Le caveau de la terreur

Since I first saw photos of it when I was a little kid, I wanted to see this early 1970s horror movie from the same British who brought us TALES OF THE CRYPT. When I was like 7 or 8 years old, I was a little chilled by the photo of the man hanging upside-down and a vampire has connected a tap-fawcet to the unfortunate bloke's neck! Sadly, this scene happens in VAULT OF HORROR (1973) exactly as it did in magazine oldies like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and THE MONSTER TIMES: It's a still shot! That's right, a single photo of the fanged villain and his victim! It's done this way for dramatic effect and seems to work, but I had already seen the exact same thing in printed form!

However, this is not to say I was disapointed. This series of stories is very interesting, with intriguing characters throughout. The ending is predictable to anybody who's already seen TALES OF THE CRYPT, but there's a nifty gore seen earlier in the film where a guy's hands get chopped off. As is often the case with British horror, the emphasis is more on drama than sheer terror-- but it's all pretty entertaining.

I adore the 1972 film; Tales From the Crypt and this 1973 follow-up is a solid effort. Granted, not all of the stories in this Amicus anthology are as strong as the '72 film, but this film is still a lot of fun. My favorite story in this anthology is the Terry-Thomas/Glynis Johns effort. It's definitely more comedy than horror, but even that packs a bit of a punch at the end. I've read that there was to be a third installment to this series of films, but a less than over-whelming feeling by the film-going public put an end to any further plans for a third film. The cast to this film is really strong and it's just a shame that the stories aren't as solid, still, an enjoyable effort and if you're looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon, a double-feature of Tales From the Crypt and Vault of Horror is definitely the way to go.

Fairly good entry in the Amicus anthology cycle, even if none of the stories are particularly remarkable (or original). The premise is also quite simple: five men meet inside an elevator which takes them, irrespective of the floor to which they were destined, to the basement of the building where a table has been set up for them; they gather around and, to while away the time until they're rescued, each recounts a recurring dream.

The cast is fine, as usual: Daniel Massey goes in search of his missing sister (real-life sibling Anna), eventually locating her at a remote village – where, as it turns out, all the locals (including the woman) are vampires!; this may be the most popular episode but also, perhaps, the most disposable (despite the amusingly outrageous fate awaiting Massey at the end) – considering that Amicus had already dealt with the subject of vampires in at least two previous horror compendiums, DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965) and THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1971). Terry-Thomas is an ageing wealthy man who decides it's high time for him to marry, but ends up literally driving commoner wife Glynis Johns crazy with his obsessive fastidiousness! Curt Jurgens is a magician on holiday in India with wife Dawn Addams: to show off, he exposes a local exponent plying his trade at the market square; humiliated, the latter plots an elaborate and terrible revenge – with the aid of his young daughter – by intriguing Jurgens with a new trick involving a magic rope.

In the fourth episode, Michael Craig plans to collect his own life insurance (with the help of pal Edward Judd) by faking his own death – the latter, however, has no intention of sticking to his part of the bargain (though he's ultimately not allowed to reap the rewards of his fraud and betrayal). Craig eventually wakes up from a deep sleep in his coffin – terrorizing a couple of intended body-snatchers into the bargain, but himself runs into the wrong end of the graveyard custodian's shovel! This is the shortest episode and, frankly, I was expecting its ironic punchline to be more grisly and drastic! The last segment is the longest and best, if still offering nothing we haven't seen before: a painter (Tom Baker) living a bohemian existence on a tropical island discovers that promoters of the business (including Denholm Elliott as an influential art dealer) had downplayed his talent in order to acquire his stuff cheaply, and then made a pot for themselves by selling it again at the proper value. He turns to a voodoo priest for revenge, who gives him the power to destroy the subject of his paintings – naturally, he draws portraits (from memory and apparently in no time at all!) of his three enemies and has his way with them; what he doesn't know is that, while he's away from the studio, something is about to happen to his self-portrait...

