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:

Curd Jürgens, Terry-Thomas, Tom Baker

1 nomination.

Cast

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

Storyline

Five strangers board a descending lift, one by one, in a modern office block in London. They reach the sub-basement, though none of them have pressed for that destination. There they find a large, elaborately furnished room that appears to be a gentlemen's club. The lift door has closed; there are no buttons to bring it back, nor any other exit. Resigned to waiting for help, they settle down with drinks and talk. The conversation turns to dreams, and each man tells of a recurring nightmare.

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Plot Keywords:

anthology | elevator | portmanteau | greed | buried alive | 

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Taglines:

Below the Crypt lies Death's waiting-room - The . . . Vault of Horror

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Dawn Addams's final film before her death on May 7, 1985 at the age of 54.

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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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Quotes

Waiter (segment 1 "Midnight Mess"): Good evening. The table d'hôte is rather nice, sir. Juice, soup, roast, sweet, coffee.
Rogers (segment 1 "Midnight Mess"): That'll be fine!

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Alternate Versions

August 2008, Film Four showed a BFI National Archive restored print which included the uncut versions of the Daniel Massey, Terry-Thomas and Tom Baker stories ('Midnight Mess', 'The Neat Job' and 'Drawn and Quartered' respectively). This restored print was broadcast in an open-matte 1.33:1 format, showing more picture information at the top and bottom of the screen in comparison to the wide-screen 1.85:1 of the Fox Midnight Movies DVD.

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Connections

Follows The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

User Reviews

A Nice Sequel to the Original

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.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Vault of Horror

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Studios, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions, Metromedia Producers Corporation (MPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1