Tales From the Crypt/Vault of Horror (1972/1973) Blu-ray review

When it comes to horror anthologies, no single studio stands out more than Amicus Productions. Though the company may have existed in the shadow of Hammer’s peak output period, their most valued contributions have been portmanteau pictures that were good enough to attract some of Hammer’s top talent. After successfully producing a handful of horror anthologies scripted by famed writer Robert Bloch, the studio looked across the Atlantic to America; specifically, New York City, home to EC Comics. Amicus co-founder Milton Subotsky was a long-time fan of their comics – titles such as “Tales from the Crypt”, “The Haunt of Fear” and “The Vault of Horror” - so he convinced one of his partners to acquire the rights to a handful of their tales. Their initial production, Tales from the Crypt (1972), proved so successful that a follow-up, Vault of Horror (1973, also known as Tales from the Crypt II in some markets), went into immediate production. Fans can debate which the superior film is (for me it’s Tales) but there’s no question that the winning combination of Amicus’ horror anthology acumen and EC Comics’ strong storytelling yielded two of the greatest multi-storied horror pictures conceived.

Tales from the Crypt begins with a wraparound wherein five strangers are inexplicably drawn to aging catacombs. There, they meet the Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson), an enigmatic, hooded individual who proceeds to tell each of them their eventual fate. Joanne (Joan Collins) is subjected to the terror of a deranged Santa Claus after killing her husband on Christmas Eve, leaving her unable to phone the police lest they discover her dead beau’s corpse. Carl (Ian Hendry) leaves his family behind to elope with a younger mistress, but their plans of future bliss are cut short due to a violent car crash, one which Carl only appears to have survived. The Elliotts – Edward (David Markham) and his unscrupulous son, James (Robin Phillips) – do everything in their power to rid the neighborhood of kindly old Mr. Grimsdyke (Peter Cushing), a lonely widower who takes great pleasure in fixing toys for the local kids and raising a stable of dogs. When their efforts succeed beyond their wildest dreams, a visitor from the grave ensures they won’t be around long to wallow in hateful bliss. Ralph (Richard Greene) and his wife, Enid (Barbara Murphy), have fallen on hard times. A Chinese figurine they discover claims to hold the power to grant them three wishes, hardly what they should consider a blessing given the outcome of the old “Monkey’s Paw” tale. Finally, a home for the blind is being run by newly-appointed head Major William Rogers (Nigel Patrick), a stern military type who rations everything from food to heating due to “economic concerns”; this despite the fact that he continues to live and eat like a king on the premises. The poorly-treated residents of the home don’t take kindly to his cruel rules, leading them to give the Major a taste of his own medicine. The film wraps up with the Crypt Keeper letting the five strangers in on a little secret, one which becomes clearer and clearer as the finale draws closer.

The greatest strength in Tales comes not from the acting or directing – both of which are perfectly sound – but in the rich stories culled from the comics. Somewhat ironically, most of the stories come not from Tales but some of EC’s other publications, though that’s more a minor bit of trivia than a condemnation. Each segment tells a full story in brief time, often with a morality angle and always ending poorly for the amoral characters who act as though they’re above reproach. Additionally, the film nails what many anthologies often don’t: the wraparound, which here is just as intriguing and mysterious as any one of the film’s stories. Also, maybe it’s the accents, but British horror pictures tend to have an air of regality about them that elevates the material ever so slightly; a touch more prestige, if you will. There’s also a great deal of wonderful practical FX on display, in particular the zombified Grimsdyke who isn’t on screen for nearly long enough. In fact, no segment overstays its welcome, ensuring the audience is hungry for more once the credits begin rolling.

And they remained hungry, so much so that Amicus quickly shuttled a sequel into production. Vault of Horror opened the following year, presenting a storyline virtually identical to its predecessor. Unlike Tales, which included a couple stories from its namesake comic, Vault pulled entirely from other publications; in fact, the majority of the stories are actually found in Tales. Not that any of this matters; it’s more about capturing the spirit of EC Comics’ publications than slavishly adapting them.

