The Vault of Horror (1973)

An anthology of five horror stories shared by five men trapped in the basement of an office building.

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Al Feldstein (based on the stories written by), William M. Gaines (based on the stories written by) (as Bill Gaines)

Stars:

Terry-Thomas, Tom Baker, Daniel Massey

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Massey	...	Rogers (segment 1 "Midnight Mess")
Anna Massey	...	Donna (segment 1 "Midnight Mess")
Mike Pratt	...	Clive (segment 1 "Midnight Mess") (as Michael Pratt)
Erik Chitty	...	Old Waiter (segment 1 "Midnight Mess")
Jerold Wells	...	Waiter (segment 1 "Midnight Mess")
Terry-Thomas	...	Critchit (segment 2 "The Neat Job")
Glynis Johns	...	Eleanor (segment 2 "The Neat Job")
Marianne Stone	...	Jane (segment 2 "The Neat Job")
John Forbes-Robertson	...	Wilson (segment 2 "The Neat Job")
Curd Jürgens	...	Sebastian (segment 3 "This Trick'll Kill You") (as Curt Jurgens)
Dawn Addams	...	Inez (segment 3 "This Trick'll Kill You")
Jasmina Hilton	...	Indian Girl (segment 3 "This Trick'll Kill You")
Ishaq Bux	...	Fakir (segment 3 "This Trick'll Kill You")
Michael Craig	...	Maitland (segment 4 "Bargain in Death")
Edward Judd	...	Alex (segment 4 "Bargain in Death")

Storyline

Five men trapped in the basement vault of an office building share visions with each other of their demise. Stories revolve around vampires, bodily dismemberment, east Indian mysticism, an insurance scam, and an artist who kills by painting his victims' deaths.

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Plot Keywords:

elevator | building | vault | scam | dismemberment | 

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Taglines:

Everything that makes life worth leaving!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Further Tales from the Crypt

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Studios, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metromedia Producers Corporation (MPC), Amicus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Real-life brother and sister Daniel Massey and Anna Massey play brother and sister in the movie.

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Goofs

(at around 57 mins) The first thing seen in the voodoo hut is a mask obviously meant to be of Haitian origin, though it's actually of Pacific Northwestern Native American origin.

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Connections

References Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein (1968)

User Reviews

Uneven horror anthology with a strong cast. If you don't expect all that much you should have some fun.

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.