The Greatest ’70s Horror Anthology Needs Saving

Vault of Horror begins with its wrap-around story of five businessmen who, despite pressing buttons for different floors, all find themselves in an elevator that takes them to a sub basement. After departing the lift, they discover themselves in a comfortable lounge with a bar. Unable to leave for the time being, they all settle into the furniture and begin to discuss the odd dreams that each of them have recently suffered.

Each man’s dream represents one unrelated vignette, each one giving audiences a tale more chilling than the last. Vault of Horror’s first tale “Midnight Mess,” follows Harold Rogers as he schemes to kill a family member for inheritance. But as his crimes take him to a little town, Rogers discovers too late that the hamlet’s residents are vampires.

Vault of Horror continues with “The Neat Job,” where Arthur Critchit marries the trophy wife of his dreams. But their relationship becomes almost immediately strained when Arthur is dissatisfied with his new wife’s messy way of living. The woman ultimately snaps and gives the particular Arthur a dose of his own medicine. 

The third Vault of Horror tale, “This Trick Will Kill You,” shows magician Sebastian on a trip to India with his wife Inez as the two are looking for inspirations for new tricks for his act. After seeing a rope charming trick that he cannot figure out, Sebastian and Inez lure its performer back to their room to murder her. But after seizing the trick rope, they realize all too late that it has magical qualities that will eventually spell the end for the two of them.

“Bargain in Death” is the fourth installment of Vault of Horror. This terrifying story centers around Maitland, a man who conspires with his friend Alex to commit insurance fraud. Alex buries his friend alive as part of the scam, but decides to leave the poor man there to suffocate so that he can keep the entire claim to himself. In an unrelated event, Maitland is dug up before he runs out of air, only to face another set of terrible circumstances.

The fifth and final vignette, “Drawn and Quartered,” is about a painter named Moore. Moore is the true starving artist type and is currently eking out a living in Haiti. When he learns that art dealers are making a fortune off of his work, Moore conspires with a voodoo priest for the revenge of a lifetime.

Vault of Horror concludes with the wrap-around story with the men becoming aware of a horrifying revelation that spells out eternal consequences.

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While not as popular as Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror generated fans nonetheless. Each tale was a vivid and graphic adaptation from the gruesome pages of William Gaines EC comic books from two decades before, with most of them coming not from the series it was named for but from Tales from the Crypt and Shock Suspense Stories. Like the comics it was based on, the film takes gore to the next level and led to a lot of censorship when it was released to play on British television.

The realistic sets, creative adaptations of comic stories, and gory imagery help make Vault of Horror a memorable outing.

Vault of Horror has been made available on physical media but is not currently streaming on any platform.