The Horror Vault (2008) Reviews

• Good selection of horror and dark humor

  lastliberal2008-04-19

  Starting off with an effort to replicate the grindhouse use of "coming attractions," complete with grainy, scratched film, we expect the cheesiness to continue as the feature is not one, but nine separate horror shorts. I am sure everyone will find their favorites in the collection, but I was particularly impressed by "Alone" with Mandy Amano as a sorority girl alone in the house with a killer on the loose. The sets and costuming were excellent and really gave a 50s feel to the story. It had a nice twist at the end. "Mental Distortion" with Kim Sønderholm, who also wrote and directed this short, as well as the first one shown (When John Met Julia) stars with Maja Muhlack and the voluptuous Danish model Barbara Zatler. The story is really open to multiple interpretations, and I am sure each viewer will have their own. "Disconnected" is the story of bloody brutality, but it is the twist that will have your mouth dropping open - totally unexpected. Those are my three favorites, but the other six shorts are just as interesting and others are left to find theirs.

• Very interesting indeed

  filmfreak-52008-05-01

  ***CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS!*** It was by pure coincidence (and because I heard about it through various indie channels and (and because I knew Pepsi hottie Mandy Amano was in it) that I stumbled across this release, and having now seen it I feel I must say that it is very underrated. All nine stories have their own charm, obviously some more than others, but they all managed to appeal to me some how. The ones that stood out though was "Delusion" starring Jonathon Trent which managed greatly to convey the feeling of an old Hitchcockian thriller from the 50ies. "Disconnected" brought on explicit torture which I found a tad hard to watch because of it's relentlessness but it was a welcome addition regardless. "Mental Distortion" quite interestingly was a thriller building up to a twist you wouldn't guess - or, the ending at least leaves you thinking cause it could have actually have two different endings and it's all up to you. "When John Met Julia" was more a classic revenge story, except it was delightful for a change to see a female (and bloody gorgeous too) killer instead of a male killer and you'd first expect from how the film is building up. 9/10 - maybe 8/10...8.5 I think...