Here, five men find themselves on an elevator heading toward a destination none of them anticipated: the building’s sub-basement, where they find a posh room housing a large table and plenty of drinks. And, so, seemingly trapped here with time to kill each recounts a recurring nightmare they have experienced. The first, Harold (Daniel Massey), tells of visiting a mysterious village looking for his sister, who just inherited a large sum of money. He finds the townspeople odd and unhelpful, but eventually tracks down his sibling whom he promptly kills so the inheritance money will go to him. Death must cause considerable hunger because he heads to a local eatery for a bite, only to realize these are not normal people… and he’s just been added to the menu. Arthur Critchit (Terry-Thomas) is a fastidiously clean fellow, unlike his young wife, Eleanor (Glyns Johns), who is unable to meet his OCD demands. She’s such a nitwit that when she does try to earnestly clean, it only produces a bigger mess. And when Arthur gets home he erupts, finally pushing Eleanor to do some erupting of her own. Sebastian (Curd Jurgens) is a magician on vacation in India. He’s also a total dick who exposes fellow magicians to their rapt audiences. When he meets a woman who does extraordinary things with a rope (not that kind of extraordinary), naturally he decides the best way to acquire her skill is to kill her. What he doesn’t count on is the rope may not need the woman to perform its magic. A scam artist, Maitland (Michael Craig) concocts a scheme to collect insurance money on his own life by using a serum to give the illusion he has died. A friend of his is set to collect the money and, after burial, retrieve Maitland from the grave so he can live high on the hog for the rest of his days. Things, naturally, go poorly for all parties involved. Finally, Moore (Tom Baker), a painter in Haiti barely scraping by on his meager wages, learns his old art cohorts have sold his “worthless” paintings for a mint. Moore visits a voodoo priest and is given the power to use his artistic abilities for evil purposes, literally painting his enemies to their deaths. Moore, however, shows he’s a bit of a moron by painting a portrait of himself, which couldn’t possibly be damaged accidentally, could it?

The stories told in Vault of Horror are not quite as strong as those in its predecessor, but by no means is the film poor. It’s likely no accident the picture feels very much like an imitator of Tales from the Crypt given how popular that title was at the time. The tales aren’t redundant in any way, with each thematically different from the others. Conversely, three of the segments in Tales dealt with the living dead, whereas not a single one features a lumbering zombie here. Still, Vault can’t help but feeling a bit pedestrian, with no one story standing out as a clear winner. The onus of success then falls not on the writers but the actors, nearly all of whom turn in commendable performances. Terry-Thomas steals the show, if anyone does. His expressive face and trademark gap-toothed grin convey comedy and stern authority in equal parts. Plus, he was great in Danger: Diabolik (1968). The wraparound is the only piece that feels rehashed, though it’s still nicely done.

Let’s get to what’s really enticing for fans here: Vault of Horror is, at long last, available fully uncut. Horror fans know that often times literal frames can significantly impact a film’s, um, impact. This is absolutely the case with Vault, and the uncut version restores the neck tap, “odds & ends”, the result of a hammer blow and the aftermath of losing one’s hands. After watching the film for the first time, I cannot imagine having these crucial scenes trimmed. The big payoff in at least two of these stories would be greatly diminished had Scream Factory not made all the effort possible to make sure the film's integrity was restored.

Tales looks absolutely marvelous, with a sharp 1.78:1 1080p image that is outstanding. Definition is strong, thanks to the impeccable print from which it was sourced. Colors appear vibrant and strong; just look at the kaleidoscope of hues on display in Joan Collin’s home during the first story. Contrast handles well, though black levels do sporadically look a little hazy. Shadow delineation is perhaps the image’s only deficient area, with moving images nearly completely lost in dark shadows. But, thankfully, that issue crops up only once or twice. Surprisingly, there’s even a decent level of depth to the picture.

Vault also features a 1.78:1 1080p image, though it’s just a bit below Tales in terms of clarity. The print looks pretty clean, as expected given the work Scream Factory put into it. The biggest difference between the two films is Vault simply isn’t as sharp, often looking a tad softer than Tales. Grain is present and aids in a filmic look, with only minor specks appearing occasionally. Colors are saturated nicely, and black levels are stable.

