There are 2 types of Amicus anthology films. Those that take the subtle approach like HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD & FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE and those that don’t, like these two. That’s because the first two are drawn from short stories (by Robert Bloch & R. Chetwynd Hayes) which are in the British drawing room tradition of M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood while CRYPT & VAULT utilize the graphic EC comics of the 1950s and 60s. Nothing subtle about them in the least. Having been an avid reader since I was 5 years old, I devoured the books in my parent’s library. My mother loved mysteries and short story collections and that’s how I became acquainted with the likes of Poe and Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu. These stories helped to shape my taste in horror along with the classic films of the 1930s.
Although the EC comics were around during my youth, I never saw them until I went off to college. The closest I came to them was Bill Gaine’s other publication, MAD magazine which introduced me to their clever, sardonic humor minus the gruesome graphics. Just because CRYPT & VAULT aren’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean that they are bad films, far from it although one is clearly better than the other, they’re just not my preferred style of horror. While the characters in these stories undoubtedly deserve what’s coming to them, there’s a cruel edge to their fates which is evident in the overall storytelling that has always put me off.
I first saw CRYPT with a group of college friends when it came out in 1972. Afterwards we adjourned to the student center and talked about it for hours. The Joan Collins segment (Santa) made us jump, the Ian Hendry segment (unfaithful husband) left us cold, the Richard Greene segment (MONKEY’S PAW) made us laugh, and the Nigel Patrick/Patrick Magee story (nursing home) made us wince. Ralph Richardson as the Crypt Keeper with his unmistakable voice was a nice touch (we went around for weeks intoning ” all in good time” or “and then?” to each other). After watching it again for this review it still holds up well but the cruel edge remains.
VAULT is another story altogether. This one I missed the first go round in 1973 and I caught it later at one of those drive-in triple features that were popular in my youth but which were dying out by the mid-1970s. Although loaded with good performers, I thought it was defintely inferior to CRYPT in story telling and production values. Tom Baker’s DORIAN GRAY like artist story was almost picture perfect while Curt Jurgen’s rope trick segment was devoid of magic. The Terry-Thomas/Glynis Johns story never really hit home and the Daniel & Anna Massey vampire story lacked the necessary bite. Several of the stories were censored for TV release changing it from an R rating to PG (not even a 13!) and it is this print which Twentieth Century-Fox utilizes for this DVD.
UPDATE: – Just received the new Blu-Ray release and the inferior print of VAULT OF HORROR has been replaced with the original, uncut UK version giving me a greater appreciation of the film. TALES OF THE CRYPT has been spruced up as well making this an absolute must for fans of Amicus and pre-EXORCIST British Horror.
The Capsule Critic 