The Vault of Horror (1973) - film review

Five strangers enter an elevator in a London office block and are surprised when they end up being trapped in a plush room in the basement.  To pass the time, the five men each recounts a vision that has haunted him for longer than he can remember.  Harold Rogers tells of a recurring dream in which he tracked down his long lost sister and murdered her to profit from her inheritance.  He then enters a restaurant where a host of vampires promptly make a meal of him.   The next man, Gritchit, is a compulsively tidy man and in his dream he marries a woman who cannot help making a mess.  In the end, the browbeaten wife decides to tidy away Gritchit, into a nice assortment of glass jars.   In his fantasy, Sebastian sees himself as a magician touring India for new tricks.  He is fascinated by a girl who can charm a rope out of a basket, but when he tries to discover the secret he becomes very highly strung.   Maitland reveals that he imagines himself pulling off an insurance scam with his friend Alex.  Injecting himself with a drug, Maitland feigns death, not realising that his friend has no intention of digging him up after he has been buried alive.  Two young medical students in search of a body to practice on bribe a gravedigger to exhume Maitland, and get more than they bargained for when they lift the coffin lid.   Finally, Moore, tells his story, in which he is a struggling artist in Haiti.  When he learns that three men have profited from his work whilst giving him nothing in return, he visits a Voodoo priest in search of revenge.  Whatever Moore paints becomes a Voodoo doll – if the painting is damaged, so is its real-life subject.  Unfortunately, the artist has painted a portrait of himself.  What is the purpose of these strange dreams, and why have the five men been brought together to tell their stories...?

The last of Amicus’ horror anthology films, The Vault of Horror has acquired something of a cult following, in spite of the fact that it was badly mauled by cuts imposed by the censor for its first release.   Less well regarded than Amicus’ previous anthology films, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1964) and The House That Dripped Blood (1970), this one still manages to chill and entertain, mainly on the strength of the performances from a very talented cast, which includes Tom Baker, who, the following year, was given the lead part in the long-running BBC TV sci-fi series Doctor Who.

The Vault of Horror has its grisly moments but it is much more a black comedy than a traditional horror film.  Admittedly, some of the humour is pretty sick - Terry-Thomas being pickled by his wife and Daniel Massey ending up as a drinks dispenser for his vampiric sister Anna – but the horror is mild by today’s standards and it is clear that director Roy Ward Baker and his cast are playing this one for laughs rather than thrills.  With most of the excised material now carefully restored, it is possible to enjoy this deliciously tongue-in-cheek little shop of horrors in all its macabre glory.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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