Rarely does Scream Factory disappoint in the audio department, and neither of the English DTS-HD MA 2.0 tracks is problematic. Both Tales and Vault enjoy strong fidelity, with excellently balanced dialogue, notable depth & range for each of their respective scores, and sound effects that carry a real weight to them. Subtitles on both films are included in English.

Don’t act so surprised there’s virtually nothing in the way of bonus features; Scream Factory said on their Facebook page that nearly all of the budget for this release went into making sure Vault of Horror was presented uncut. Film always takes precedence over supplements, but they did sneak a couple of features onto Vault. Also, if you call it a bonus, there are actually three versions of Vault of Horror included.

Tales from the Crypt holds no bonus material, but Vault of Horror includes the following:

The film’s theatrical trailer, presented in black & white, and an alternate title sequence, this one carrying the Tales from the Crypt II title.

Most fans will likely forego watching either cut included here, but for the sake of completists Vault of Horror is included in both the PG-rated theatrical version and a rare open-matte version of the BFI uncut master.

The ABCs Of Death (2012) Blu-ray review

Here's a review I just wrote for DVD Compare. I didn't reformat it for this blog, partially out of laziness and partially because I don't mind the format we use there.

The Film:

Innovation in horror is a great thing. Now, I’m not saying that what the brains behind “The ABCs of Death” (2012) have done is entirely novel since horror directors have been brought together several times before to helm segments within a feature, but the idea of using the letters of the alphabet? Pretty damn genius. It sets a firm template for the film’s narrative (in some sense) while also allowing the chosen directors to play in the sandbox however they see fit. The results of that laissez-faire approach, however, have yielded extremely mixed results. And, really, how could it not? You’ve got 26 (!) different directors, many of whom are playing for a foreign team, and they’ve been given free reign over their short film aside from two strict guidelines: they have to pick a word that begins with their selected letter of the alphabet, and someone has got to die. That’s really all there is to it, and the on-screen results will certainly show that these filmmakers truly came up with whatever they wanted. They employ a variety of shooting cameras, mediums, artistic styles, and writing all in the name of death. Out of a hefty roster of talent, only a fraction managed to craft a short film worthy of your time, though. I’d have to say maybe four or five segments elevate the picture; the rest are utterly forgettable. Rather than recapping the entire alphabet, this review will highlight the few bright spots amongst this gloomy canvas.

“D is for Dogfight” is interesting for its subversion of a typical backroom street fight. As the title suggests, man and dog collide in a makeshift ring surrounded by sketchy thug types. But like many of these shorts, there’s a clever enough twist at the end to make the segment interesting after the excitement of the premise’s opening wears off.

“F is for Fart” was, for me, the highlight of this film. Maybe that says something about how scatological humor only seems to exponentially increase in enjoyment as you age. Regardless, this short manages to cram in so much of the Bizarre Japan that the country has become known for that it almost begs for a feature-length film to be made. Alright, maybe not quite that far but if your idea of entertainment isn’t Japanese school girls inhaling deadly flatulence and getting sucked into each other’s butts, well then what does amuse you? Director Noboru Iguchi, who also helmed the extremely fun “Dead Sushi” (2012), is absolutely a director to keep an eye on if only to see how absurd and insane his next project turns out. He’s got a filmography that boasts both theatrical films and adult videos, and his work certainly does a great deal to meld the two.

“K is for Klutz” is a traditionally animated short about one woman’s adorable little turd that refuses to be flushed down the bowl. The animation style is reminiscent of something from the ‘80s, but only in regards to character design and color use. Going with animation took things outside the box; it was a good call.

“Q is for Quack” gets meta with director Adam Wingard and producer Simon Barrett trying in vain the come up with something for their chosen letter in the film. They decide the most shocking thing to do would be a live death on screen. Not a person, though; an animal, since “nobody gives a shit about animals!” Needing a “q” animal, they select a duck for its ability to quack. As expected, the simple task of shooting a caged, helpless duck in the desert goes awry with amusingly tragic results.

