The Horror Vault

R0 NTSC DVD

Web: http://www.thehorrorvault.net

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

A 110-minute set of short stories covering some of humanity’s worst traits – insanity, murder, torture, and more. Some of the stories didn’t do much for me, and some are obviously made on a low budget, but the quality of the direction and the scripts and the skilled performances by many of the actors and actresses make up for this.

I can’t summarize the plots without giving too much away, since a short story by its very nature can’t carry too much of a plot. In spite of this, some stories deserve special mention. I particularly liked Josh Card and David Boone’s “Disconnected”, a graphic and gruesome little torture comedy. Yes, it’s a hard combination to imagine, but watch the movie and you will see what I mean. “Alone” has the classic horror ingredients of waking up by yourself in empty house, with unfamiliar things happening. Mandy Amano particularly gives a good performance. Drew English and Gabriel Dowrick’s “Echoes” follows a similar line, with a man waking up strapped into a bed with no knowledge of what he is doing there or what is going on - until the real nightmare begins. Sean Seuthorp turns in a brilliant performance, considering that all he does is lie there and suffer.

Although many of the casts have some film or TV experience behind them, the writers, producers and directors are almost unknown. The Horror Vault series gives them a chance to show their talents. Some will have a good career ahead of them, and I can only commend the Horror Vault for giving them an airing.

The Horror Vault itself is a low-budget operation, selling by mail order from www.thehorrorvault.net. They have trailers available which give you some idea of what you are in for, but the trailers can’t do justice to the quality of some of the work. The Horror Vault 2 has already been released, and it’s worth keeping an eye on their website for future releases.