The Vault of Horror (1973)

An Exercise In Nonsense

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Five men in an office building take take an elevator to the ground floor, only to find themselves ending up in the sub basement with no way out. To pass the time, all five tell a tale about their dreams in this poor follow up to Amicus's Tales From The Crypt. None of the stories told in this anthology measure up to the ones in the afore mentioned "Tales", although there are a few that I enjoyed. The first story, in which a murderous brother goes to visit his sister, where he ends up meeting a fitting end,and the third in which a man and woman on vacation in India debunk a magician, and then murder a rope charmer,and must deal with the dire consequences. This story also has what will probably be the WEIRDEST fight scene ever recorded. The best parts of the fourth story are where they show a vintage "Vault Of Horror" comic book, and a scene in where the main character is reading a novilization of the "Tales From The Crypt" movie! As is in most British horror movies of the time, the gore here is at a bare minimum. So if you're a gore hound, you're probably gonna walk away disappointed. What little gore there is, is quite obviously red paint or tomato juice. And despite the title.of the movie, there really isn't much horror in this movie. "The Vault Of Weird" would have been a more appropriate title. Unlike the previous production of Tales From The Crypt, most of the storied presented here just don't work.

(62%) An entertaining portmanteau based spook show that passes the test of there being more good sections than bad, in fact none of the segments are what I'd call being of poor quality. The cast has a few famous British faces including the always fun Terry-Thomas in one of, if not the best section of the whole piece. Dr Who star Tom Baker also appears. All the stories are interesting enough with good pacing to each meaning this never really drags once; although it must be said that this isn't a very scary film and I doubt anyone ever lost much sleep over it. There is a bit of blood and gore, not a lot though, but this is still an entertaining watch that is worth tracking down for fans of classic British horror.

"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.

Although it has essentially the same plot as the earlier "Tales from the Crypt", "The Vault of Horror" still holds its own. A group of men get trapped in a room and tell each other their dreams, all of which seemed...so real. Probably the most interesting segment was the second one, in which Terry-Thomas (the Englishman in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World") and Glynis Johns (the mom in "Mary Poppins") play what turn out to be the opposite kinds of roles with which they're usually associated. It's just fun to see the twists that occur in each segment, and then the twist at the end of the movie. It's a good time the whole way through.So yes, there is no trick. AND DON'T TRY TO PROVE OTHERWISE!