The Vault of Horror is VASTLY SUPERIOR to this film!
The Vault of Horror (1973) is VASTLY SUPERIOR to this film.
Here are some of the reasons why:
TFTC (1972) lets its plotlines drag on way longer than is necessary.
TVOH (1973) doesn't waste any screen-time letting its plotlines drag. Instead, it gets right to the point, as tales like this should.
TFTC (1972) is barely a horror. It's more like a general melodrama.
TVOH (1973) is chockful of horror content through and through (with a couple of exceptions, like the not-very-good insurance scam tale).
TFTC (1972) has very little horror action, and what little horror action that is present is impotent.
Impotency Cop-out I.e. #1: Undead Grimsdyke doesn't actually do anything, and the film fades to black just before he is about to do something.
Impotency Cop-out I.e #2: The psycho Santa doesn't actually do anything, except for massage the whore's shoulders for a few seconds (why does he even do that?...it makes no sense!), and then the film fades to black.
Impotency Cop-out I.e. #3: Other than bark, Shane doesn't actually do anything. Just before he is allegedly about to attack the major, the screen fades to black.
TVOH (1973) is chockful of gritty horror action which resulted in it being censored multiple times. 'Nuff said.
TFTC (1972)'s frame story has multiple plot holes.
Plothole I.e. #1: The film clearly states multiple times that the guy full of embalming fluid must live forever and can never die. Yet the film inexplicably contradicts itself by randomly fading to black and showing him dead in the CK's lair.
Plothole I.e. #2: Why would the CK have to lie to his prisoners? That is behavior consistent with a weakling, not with a powerful gatekeeper of Hell.
Plothole I.e. #3: Why would the prisoners forget that they died in the first place?
Plothole I.e. #4: Why are the non-living, supposedly metaphysical prisoners lumped together with physical,living human tourists at the start? That's mighty stupid storytelling.
Plothole I.e. #5: Why would the CK make prisoners wait around while he tells other prisoners' stories in front of them? He might as well take one prisoner into his lair at a time, tell that one prisoner his or her story, and then immediately send him or her to Hell. Taking multiple prisoners into his lair at once makes no sense as it is runs contrary to his purpose which is to get as many souls into Hell as he can.
Plothole I.e. #6: By taking prisoners into his lair in groups, the CK gives himself another problem: after the first prisoner falls into Hell, the others will refuse to leave his lair so as to avoid the same fate. Since the CK is a frail old fogey in this film, he obviously isn't going to physically force them into the pit. So, what of the prisoners who refuse to leave the lair? They could just hang out there with the CK forever. So why wouldn't they? It's better than Hell.
TVOH (1973's) frame story has one plothole too (one guy suddenly & randomly knows what is happening at the end, even though he didn't know for the rest of the film), but that's still a lot less significant than the multitude of plotholes from TFTC (1972).
TFTC (1972) doesn't feel like EC comics at all (this ties into the earlier point about TFTC (1972) being far more of a melodrama than a horror).
TVOH (1973) feels exactly like EC comics, except for the British accents.
In sum, TFTC (1972) is much worse than TVOH (1973). For TVOH (1973) to have less acclaim and lower ratings is absurd.