Vault of Horror DVD

Vault of Horror is the story of five men who are sent via elevator to a basement beneath the Thames in London for no apparent reason. Once there, the men begin to discuss personal nightmares they have each had and this forms the framing for the collection of scary tales that follows. The first two stories which involve a man who arrives in a dark town of vampires and a nagging husband who pays a terrible price are less than satisfactory, and both have an element of daftness to them and are more black comedy than horror. However the three stories that follow are geniuniely unsettling and save the film.In the third a devious magician trys to buy the ultimate magic trick in India , in the fourth an attempt by a would be con artist to bury himself alive backfires horrifyingly and in the final and best an artist uses black magic to gain revenge on the art dealers who have wronged him.The ending is surprising and unexpected and crowns what is a fine effort from Amicus. If you are a fan of the modern American slashers such as Scream , you will most probably give this short shrift , but if you love a good old scary piece of British horror you will not be disappointed. The ensemble cast is equally impressive , with the likes of Tom Baker , Denholm Elliot and the late Terry Thomas giving good performances. The only drawback is that the movie does look terribly dated indeed and will remind you that the seventies really was a black decade for taste. Nonetheless , totally enjoyable.If you like this keep your eyes open for FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE , which is from the same Amicus stable and is very similar in style. It does the rounds on the TCM cable channel and is just as good as this.