“T is for Toilet” was directed by Lee Hardcastle. Never heard of him? Not a shock. Lee won entry into the film thanks to a contest, and he happened to deliver one of the bright, shining moments of the film. Going even further outside the box, Hardcastle did his entry using stop-motion animation and clay puppets. The plot concerns a young boy who has a blood-drenched nightmare about using the toilet for the first time. When he wakes up, he finds out if there’s really anything to fear from the porcelain altar. This is crudely done, but so very effective thanks to the cascade of blood, vibrant colors, and his inventive designs and effective methods for how a toilet would kill an entire family.

“X is for XXL” wasn’t one of the best segments, but fans of director Xavier Gens’ over-reliance on gore might like this disturbing entry about a woman who goes to great lengths for the perfect body.

“Y is for Youngbuck” is an odd entry from director Jason Eisener. It blends elements of revenge and pedophilia into something that Todd Solondz might have done if he were more bloodthirsty in his filmmaking. Come to think of it, based on his currently-short filmography, Eisener seems to enjoy using revenge as a template. No qualms here; it’s one of the best motivations in film. This short retains his style and the perverse sense of humor that has pervaded his earlier efforts.

Outside of these recommended selections, the rest of the film ranges from decent to terrible. Some of these directors clearly made the most with their limited time and budget, turning in a piece that shone in the final film. Others, however, seemed to have no ability to condense their ideas for a limited runtime and deliver a clear, concise selection. The best segments threw all caution to the wind, just letting their crazy ideas fly wild. The worst got off to a bad start and never recovered. “The ABCs of Death” promises at the end that there will be a sequel and, to that, I say this entry should be mandatory viewing for any director getting involved so that the deficiencies of this are not repeated.

Video:

The only constant here is the film sporting a 1.78:1 1080p/24fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image. Outside of that, we’ve got 26 films done by 26 directors using (almost) 26 different methods of capturing their ideas. As expected, every single one of these segments ranges in quality. The films were shot using digital cameras, stop-motion animation, traditional animation, a GoPro helmet cam, and probably more than a few different film stocks and speeds. As such, it would be nearly impossible to assign an overall rating to something that is constantly changing. Still, it would also be right to assume that each film has been faithfully reproduced here for the high definition that the medium of Blu-ray provides. As a general observation, most films exhibited a good amount of detail in addition to strong color reproduction. But, again, everything varies from film to film.

Audio:

As with the video, such is also the case for the film’s English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit). There aren’t any real problems to address here; all of the segments have a robust track that makes full use of their original fidelity. Some films make better use of the soundfield than others. Overall everything sounds as it should. Bass levels are warm and powerful; dialogue is even across all 26 segments.

Subtitles are included in English SDH and Spanish.

Extras:

As you might expect for a film with 26 different directors, there’s a wealth of bonus material here since nearly everyone tried to put together something for this Blu-ray. There are commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, interviews, trailers, photo galleries, and more.

The filmmaker commentary features participants for all 26 of the film’s segments, with some shorts having more than one active participant involved. As such, these commentaries all vary in their usefulness. Most are simply the directors trying to explain what they were going for and how it was achieved under the gun, so to speak. They’re informative, but sitting through this again can be a chore if you didn’t like it.

Up next, a host of featurettes for many of the short films:

“A is for Apocalypse: Oil Burns Visual Effects” (1080/60p) is a featurette that runs for 1 minute and 10 seconds, providing a behind the scenes look at how they fried a guy’s face.

“B is for Bigfoot: Making Of” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 2 minutes and 56 seconds.

“C is for Cycle: Deleted Scenes” (1080p) runs for 3 minutes and 24 seconds.

“D is for Dogfight: Making Of” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 6 minutes and 57 seconds.

“F is for Fart: Behind the Scenes” (1080/60p) is a featurette that runs for 9 minutes and 43 seconds.

“H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion” contains a few different pieces:

- “Behind the Scenes” (1080p) runs for 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
- “The Making of Bertie the Bulldog & Frau Scheisse” (1080p) runs for 4 minutes and 47 seconds.
- “Finished Short vs. Behind the Scenes” (1080p) runs for 6 minutes and 44 seconds.

