MovieChat Forums > The Vault of Horror (1973) Discussion > The uncut zombie corpse ending

The uncut zombie corpse ending

posted 14 years ago by thelastfaceyouwillsee
17 replies | jump to latest

Can anyone tell me why there seem to be two endings for this movie?I have seen one where the trapped men exit the lift into a misty graveyard and then the movie ends.

I have also seen another version where they turn into living corpses and walk to their graves and the Curt Jurgens character says that is their fate, to relive the nightmare every night for eternity.

Stills from this appeared in Alan Frank's horror movie books back in the late 70s and 80s.

Which versions are available on DVD?

...now I do it just to watch their f----n' expression change.

[–] Spiny_Norman 14 years ago

I don't think there are two endings - The (uncut) version shown on Film4 last night ended with the men exiting from the lift into the misty graveyard, then walking slowly and silently to their respective graves before Jurgens delivers his monologue and the film ends. I don't understand what you mean about 'living corpses', but perhaps the '1st version' you mention was merely edited for running time?

"Everybody in the WORLD, is bent"

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 14 years ago

Thanks for the replies.

I did some digging online and it seems that there was an alternative ending with all the men except Curt Jurgens walking out into the graveyard and changing into skull faced zombies. This was included in some publicity material but for some reason never made it into the final cut. I guess I must have mixed up my memories of seeing the photos in a book and actually seeing the movie (uncut on British TV) back in the early 80s.

Here is a link to a photo showing ther makeup (hope it is ok to put that here?)
http://www.gruselromane.de/gespenster-krimi/titelbildvergleiche/vault_of_horror.jpg

The make up reminds me of the 'Blind Dead movies' - and the clothes look pretty clean considering the state of the bodies!

If anyone discovers why this scene wasn't include maybe they can post on here?

[–] Spiny_Norman 14 years ago

Great pic - Thanks.
Would have been much better (more 'impact') with that superb-looking makeup.
Mind you, Tom Baker's ginger beard was quite scary enough on it's own!

"Everybody in the WORLD, is bent"

[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 14 years ago

LOL - that's right, was it real or stuck on, do you think?
Made him look like a deranged meths drinker!
I'd love to know why they didn't use the zombie ending.

...now I do it just to watch their f----n' expression change.

[–] Frosted-Flame 14 years ago

Was the book from the seventies? My dad had the same book i think, had a skeleton on the dusk jacket? and had stills from the wickerman?

When You Do Things Right People Won't Be Sure You've Done Anything At All

[–] Django44 14 years ago

There's a still in Alan Frank's 1974 book 'Horror Movies', on page 79. I no longer have the dust jacket but I think it had an image from 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors' on the front...

[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 11 years ago

Three years later....yes that is the book and very good it was too!

"Remember, you have to make it home to get paid" (The Dogs of War)

[–] sillyspaghetti 14 years ago

Wow! That still's pretty creepy! Would've been a scarier (but more appropriate) ending to such a creepy film. The vampire tale and the rope trick tale in this are sooooo eerie!

"Hey! Ladies! That was fun!"

[–] richwicz 14 years ago

I think this was purely a publicity still, I've never heard of anyone seeing a version of The Vault of Horror with this ending in it.I've seen the film a few times over the years, including TV showings from many years back and I've never seen this ending.

[–] johnnyparker 14 years ago

I think you're most likely right, richwicz, that the shot of the five men in their 'zombie' make-up was only ever a publicity still. I own a copy of the Alan Frank horror movie book - which does indeed have a still from Dr Terror's House or Horrors on the dust jacket - and all it says about the VOH zombie shot is something along the lines of "Tom Baker, Curt Jurgens, Daniel Massey et al in Roy Ashton's horrific make-up for Vault of Horror". (I would dig out the book to check but it's packed away in my loft!)

But what I don't get is why go to all the trouble of doing such an elaborate make-up and then not use it in the film?

I really wish somebody associated with the movie would be able to tell us, definitively, whether the scene was ever actually filmed, and if so, why it didn't make it into the final cut. I have this vague 'trace memory' of seeing it on screen in the 70s when I was a kid, but I suspect this is just me imagining something I'd seen in Alan Frank's book.

If they move, kill em!

[–] velvoofell 13 years ago

Good image of it here:

http://uk.ebid.net/for-sale/vault-of-%C2%ADhorror-us-lobby-card-amicus-si%C2%ADgned-41240373.htm#pic

I think it is a shot for advertisement reasons only as I don't think any of the actors are in the masks here and that doesn't look like Jurgens in the back, just a lookalike.

[–] zachtheman 13 years ago

i have that book to

you will have to forgive the lack of full stops lack of proper spelling im dyslexic but not stupid

[–] shanakin 11 years ago

Just watched this morning for the first time and found it quite enjoyable. Amicus made some unique horror movies. Was expecting the ending as well with the characters walking out zombie like. Though not there I still found the movie a lot of fun.

I remembered I own the paperback novelization of this movie. In the novelization on the last page it does describe the zombie scene down to the use of that they turned to Curt Jurgens character.

All rights reserved, for IMDB purposes.

An expert from the page,

They were in a cemetery, and when they turned to wave back at him their faces were no longer as they had been. Their lips and noses had vanished. Their eyes were empty holes. Their skin hung in rotting ribbons and a stench of decaying flesh drifted back to him as they turned again and went on and then halted, each beside his own grave, and disappeared like puffs of smoke.

I wonder if they did shoot the scene but just decided to go with a much more simple ending, I wish they would have of gone for the zombie type ending it would have been much more horrific for the ending of the movie.

[–] KGGone 12 years ago

I caught it one night on TBS and missed the last five minutes. I had to mail order an uncensored copy of it and was disappointed not to see the skullf aces.
From what i read it was only a publicity still but sadly when someone recently had a chance to ask Baker about the scene they didnt follow up on the questioning. Dont know who else alive would have been able to clear up why it wasnt shot--it sure would have been great even with stand ins in the makeup!

[–] LJ27 11 years ago

I saw the same photo in the same book. I went and saw the movie in a re-release called TALES FROM THE CRYPT II, thinking it would be there and feeling quite cheated that it wasn't. I wonder if they did shoot the ending this way, decided it didn't work and changed it, but used a shot from the ending in publicity stills. Sadly, with all the people who made it deceased, I guess we'll never know. Also, not sure why anyone would replace the violent scenes with still frames but someone does need to dig up an uncut widescreen version. Thanks for posting about the corpse photo from the Alan Frank book. I thought I was the only one wondering where that scene was.

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

They should have used the zombie ending. The ending, as it is presented in the actual film, sucks really badly.

Alternatively, they also could have had ghouls or demons drag the men into their graves. That too would have been way better than the ending as it is presented in the film.