being pretty popular, some fans felt that the movie was trying too hard to match the hype of the TV series. Instead of trying to break free and really become a stand-alone movie, it relied a lot on the success of the show.

However, for a gory horror movie, the ratings are quite good, and it is definitely worth a watch for any fans of horror or the Tales From the Crypt franchise.

IMDB Score - 6.7/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 64%

4 Tales From the Crypt (1972)

Tales from the Crypt
HBO

As the first movie from the Tales From the Crypt, you may expect this one to be near the top. Before, it was a radio show and a series of comics, but it struggled a little when it came to the screen. Still, original fans and enjoyers of horror found the movie excellent and enjoyed the shorts intertwined with the main story.

It also features Peter Cushing, which most people look forward to in horror movies. Peter Cushing was very excited to do this movie, but it was a rough time in his life, and his character was a pretty depressing one.

Related: The Best Episodes of Tales From the Crypt, Ranked

Many critics enjoyed the film as well, finding the highs and lows of the movie to both be good, though some did call it an easily forgettable series of stories.

IMDB Score - 6.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 69%

3 Tales From the Crypt: New Year's Shockin' Eve (2012)

tales from the crypt: new year's shockin' eve
FEARnet

Designed as a TV short, Tales From the Crypt: New Year's Shockin' Eve is a relatively new addition to the franchise, as it was released in 2012.

Technically, this one didn't offer much new. It was meant to be a comedy horror, and it mostly was a review of some of the best stories through history, from the '70s to the '00s. It released some of the short stories that were most enjoyed by fans and included behind-the-scenes segments as well.

The biggest disappointment was the voice of the Crypt Keeper himself. The new voice actor wasn't able to match the style of the original, and a lot of fans noticed. But the brand-new content and ability to reminisce on some of the best parts of the franchise were enjoyed by many.

IMDB Score - 7.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - N/A

2 Tales From the Cryptkeeper (1993-1999)

Tales From The Cryptkeeper Animated TV Show
Nelvana

The series of the franchise were definitely enjoyed more than the movies. This could be because their stories were in easy-to-digest sizes and the directors didn't have to worry about a big story to tie in all the short stories, or maybe it just reminded people more of the radio show.

Whatever the reason, the two TV series definitely have the highest ratings. Tales From the Cryptkeeper was the second series and was shorter than the first. It was also animated, giving more of an appearance that it was designed for children. The Crypt Keeper was also animated to make it a little less frightening than the traditional puppet. Despite this, it was well received by people of all ages.

The animated shorts closely followed the comics. Though they weren't terribly scary to make it easier for all ages to enjoy, they were a great way to get back in touch with the comics, and they didn't dumb down the stories down for children either, which many people enjoyed. There was less gore, but it forced the stories to stand up on their own.

IMDB Score - 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 98%

1 Tales From the Crypt (1989-1996)

Tales from the Crypt
HBO

Though Tales From the Crypt the TV show wasn't the first adaptation for the screen, it is often the most remembered. It felt more like the radio show and the comics than the original movie, and covered a lot more of the favorite stories in the comics.

This one, unlike the last, was not designed for children and was not animated. It showed a lot more of the gore, awful puns, and story that had to be removed for the shorter series.

The show was filled with great actors, quality sets and makeup of the time, and plenty of gore for those that aren't squeamish, which creates the perfect combination for horror lovers.

IMDB Score - 8/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score - 98%