Asylum

From the mid 1960s and well into the 1970s, producers Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky released a slew of successful horror anthologies through an English studio called Amicus (The Studio That Dripped Blood), including this little nugget of joy titled Asylum (1972). Written by Robert Bloch (Psycho) and directed by Roy Ward Baker (Quatermass and the Pit, The Vampire Lovers), the film features a number of notable actors including Peter Cushing (Dracula), Herbert Lom (The Return of the Pink Panther), Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man), Charlotte Rampling (Zardoz), Barry Morse ("Space: 1999"), Barbara Parkins (Shout at the Devil), Robert Powell (The Asphyx), and Geoffrey Bayldon (Casino Royale), to name a few...As the film begins we see a man traveling by car to what looks to be a stately manor in the English countryside. Turns out the man is one Dr. Martin (Powell), and the stately English manor is actually a nutter house for the criminally insane. Seems Martin has recently secured a position at the asylum, and is set to meet his new boss, a Dr. B. Starr, who runs the joint. On arriving, Martin is informed by another doctor named Rutherford (Magee) that Dr. Starr's had a bit of a breakdown, and is now a patient in the very institution he once ran. Rutherford, not being entirely satisfied with Martin's abilities, puts him to a test to interview four patients (which relates into a story involving each patient), and if he can guess which one Dr. Starr is, Rutherford will agree to take Martin on...the first tale is titled The Frozen Fear and involves infidelity, greed, and murder as man and his mistress make plans to do away with the man's wife (she controls the purse strings). The man makes short work of his wife by giving her the ax (literally), but her discombobulated parts seem to have a life, and mind, of their own. The second tale is titled The Weird Tailor and features Barry Morse as a tailor who's fallen on hard times, but finds hope in the form of a customer, played by Peter Cushing, who presents him with a proposition to make a suit (which ends up looking like a fancy Nerhu jacket) out of an extremely odd, shimmering material. The man also has specific instructions with regards to the assembly of the suit, the main one being the tailor can only work on the garment from between midnight until dawn...hmmm...sounds hinky to me. The third story is titled Lucy Comes to Stay and features Charlotte Rampling as a disturbed woman returning home from an extended stay in the hospital. Upon arriving home, she chaffs under the strict regime prescribed by her doctor, but her friend Lucy (Ekland) soon shows up, giving new meaning to the phrase `bad influence'. The fourth and final tale is a minor one titled Mannikins of Horror, and features Herbert Lom as a once prominent neurosurgeon and orthopedic specialist who now spends his days making little android like toys, believing that through sheer will he can make them come alive.One thing that impressed me most about this anthology was the amount of attention given to the linking story, or the wraparound. Normally in an anthology like this, the wraparound is the most spindly aspect, as its only purpose is a transitional device intended to string the main tales together, but here it's actually a pretty decent piece, one that develops into a nice little twist ending to cap off the film. As far as the various tales, I enjoyed them, but I thought The Weird Tailor the weakest. It had Cushing in it, which was a definite plus, but Morse, whom I like, just seemed miserably miscast for his part, and I had a difficult time sitting through his overly ethnic rendition of a schlubby, immigrant tailor struggling to make ends meet. The casting in this piece may have been a little off, but the atmosphere was dead on, offering up some severely creepy vibes, especially once we enter Cushing's character's home as the tailor seeks to collect that which he is owed. Overall it was probably the least shocking of the bunch, along with also being the longest. As far as the other stories, they're all efficient and paced quickly, wasting little time on unnecessary junk, providing some mild to strong shock endings. Perhaps the best shock comes near the end, during the conclusion of the wraparound tale, as Dr. Martin is pressed to make his choice towards the identity of Dr. Starr. I admit I wasn't overly surprised by the revelation, but it was handled well and was quite a bit of fun. I'd say Cushing's performance stood out the most, but then I'm completely biased as he's one of my favorite actors. As far as the others, they were about equal, although Lom did seem to stand out a bit, despite his relatively minor role. Ekland was odd performer out, as her only talent seemed to be looking good, which never really translated over into her acting abilities (of which she didn't have much of). In general, the performances from a mainly talented and experienced cast were solid, the direction very strong, and the production entirely agreeable. Some of the special effects in this feature will seem shoddy and quaint, as perhaps was even the case the time the film was released, but this didn't bother me as the strengths in this feature more than made up for the perceived flaws. Asylum isn't the best Amicus horror anthology (many say 1973's From Beyond the Grave earns that title), but it is one of the better ones (in the top three), and certainly worth your time if you have an interest in the genre.This DVD release from Dark Sky Films includes an exceptionally sharp and good-looking anamorphic widescreen (1.77:1) print, along with a decent audio track presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. Extras include an audio commentary track with director Roy Ward Baker and camera operator Neil Binney, along with a twenty minute featurette titled `Inside the Fear Factory', liner notes by Christopher Gullo, biographies, a still gallery, English subtitles, and a theatrical trailer for this film along with one for The Beast Must Die (1974) and And Now the Screaming Starts (1973), all three originally released by Amicus Productions and all three recently re-released onto DVD by Dark Sky Films (they were originally released onto DVD by Image Entertainment).Cookieman108

