Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Baker failed to get any oomph out of it.
Featured Audience Ratings
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Otherwise known as the sequel to 'Tales from the Crypt' yet all the stories here bar one are from the 'Tales' comics. So it seems the 'Vault' comics short stories weren't good enough for a film?
Again the simple premise is the same, a group of… More
Otherwise known as the sequel to 'Tales from the Crypt' yet all the stories here bar one are from the 'Tales' comics. So it seems the 'Vault' comics short stories weren't good enough for a film?
Again the simple premise is the same, a group of people in an elevator are taken down to the basement of a high rise block in London. Because they are trapped each of them tell tales of their worst nightmares (as you would do). From here on we get another five short spooky tales of which all in my opinion are really quite good.
Up first is a basic plot involving a man going to a small village to kill his sister so he will get their recently deceased fathers estate. The village turns out to be a vampires nest and he is killed watched over by his sister whom he had just murdered. Second is merely about a pedantic man and his neat and tidy obsessions which drive his new wife so crazy she kills him.
Third sees a magician and his wife observing a young Indian woman perform a rope trick whilst in India. The young woman will not tell or sell the secret of the rope trick so the magician and his wife kill the young girl, but revenge is short coming. The fourth story is about two con men who set up an elaborate insurance scam. One of the men fakes his own death and is buried alive as part of the plan but the second con man double crosses him and leaves him for dead. Unusual circumstances see the buried man dug up but fate has a final trick in store for both of the men.
The final story shows us an artist who gains the power of voodoo in his brush hand whilst in Haiti. He then uses this power to enact revenge on some business men back in London who have lied and tricked him over the sale of his recent work.
Overall every story here is a really neat little creepy tale mixing revenge, ghoulish graves, magic and vampires, the perfect blend. Much better than the first 'Tales' anthology in my opinion, the stories are more fun and mysterious making you use your imagination. I especially liked the eerie death for the magicians wife in the Indian rope tale.
Again its an English film so we are treated to some more A class casting. This time you can see Tom Baker, Glynis Johns, Denholm Elliott, Terry Thomas and Curd Jürgens. There is no 'keeper' this time, although the comics had a keeper just like 'Tales', but the outlining premise of the wrap or frame story is the same, much like all horror anthology flicks.
This really is a much better set of stories than the first film. More in line with other good anthologies like 'Darkside' and 'Twilight Zone'. There is a tad more blood and gore shown is this film too, not in your face but some nice hints, of course don't go expecting brilliant visual effects.
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This is the sequel to the original Tales from the Crypt movie. What was wrong with the people who made this? I'm guessing they only had one or two of the comics laying around. With such a wide selection of great stories, the selections here are pretty uninspired. Even the… More
This is the sequel to the original Tales from the Crypt movie. What was wrong with the people who made this? I'm guessing they only had one or two of the comics laying around. With such a wide selection of great stories, the selections here are pretty uninspired. Even the good ideas are often poorly executed, and it's lacking in good plot twists. The exception is "Drawn and Quartered". The final tale almost makes up for the rest of the movie.
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No more then a sequal to the 1972 Movie Tales from the crypt. Some what enjoyable, unless you have watched present day Tales from the crypt. Another almost good Drive In Movie. 3 stars
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I wanted to see a portmanteau movie... This one was successful in that each of the individual stories is well-paced, no matter how brief the length or scant the plot elements.
As for the framing device ... The characters' discussions inside The Vault felt eerie enough, since it… More
I wanted to see a portmanteau movie... This one was successful in that each of the individual stories is well-paced, no matter how brief the length or scant the plot elements.
As for the framing device ... The characters' discussions inside The Vault felt eerie enough, since it was difficult to tell what anyone remembered about their real lives. The design of the overhead shots through the vault ceiling are a valiant attempt to modernize the gothic. But the rest of the cinematography consists of hack shots and quick gambits to jolt the audience -- like someone wearing a joy-buzzer and grabbing you by the wrist before you can shake hands.
"Bargain In Death" is not getting much praise in the comments here, but it has the most unique plot and the real (untelegraphed) surprise of the whole movie. Otherwise, "The Neat Job" makes spectacular use of the energy and precision of the two leads. In "Drawn & Quartered", Tom Baker's presence is scarier than any of the black magic. Also in that episode, the filmmakers try to outdo the gunman's POV from Hitchcock's Spellbound. Don't think there's enough room in that idea to surpass the original, which was done stylish and dreamlike and somewhat artificial, but granted, it was uncomfortable to have a quivering gun pointed at my face for what felt like 3 minutes. It's like the movie is saying, "Be scared or I'll blow your head off." -- Fine, fine, you're so desperate, you're definitely starting to freak me out.
