I caught the Vault of Horror the other sleepless night.
Another Amicus anthology and possibly less well known than Tales from the Crypt.
There are some stand-out performances by really great actors here. My favourite segments, three of the five, are:
Midnight Mess: the one where the brother murders the sister but falls foul of the 'locals' in the restaurant that night. I wont spoil it, suffice to say, the the final scene of the protagonist upside down was one I saw pictured as a young monster nut in my copies of Dennis Gifford's and Alan Frank's horror film guides, an image that's stayed with me my whole life! I understand that that scene was deleted from certain showings, with a still of it shown instead!
The restaurant in this section was in Richmond, London and the site Reel Streets depicts this and other locations in the film then and now, which is fascinating and I appreciate how much work it must have taken.
The Neat Job; Glynis Johns and Terry-Thomas do such a 'neat job' of this section too, its a fabulously compact and complete world in itself and revolves around, yes, obsessive neatness.
The house used is once more a portal into my Parents' home in the early 1970's and I love to notice the ornaments and artefacts: the big lamps, the magazine rack, the enormous flower clock, the thick impasto paintings and the records - I think we even had the classical one Glynis Johns returns to its sleeve. Its a startlingly good section and the domestic tension rises to fever pitch before ... bam! I adore the crazed woman's insane wide-eyed stair and the mad cackle at the end.
This Trick' ll Kill Ya: my final fave segment of this Amicus pick 'n' mix stars Curt Jürgens and Dawn Addams as a married magic act searching for a new trick in India, a trick they are prepared to use extreme prejudice to get.
The most alarming scene, certainly when I was a nipper first seeing it, was the sudden disappearance of the wife near the ceiling and the resultant slowly- slicking blood patch. Yuk!
The remaining two sections are fine, just less memorable for me, although the appearance of two young stars from TV's Doctor in the House is a plus. I so remember that series and similar young shows like Man about the House, The Lovers, Please Sir and the Fenn Street Gang. Do you? Happy days!
Do you like Vault of Horror? Have you a favourite bit?
Now that you mention that synopsis, I'm not sure I've ever seen Vault of Horror, at least not recently enough to recall. So I must search for this one! SFZ
ReplyDeleteIts not as well known as Crypt I don't think SF. Check it out this Christmas, yule enjoy it!
DeleteWow! What an amazing link to the shooting locations! Richmond was my Home town at the time of filming and I went to the Vineyard Infant's and Junior's Schools. I remember that street as part of my route home from the Odeon Cinema ( still there, although the ABC and Gaumont Cinemas are long gone!)
ReplyDeleteI'll be putting those screenshots in my Nostalgic London folder!
I can't believe that street was on your route home Looey, that's amazing. So was the restaurant actually called the Vineyards do you know?
Delete‘Please Sir’ and ‘Fenn Street Gang’ actors would give Stockard Channing’s casting as a teenager in ‘Grease’ a run for most unbelievable. 🤣
ReplyDeleteThey were a cool bunch Dave!
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