The Vault of Horror (1973)
Brought to you by British horror stalwarts Amicus Studios, and a direct sequel to their EC Comics themed "Tales from the Crypt'", fans of British/70's horror may have a little fun with this one. The wraparound story features five men, who, after crowding into an elevator, find themselves mysteriously arriving in the basement of the building and in a strange room. While they ponder their situation, the men all share a recurring nightmare they have, thus giving us five individual tales.
Midnight Mess: Probably the weakest of the film, featuring vampires and some slight comedy. Nothing to write home about, as it's all rather predictable fare.
The Neat Job: Probably the least horrific of the film, but one that sorta hit home in a personal way. A neat freak of a husband constantly berates his new wife when she can't keep his home clean while he is away at work. Having OCD myself I sorta felt for the guy, and the end scene of the wife bumbling around the house where one thing after another turns into a mess really creeped me out, in the way only people with OCD can relate to.
This Trick'll Kill Ya: A magician and his wife are traveling India in search of some inspiration for their act back in the States. After witnessing a young girl performing the infamous "Indian Rope Trick", he persuades her to come back to the hotel so he can show his wife. Of course, the girl is killed and the rope exacts it's revenge. Yeah, it's really about as scary as it sounds.
Bargain In Death: Two men are running an insurance scam, in which one of them takes a drug to "die" while the other is to dig up his partner after the money is collected. Of course, the dude runs out on the other leaving one hapless schmuck to wake up buried alive.
Drawn and Quartered: A maligned artist seeks out some help from the old "voodoo magic" to exact revenge. Probably the best of the lot, even if it is fairly predictable. Say, is that Doctor friggin Who as our vengeful painter? I'll be damned, it is! Good fun.
"Vault of Horror" is really nothing special, though fans of Amicus and British horror in general will probably get a kick out of it. The stories all seem to rely on perhaps a little to much black humor rather than actual scares, but that's sort of the EC comics vibe I suppose. Nothing bad but nothing special either. Word to the wise, the print I viewed had some obvious cuts/editing, I think there may have been a little bit more of the red stuff had there been no interference. An UNCUT print is out there, according to internet sources.