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British horror anthology featuring five short stories told by a group of men who find themselves trapped in a hidden room in an apartment building basement. Not a big lover of anthologies but this one was pretty good fun. Each story was entertaining enough and neither I found to be… More
British horror anthology featuring five short stories told by a group of men who find themselves trapped in a hidden room in an apartment building basement. Not a big lover of anthologies but this one was pretty good fun. Each story was entertaining enough and neither I found to be bad. Upon the conclusion of the fifth story the twist is revealed but you could probably guess it after the first 15 minutes. It's 40 years old and a lot milder than my preffered slice of horror but I enjoyed this one more than other films of its type.
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I would have given this four stars, but I watched an edited version of the film. I hope this is made available uncut in the U.S. someday. I'm not really sure why it was cut in the first place. You get a sense of what the explicit effects were and they don't seem all that… More
I would have given this four stars, but I watched an edited version of the film. I hope this is made available uncut in the U.S. someday. I'm not really sure why it was cut in the first place. You get a sense of what the explicit effects were and they don't seem all that out there - at least compared to what we're seeing today. I enjoy Amicus' anthology films, even the mediocore to bad ones. This one would be a great follow up, but I have to get my hands on a copy of an uncut version of it first.
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Perfect for those blessed with a penchant for camp horror but cursed with a short attention span. Five spine tingling vignettes in less than 90 minutes.
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Pure camp fun. Pretty watchable Amicus adaptation of five EC comics' stories. Some are weak (This trick'll kill you, Bargain in death) but the other three worth my money.
Mystery and dark comedy from the great Brit horror anthologies.
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I'd have to say Drawn & Quatered was my absolute favourite of the lot. For it alone I'd give three stars. True Tales from the Crypt quality. The Neat Job was alright, as well, but the rest were rather dull.
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The round table of terrible men telling what haunts their dreams continues in the second of the Tales From the Crypt movies. The strangest and maybe my favorite story is of the artist who uses magic to get revenge of the people who ripped him off because voodoo is his first line of… More
The round table of terrible men telling what haunts their dreams continues in the second of the Tales From the Crypt movies. The strangest and maybe my favorite story is of the artist who uses magic to get revenge of the people who ripped him off because voodoo is his first line of defense. Voodoo! Who thinks of that? Well a guy with an afro ginger beard with evil intent.
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I really like Amicus' portmanteau films. This and 'Asylum' are great films and have a great atmosphere throughout. The fact that they are a little dated adds to their appeal and I love the fact that all those involved have a sticky end. The production values aren't… More
I really like Amicus' portmanteau films. This and 'Asylum' are great films and have a great atmosphere throughout. The fact that they are a little dated adds to their appeal and I love the fact that all those involved have a sticky end. The production values aren't bad considering they were made on a shoestring budget and it's interesting that at this time Amicus were producing more interesting films than their competitor Hammer. I must try and track more of these down. I wish they'd made an updated version with British talent today. Could be great.
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A sequel to "Tales From The Crypt" by Amicus.
As with most horror anthology's they can be rather hit and miss, which this certainly is.
The story starts with five men in a lift, only to be taken down to the basement and trapped. As they all sit around they start to… More
A sequel to "Tales From The Crypt" by Amicus.
As with most horror anthology's they can be rather hit and miss, which this certainly is.
The story starts with five men in a lift, only to be taken down to the basement and trapped. As they all sit around they start to tell each other their dreams and fears.
First up is Daniel Massey's episode "Midnight Mess". In it he tracks down his sister (played by real life sibling Anne Massey) to a strange town with some strange residents. He eventually meets his end in a rather humorous way involving vampires. One of the better episodes.
Next up is Terry Thomas in "The Neat Job". This is another one of the better episodes, with Terry Thomas' neat freak character being rather laughable.
The third episode is "This Trick'll Kill You". Rather predictable and one of the worst in the anthology. It involves a man and his wife who are desperate to get their hands on an Indian girl's (who's not really Indian at all) rope trick. Of course there are terrible consequences.
Next is the shortest and weakest story in my opinion. Intitled "Bargain In Death" it involves Michael Craig faking his own death in an insurance scam.
Last is "Drawn and Quartered" and is defaintly the best of the lot. It stars Tom Baker as an artist who takes revenge on the people who lied to him using Voodoo. Whatever the artist paints comes true, so of course he paints portraits of the critics who doubled crossed him and altars them in some way to cause harm to his victims.
Overall, "The Vault Of Horror" is very dated. It's worth watching for the few entertaining episodes, but overall pretty average.
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