(1972/UK)
REVIEW BY-STEVE GENIER DIRECTED BY- ROY WARD BAKER CAST-PETER CUSHING, PATRICK MAGEE, BRIT EKLAND, HEBERT LOM, BARRY MORSE, BARBARA PARKINS, ROBERT POWELL and CHARLOTTE RAMPLING. SOURCE-DARK SKY FILMS DVD (NTSC REGION ALL / 89 MINUTES / 2006)
When I think of Amicus, I think trilogy. ASYLUM is just that, a series of short stories taken from legendary writer Robert Bloch who is best known for his novel PSYCHO. Now, when you put all the pieces together with this, Amicus producing a series of Robert Bloch short stories starting an all-star cast being directed by a legendary director such as Roy Ward Baker. Well, I’m sure you get the picture here. I have a soft spot for many Amicus films, probably more so then a lot of Hammer films. I guess I’m not one for those period pieces where Amicus would present many of their films in the present day and giving you more then just one angle. Though with many of their films, as with ASYLUM, there’s a shell of a storyline with a few inter mingling side roads in between, all of course in relation to the main storyline. Oh, but you can never forget the twists that they would throw at you during the fury finale. ASYLUM’S story deals with a psychiatrist (Robert Powell) who is being interviewed for a job position at a mental asylum. He first must choose who are the insane, the patients or the doctors themselves. In doing so, he is to interview four inmates to form his final opinion.
The first inmate is tells the story of her lover who plots and eventually kills his wife. Dismembering her into pieces and wrapping her up and throw her remains in a freezer in the basement. After just finishing and phoning her that the job was done, he retires with a drink. Of course that is short lived as he is haunted by the wrapped pieces of his wife which leads him to check on her remains in the freezer only to be strangled himself. This is the standard Amicus approach but does have some chilling moments as Roy Ward Baker displays his usual expertise in camera positioning as well as direction of some great actors. Lighting and music provide a haunting atmosphere that surely adds to the moment. This folks is just the warm up to the heart of ASYLUM.
The second inmate (Barry Morse) a tailor who is behind on his rent and must pay by the end of the week or be out on the streets. He is approached by a mysterious man (Peter Cushing) with an even stranger request. To make him a suit out of a strange glowing material under strict rules, one stating only to start work on the material after midnight. The suit is to be made for the stranger’s son. After following the guideline and upon delivering the suit to the stranger at his home. The tailor discovers that the stranger’s son is dead. A secret the stranger didn’t want revealed and they get into a struggle over payment for the suit. The end result is the death of the stranger. Returning home, the tailor instructs his wife to destroy the suit, though she decides to hang it on a dummy who eventually comes alive. Once again, the building of an atmosphere only an Amicus film can create. Both Barry Morse and Peter Cushing are flawless in their respective short roles.
The third inmate (Charlotte Rampling) tells the story of her brother who is questioning her sanity upon returning home. She in turns figures he is conspiring something against her. Then her friend (Brit Ekland) comes to her aid and trys to help her escape the house. Though in the process she is stopped at the front door by the hired nurse. Looking frantically for her friend she discovers that not only has the phone line been cut but her brother has been murdered as well. Of course all leads back to her as there is simply no sign of her friend ever being there. An interesting tale yet in my opinion is the weakest of the bunch.
The fourth and final inmate is Dr. Byron (Herbert Lom) who has been locked up by Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee) for his odd hobby of small life like robots that Byron believes can come to life within time. The interesting part of this story is that it runs real time with the shell story and leaks into it giving us a pretty interesting set of situations that ultimately give way to an interesting twist of an end. As he foretold, the life like robot-doll of Byron himself does come to life and seeks revenge on Dr. Rutherford by stabbing him in the back of the neck with a surgical scalpel.
Once again like it’s arch rival Hammer Studios, it’s a shame that these two have not seen the light of day since in Amicus’ situation since the mid 70's and Hammer in the mid-80's. Both these studios with their different approaches gave us some of the most chilling moments in horror history. One film in particular that comes to mind and to this day still give me the chills when I watch it is Amicus’ THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. The first story of a writer (Denholm Elliott) who purchases the house as a source to break out of his writer’s block. In the process of being engulfed by a make belief serial killer called Dominic who seemingly comes to life and stalks him in his own house. The atmosphere generated by that story along attests to just how effective the films that Amicus pumped out over the years they were at the top of their game. ASYLUM is yet but another prime example of this.
Darksky Films have quietly become a force to be reckoned with. Their latest Amicus Collection releases are a great example of the care these guys have taken to bring them to the North American audience. Anchor Bay released a box-set of Amicus works a couple of years ago for the European fans. The main feature is a beautiful anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) with an English 2.0 Dolby Digital audio track. You can also choose to listen in on both director Roy Ward Baker and camera man Neil Binney on thier take of the process of shooting ASYLUM. Along with the main feature you are also treated to a featurette entitled "INSIDE THE FEAR FACTORY" where we learn about Amicus and the people who brought it to life, Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky. Sadly also sharing the sad truth behind the fall of it as well. There are interview with the likes of Freddie Francis, Roy Ward Baker, and Rosenberg himself just before his death in 2004. This featurette is also apart of the Anchor Bay boxset as well as the audio commentary and liner notes. So, if you missed out on the UK boxset, here’s your chance to grab it.
STREET DATE: JULY 25th 2006
STORY/FILM- 3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS PICTURE- 3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS AUDIO- 3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS EXTRAS- 3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS OVERALL DVD- 3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS -or-
© 2006 cinema-nocturna.com