“I is for Ingrown: Making Of” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 6 minutes and 43 seconds.

“J is for Jidai-Geki: Behind the Scenes” (1080/60p) is a featurette that runs for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.

“P is for Pressure” contains two interviews (1080p):

- “Writer/Director Simon Rumley” runs for 9 minutes and 3 seconds.
- “Producer/Director of Photography Milton Cam” runs for 9 minutes and 45 seconds.

“R is for Removed: Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery” (1080p) contains 71 images.

“T is for Toilet: Behind the Scenes” (1080p) runs for 3 minutes and 4 seconds.

“V is for Vagitus” contains the following:

- “Deleted scene with optional commentary” (1080p) runs for 37 seconds.
- “Behind the Scenes” (1080p) runs for 13 minutes and 32 seconds.
- “Animatics” (1080p) runs for 5 minutes and 1 second.

“W is for WTF!” contains the following (1080p):

- “Behind the Scenes” runs for 7 minutes and 44 seconds.
- “Bonus Flubs!” (1080p) runs for 3 minutes and 1 second.
- “Star-Beast Outtakes” (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds.

“Z is for Zetsumetsu: Behind the Scenes” (1080/60p) runs for 11 minutes and 7 seconds.

“AXS TV: A Look at The ABCs of Death” (1080/60p) is a featurette that runs for 4 minutes and 16 seconds. As you might surmise from the runtime, this is a brief overview of the film, its concept, and some of the minds behind it.

A few trailers for the film are included (1080p):

- “Faux educational film trailer” runs for 1 minute and 43 seconds.
- “Red band” runs for 1 minute and 27 seconds.
- “Green band” runs for 1 minute and 24 seconds.

There is a BD-Live link that (shockingly) will take you to some actual content relevant to the film. Here, viewers can watch some of the contest submission winners who made short films of their own based upon a pre-selected letter.

The disc also includes trailers for the following releases (1080p):

- John Dies at the End” runs for 2 minutes and 23 seconds.
- “Kiss of the Damned” runs for 2 minutes and 27 seconds.
- “The Sorcerer & the White Snake” runs for 1 minute and 39 seconds.
- “AXS TV promo” runs for 33 seconds.

Finally, the disc is also enabled with a bookmarks feature.

Packaging:

The single disc comes housed in an amaray keepcase.

Overall:

The conceit behind the film is ingenious, but the end results are a mixed bag… and that’s being generous. A few good segments can’t help a two hour film with so much dead weight; however, I will say that the brevity of each film made the task of watching it go by rather painlessly. Even a slow, meandering, pointless short lasts around five minutes. The anticipation of seeing what’s coming up next helps considerably, too. Worth a watch, but probably not a purchase.

The Film: C-
Video: B
Audio: B
Extras: A-
Overall: C+

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

Here's one I wrote about 5 years ago, but I love this film so much I wanted to get this out there...

Ah, Halloween… my favorite time of the year. It isn't so much the festivities taking place that excites me as it's the feeling in the air once October comes. That palpable sensation you get seeing jack-o-lanterns grimly lit faces, kids trick-or-treating in the streets and the aesthetics of fall surrounding you slowly giving way to winter. I think it must hold a special place in everyone, if for nothing else but purely nostalgic reasons. Michael Dougherty is certainly one of those people, as is evidenced by his incredible horror anthology Trick 'r Treat. For a holiday that revels in films of a horrific nature, there sure are a scant few of them that take place on the actual day itself. Dougherty's film is the celluloid embodiment of that je ne sais quoi that has made Halloween such an alluring holiday for generations of kids (and adults) alike.

As I said, Trick 'r Treat is a horror anthology which interweaves tales that all take place on Halloween night, similar to such genre classics as Creepshow and Tales from the Darkside. A costumed couple learns to respect tradition… the hard way, a group of girls head out into the woods for a "howling" good party, the local school principal has a (literal) taste for blood, four kids attempting to pull off a holiday "trick" end up becoming "treats", and a cantankerous old man gets a visit from a holiday visitor looking to settle a decades-old grudge.

