The Vault of Horror

A typically solid and satisfying horror anthology from those fine folks at Amicus, which was a studio that specialized in omnibus scare fare. Amongst the assorted twisted stories being told here, the first one about the small town that's populated with vampires, the second wickedly funny tale concerning an overly neat and tidy nitpicker, and the final vignette about a bitter destitute artist who uses voodoo to exact revenge on three men who exploited him are by far the best of the bunch. The tip-top cast includes Glynis Johns, Terry-Thomas (delightfully irritating as the overbearing neatnic), Daniel Massey and his sister Anna, Denholm Elliott, Edward Judd, and onetime Dr. Who Tom Baker. Director Roy Ward Baker keeps things moving along at a steady pace as well as delivers a few nice bits of bloody gore. The morbidly amusing sense of pitch-black gallows humor evident throughout further adds to the macabre merriment. Well worth a watch for fans of anthology fright films.