Tales from the Crypt People Who Live in Brass Hearses (1989–1996) Online

A seminal Tales from the Crypt find a hardened ex-con (Bill Paxton) and his simpleton brother (Brad Dourif) attempting to plan a warehouse robbery and, in effect, get revenge on the kindly ice-cream man (Lerner) for sending the con to prison. Bill Paxton gives a performance worthy of the Crypt hall-of-fame as Billy, the ex-con, and passionate actor Brad Dourif is aces as brother Virgil. Lerner's performance (especially in the closing scenes) is a showstopper and stands out in the bloody, merciless show. The end is classic Crypt material, effectively brutal and menacingly macabre. Just Desserts in the old fashioned tradition of EC comics, may they forever be remembered, baby! Fun Fact: The director earned the onset moniker "Bucket of Blood" Mulcahy for his proclivity for bloodshed on the set.

Tales from the Crypt: People Who Live in Brass Hearses starts as the buffoonish Virgil (Brad Dourif) & his thuggish brother Billy DeLuca (Bill Paxton) finalise their plans to rob the place where Virgil works, after having spent the last two years in prison Billy also plans to rob his old boss Mr. Byrd (Michael Lerner) who turned him in. Virgil messes things up & in a desperate attempt to get something out of their criminal activities the DeLuca brother's get more than they bargained for...

This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 5 from season 5, the second of four Tales from the Crypt episodes to be directed by Russell Mulcahy I thought People Who Live in Brass Hearses was another great story. The script by Scott Nimerfro was based on a story from 'The Vault of Horror' comic book & despite the overlong title which has no meaning in regard to the actual events of the story makes for great entertainment as this episode starts off like a darkly comic crime caper but then ends in traditional Tales from the Crypt fashion with a terrific twisted twist ending which makes all the build up worth it. Most Tales from the Crypt stories focus on careful build up towards a morbid ending but People Who Live in Brass Hearses is action all the way which makes for a highly entertaining 30 odd minute piece of horror themed televisual pleasure & it has that delicious dark sense of humour running right through it.

The production looks a tad cheap at times on this one compared to some of the earlier episodes but it's still well made, there's some great gore including plenty of blood splattering, someone gets a hook in their head, someone's head is literally blown in half with a shotgun, someones leg is blown off & there's the expected mutilated bodies on show. The show at this point was still managing to get good cast's, Dourif is good but the always entertaining Paxton steals the show & this episode is worth watching for him alone.

People Who Live in Brass Hearses is one of the strangest titles for one of the best Tales from the Crypt episodes, definitely worth watching.

Hot-tempered convict Billy DeLuca gets out of prison after serving a two year sentence. Billy convinces his mentally challenged brother Virgil to help him rob a warehouse as a means of getting revenge on kindly ice cream vendor Mr. Byrd, who's responsible for sending Billy to jail.

Bill Paxton is top-billed here, which is fair because he is the lead actor. But my goodness, can we not take a moment to praise Brad Dourif? Although loved by some for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" an by others for his role as Chucky, he never has quite broken through to mainstream appeal. Why is Paxton a household name, but not Dourif? This episode, however,is pure "Crypt". The comic nature, the over-the-top silliness of the violence, and the inevitable twists and turns that we never expect. This could be considered a classic episode, even if it may not be one of the most memorable.

I can't wait for season 5 to come out on DVD, because I thought this episode was one of the better crafted ones. It had a great mix of horror, suspense, and gore. Bill Paxton and Brad Dourif play bumbling crooks who think that the local ice cream man has millions in loot stored away (obviously from his high paid job of peddling treats to kiddos). Veteran character actor Michael Lerner plays the aforementioned frozen treat salesman who hides a "secret." Dourif plays almost an identical character from "Urban Legend." And Paxton is his "Near Dark" form. But no matter, it still ranks as one of the better episodes in my opinion. I think you'll really enjoy the ending, too.

Hot-tempered convict Billy DeLuca (a marvelously cocky and dynamic performance by Bill Paxton) gets out of prison after serving a two year sentence. Billy convinces his dim-witted brother Virgil (a fine and funny portrayal by Brad Dourif) to help him rob a warehouse as a means of getting revenge on kindly ice cream vendor Mr. Byrd (superbly played by veteran character actor Michael Lerner), who's responsible for sending Billy to jail. However, the plan goes seriously awry. Director Russell Mulcahy, working from a tight and clever script by Scott Nimerfro, relates the enjoyable story at a brisk pace, delivers a handy helping of heavy duty graphic gore, and further spruces things up with a wickedly amusing sense of pitch-black gallows humor. The spirited acting by Paxton really keeps this episode humming; his verbal sparring scenes with Dourif in particular totally smoke. Laine Kazan contributes a spot-on testy turn as huffy warehouse manager Mrs. Grafunger. The big surprise twist concerning Mr. Byrd's bizarre secret is a real doozy. Rick Bota's slick cinematography makes cool use of overhead camera shots and provides a pleasing polished look. One of the stand-out episodes of the fifth season.