To say any more than that would spoil the fun in watching the film, as these stories are best digested when viewed on an empty mind. The twists are less predictable than most horror films manage these days; half the fun is wondering just where the hell these characters are going to end up. The one constant throughout the film is a costumed, pint-sized little guy named Sam, who does his best to remind people why they should take great care in adhering to the traditions set forth hundreds of years ago for All Hallows Eve. The film is richly seeped in tradition, reminding the audience of just why we celebrate the fabled holiday in the first place. It manages to be effectively creepy and blood-soaked, yet it never goes over-the-top with gratuitous gore. There is also a very obvious helping of black comedy strewn throughout the film, which thankfully never gives way to the self-parody so many horror films feel the need in which to indulge.

I think the most impressive aspect of this film is the incredible attention that has been paid to detail. Every single shot of the film is beautifully framed and composed, often looking more like a cryptic painting than a frame of film. The austere trappings of Mr. Kreeg's dark house, the ghostly palette of the rock quarry, the incredible shape-shifting sequence around a roaring fire in the woods… everything here is gorgeous. That aesthetic, married with the spot-on performances and realistic dialogue, give the film an organic feel that never relies on cheese or parody to break tension. The cinematography by Glen MacPherson (who also shot this year's incredibly brutal Rambo) is so lush it manages to make you feel like you're a part of the celebration. For someone who is as big a fan of the Halloween holiday as I am, this was especially important to see done right. Too often when a film actually does take place on the holiday it lacks the depth that is presented here.

For such a large ensemble cast, there isn't any one performance that stands out above the rest – everyone here is perfectly cast. I even enjoyed Anna Paquin as the "virgin" of the female group, and she's not always someone I'm crazy about. Perhaps my favorite role is that of Mr. Kreeg, played superbly by veteran character actor Brian Cox. His look was inspired directly by my favorite director, John Carpenter, and there are a couple of well-placed nods to his work that were highly amusing. Also providing great support throughout the film is newcomer Quinn Lord who plays Sam, the little sack-headed minion who "stitches" the film's stories together.

Ok, now here's the biggest problem with the film; the 800 lb. gorilla in the room: there is NO set distribution deal lined up. I was lucky enough to see it at the sold-out opening night screening held at Grauman's Chinese Theater for Screamfest 2008. During the post-film Q&A session Mr. Dougherty informed us that he had no idea what the future held for this film. It was set to be released in Oct. 2007 (?!?), then it was pushed back to Feb. 2008, Oct. 2008 and, finally, has been placed on the shelf indefinitely. I'm thankful that Dougherty got some good studio money to make the film to his exact specifications, but, for the love of all things evil, someone at Warner Bros. needs to get this thing out to the masses! I heard rumblings of a direct-to-DVD release date sometime next year, to which I can only say that would be a travesty for something this genuine and unique. I suppose therein lies some of the problem; since this is generally uncharted territory, the studios are clueless as to how they can market the thing. I can understand some of their hesitation (since a good majority of the film features children either killing or being killed), but there's just no excuse to not give this thing some kind of release – and with an October 2008 release out of the question I don't when they could give it a proper release. This is a film that needs to be seen during the month of October, but it's looking like 2009 is the next likely candidate if that were the case. I just don't want to see this film become the cinematic equivalent to the eternally-gestating Guns N' Roses opus Chinese Democracy (which, oddly enough, actually has a release date… for now).

So, obviously I highly recommend the film, there's just one problem: how do you see it? Unless you happen to live in NY and can catch the upcoming screening I really couldn't tell you. I'd hate to have to wait another year until Oct. 2009 for this to get a proper release, but it's been in the can for so long at this point I think any kind of a proper theatrical release, regardless of when, is merited. I'm sure it'll pop up at the occasional film festival throughout the year; I just hope it doesn't get unceremoniously dumped onto DVD without having the benefit of being screened proper for audiences hungry for good, original horror. This is the kind of film you'll find yourself screening for friends every year on Halloween, becoming as much of a tradition as those the film champions. Everyone knows I'm a rabid horror fan through and through, and I've seen more than my share of shitty flicks – this is absolutely one of the best in recent memory. Do yourself a favor and try your best to catch it if you can.