Review: The Vault of Horror (1973)
Directed by: Roy Ward Baker
Starring: Terry-Thomas, Curd Jürgens, Tom Baker
Written by: Milton Subotsky
Music by: Douglas Gamley
Country: England
Available on: Blu-ray (Scream Factory), DVD (Final Cut Entertainment)
IMDb
The Vault of Horror — the second anthology from Amicus Productions to take its name from an EC horror comic, and the second directed by Roy Ward Baker (Asylum) — was the penultimate anthology from Amicus before the studio moved away from portmanteau horror shortly before shutting down for good. Like Tales from the Crypt, its EC Comics brethren, this one is packed with five tales penned for the screen by Amicus co-founder Milton Subotsky — oddly, none of which are actually from the namesake comic. This film isn’t anywhere near the strongest of Amicus’ seven anthologies, but it’s a pretty decent time anyway.
It’s got a similar setup to its predecessor: five strangers meet up, this time in an elevator that takes them to a sub-basement adorned with a table set for each of them. They feel obliged to sit down and shoot the shit, eventually turning to discussing the nightmares that seem to be plaguing each of them, nightmares that all end in that sucker’s demise. There’s a whole lot of vengeance to be found in these visions: a vengeful vampire, a vengeful housewife, a vengeful magic rope, and a vengeful painter, and then sort of a Rube Goldberg ironic twist.
Like the rest of the stuff from Amicus, The Vault of Horror is tame in terms of its actual horror, other than the final story, which has some gruesome little bits and bobs despite its plodding length. One of the five, about a couple of dudes out to cheat a life insurance company by burying one of them alive, is really short and pointless and there to pad runtime. But each of the other four is worthwhile for one reason or another, even if none strike as hard as the best stuff in the Amicus catalog. The twisted one-two punch of “The Neat Job” and “This Trick’ll Kill You” in the middle of the film is a definite highlight, and despite the ridiculousness of the premise in the latter segment, it features one of the most sinister, spine-tingling moments in any of these anthologies: Dawn Addams climbs a charmed rope to nowhere, only to reach the top, let loose a blood-curdling scream like she saw an indescribable Lovecraftian horror from another dimension, and disappear, leaving a spreading bloodstain in the ceiling where a typical rope would have been anchored.
Ultimately, The Vault of Horror is hindered by a less star-studded cast than past efforts. In fact, this is the only Amicus anthology in which Peter Cushing doesn’t appear. As a result, there aren’t any standout performances, and the dearth of enthusiasm on screen, along with a lackluster selection of stories and a distinct absence of the gothic moodiness British horror is usually packed with, leaves the entire affair feeling blasé and perfunctory. There are worse ways to spend 83 minutes, but it’s evident everyone was kind of phoning it in here.
Overall rating: 5.5 out of 10