The final revelation is typical of Amicus; while the handling is somewhat pedestrian yet reasonably efficient and the general tone unassuming, this kind of fare has endured by always putting the accent on fun (with the added bonus of star gazing). Incidentally, like its predecessor TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972), this drew inspiration from the popular EC Comics; as a matter of fact, the film itself was known in some quarters as TALES FROM THE CRYPT, PART II. Having mentioned the latter film, both of these have just been released as a 2-Disc Set DVD by Fox; unfortunately, the print used for THE VAULT OF HORROR (while presented in its OAR, unlike the DivX copy I watched) is reportedly the milder PG-rated edit. There are only a few shots missing but, apart from being awkwardly replaced by still-frames, they actually constitute a couple of delightful reveals and one instance of hardly-shocking gore! Considering the fact that I also own TALES FROM THE CRYPT on DivX and that the DVDs contain no significant extras, I'm content with these versions.

"The Vault of Horror" is not one of the best horror anthologies to come from Amicus. The main problem is that the stories just don't have that much kick to them. The execution is reasonable, and there are a few creepy moments as well as some very funny ones. The most valuable asset that the movie can boast is a sterling group of actors who make the most out of so-so material, taken from the old E.C. comics published by William M. Gaines.

A quintet of men are taking the elevator in a big hotel ALL the way down. They end up in a sub basement that they weren't aware existed. With no way out of the place (which looks like a club of sorts), they decide to hang around. Soon, they're regaling each other with the nightmares that are plaguing them.

In "Midnight Mess", Rogers (Daniel Massey) tracks down his sister Donna (Anna Massey) to a rather strange community where it's not advisable to be out and about after dark.

Terry-Thomas plays Mr. Critchit in "The Neat Job". A fussy anal retentive, he drives his new bride Eleanor (Glynis Johns) right up the wall, until she can't take it any longer.

"This Trick'll Kill You" stars Curd Jurgens as Sebastian, a magician who finds a young woman performing a trick that fascinates him. In fact, he's willing to kill to be able to use this trick.

In "Bargain in Death", author Maitland (Michael Craig) thinks he's arranged for the perfect insurance scam, only for his plans to be derailed by some desperate medical students.

Appropriately enough, we end with the best segment, "Drawn and Quartered". Tom Baker plays a painter named Moore. Eager to get revenge on those who exploited him, he makes a deal with a voodoo master, and acquires the ability to destroy people and objects by painting pictures of them, then altering the pictures.

Erik Chitty, Dawn Addams, Edward Judd, and Denholm Elliott are also among this superior British cast. There's a little bit of gore, including one ingenious image in "Midnight Mess". A hysterical comic gag involves Mr. Terry-Thomas. In-jokes add to the fun, with Craig seen reading the novelization for "Tales from the Crypt". In fact, Craig has the best line in the movie when he says, "There's no money in horror."

We fans of the genre know differently. Overall, this is fun. Nothing great at all, but it has its pleasures.

Seven out of 10.

An uneven anthology of EC horror comics stories from Amicus, this time directed by Roy Ward Baker who had worked on 'The Avengers' and was responsible for some of the best Hammer movies ('Quatermass And The Pit', 'The Vampire Lovers', 'Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde'). Baker had already made 'Asylum' for Amicus the previous year. It was a similar anthology, only based on stories by Robert Bloch. 'The Vault Of Horror' has an even better cast of actors than 'Asylum', but is slightly less enjoyable for me. Maybe it's because there's five stories instead of four, and is therefore a bit rushed in places, but a lot of it has to do with the uncertainty of the tone. Gruesome black comedy is easy to pull off in a comic book, but not so easy in a movie. Well, not in this movie anyway. It's starts off strangely, almost like a Bunuel film. Five strangers (Donald Massey, Terry-Thomas, Curt Jurgens, Michael Craig, Tom Baker) enter a lift which unexpectedly takes them down to a basement. They get out and see a table waiting for them, so they sit and begin to recount nightmares that haunt them. Massey's involves looking for his missing sister, Terry-Thomas plays a newly married neat freak, Jurgens a magician looking for new ideas in India, Craig a man with an ingenious insurance scam and Baker a painter who uses voodoo to punish his enemies. All the stories have their moments but the final one starring Tom Baker (just before he became Dr Who #4) is the most effective. The film is full of well known faces in supporting roles including Denholm Elliot, Glynis Johns, Edward Judd, and even a surprise appearance from Robin Nedwell and Geoffrey Davies from the "Doctor" TV shows, playing yes, medical students. I can't honestly say that 'The Vault Of Horror' is all that good, but I enjoyed it for the most part, and if you approach it not expecting all that much you should have some fun.