Vault of Horror is a pleasing (though not on the eye!) low budget anthology from Amicus. Which is somewhat strange, as like its forebear Tales From The Crypt it is based on the American E.C. comic and is set squarely in British culture - It even has Terry-Thomas playing a pompous Englishman! There are five short horror stories here, and it's the whole rather than the sum of the parts that is so likable. The film is meant to entertain and provide a shudder and a giggle or two, and this it certainly does. There's also a nice bunch of character actors, Daniel and Anna Massey, The Gap-Toothed One, Kurt Jurgens a future 007 nemesis, Denholm Elliot, Tom Baker, that bloke from Randall and Hopkirk Deceased (the live one - Mike Pratt) and Arthur Mullard to name but a few! Oh, yeah, and those two dorks from Doctor At Large...
Of the five tales only 3 work well - Baker's story, Drawn And Quartered, is by far the best, and he brings a powerful intensity to the role of a wronged artist seeking revenge through voodoo. Of the others Midnight Mess is quirky fun, about a restaurant full of vampires, The Neat Job is an agreeable vignette and This Trick Will Kill You and Bargin In Death hardly worth the time. Still, the whole thing is never less than watchable.
The central revelation that the characters are all dead and are reliving their sins will hardly come as a surprise to those familiar with other Amicus compendiums (they all end the same!), although all Terry-Thomas does is complain about his new wife's bad housekeeping, which makes his fate seem a little harsh! Good fun, and lovers of interior design can well enjoy the truly terrible wall-paper and fashion sense on display here. Poor Glynnis Johns - where did she get that outfit???
Of the five tales only 3 work well - Baker's story, Drawn And Quartered, is by far the best, and he brings a powerful intensity to the role of a wronged artist seeking revenge through voodoo. Of the others Midnight Mess is quirky fun, about a restaurant full of vampires, The Neat Job is an agreeable vignette and This Trick Will Kill You and Bargin In Death hardly worth the time. Still, the whole thing is never less than watchable.
The central revelation that the characters are all dead and are reliving their sins will hardly come as a surprise to those familiar with other Amicus compendiums (they all end the same!), although all Terry-Thomas does is complain about his new wife's bad housekeeping, which makes his fate seem a little harsh! Good fun, and lovers of interior design can well enjoy the truly terrible wall-paper and fashion sense on display here. Poor Glynnis Johns - where did she get that outfit???