Peter Cushing is one of the ten best horror actors since 1931.. Karloff, Lugosi, Price, Atwill, Carradine, Lorre, Rathbone, Chaney, Cushing, and Lee are the Ten, in no ranking order.. Price and Cushing and Lee took over from the 1950's as "new" stars of the genre. This eerie and entertaining film shows how Cushing kept his status into the '70's. For true classic gothic horror fans, this one is worth the price.

I've been on an Amicus roll lately, watching many of the portmanteau films (or anthology films) that Amicus was known for. After watching ASYLUM today, I have to say it is one of my favorites of the Amicus anthologies. This is a star-studded production with actors such as Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Barbara Parkins, and Robert Powell, among others.Powell plays a young psychologist, Dr. Martin who arrives at an insane asylum for a job interview. His interviewer is Dr. Lionel Rutherford (Patrick Magee) who is wheelchair-bound due to an attack by an inmate and tells Martin that the job is his if he can figure out which of the current inmates is Dr. B. Starr, the former head of the asylum. So Martin sets off, accompanied by the attendant Max Reynolds (Geoffrey Bayldon) and visits several of the inmates in his attempt to determine which of the inmates is Starr. This narrative frame then allows for several stories to unfold.FROZEN FEAR is the first story where inmate Bonnie (Barbara Parkins) reveals how she plotted with her lover to dispose of his rich wife. Unbeknownst to the conniving lovers, the rich wife was heavily into voodoo and when she is murdered and dismembered, let's just say her body parts are not exactly resting in peace. Although not exactly original and a tad predictable, this was fun to watch.THE WEIRD TAILOR is my favorite in this anthology primarily because Peter Cushing does such an amazing job portraying the role of a sinister man who approaches a poor tailor to sew a suit for his son. Cushing's character insists the suit be sewn with materials he provides and the innocent tailor realizes too late that the material for the suit has the power to animate anything it is put on, even the dead! Creepy and riveting, this episode proved to be a suspenseful watch.LUCY COMES TO STAY features Charlotte Rampling who tells Martin that she has been institutionalized in another facility before. Britt Ekland also features in this one.MANNIKINS OF HORROR stars Herbert Lom as an inventor who is experimenting with soul transference on a small bio-robot. Lom delivers a creepy performance and his efforts make this episode another favorite.This anthology is really worth a watch if you're a fan of classic horror, and there are enough unpredictable elements here to make it engaging. The ending scene is quite disconcerting which is as it should be in a horror film.

Asylum is a marvellous film but this new release from Second Sight Films needs to come with a warning on the packaging. People will think that, being released on Blu-ray means great quality. It is not the case here. The picture quality is really not good at all. It's grainy/noisy, with very low resolution (variable throughout, at worst bad and at best mediocre). The grain/noise settles down after a couple of minutes into the film but it is still excessive. The film being sourced via the Blu-ray format is of only marginal benefit here. Second Sight claim the film has undergone a 'restoration'. I can't see what has been tackled to improve anything myself, apart from the marginal improvement in resolution compared to DVD, but as I say it is only marginal. If it had had a restoration in the proper sense of the term, they would have gone back to the original film elements and made a fresh high def transfer, and cleaned up the print to tackle film dirt and grit etc. This, you would expect, would result in impressive images with good resolution. You only need to see the opening titles to realise that, far from pin sharp, clean images with good levels of detail, it is anything but. The extras on the disc, and the excellent packaging along with the bundled literature and poster, may be the best reason that may make this release a justified purchase.

I was pretty disappointed with the restoration on the Blu Ray. As has been highlighted by another reviewer I found the quality of image to be saturated with an over-abundance of grain, and the picture, in many scenes, to be dirty, often pallid, with poor resolution. I already have the standard dvd, released by Dark Sky, and I really can't discern a difference when making a comparison between the two releases.The external, physical, stuff ( packaging, companion booklet and double sided poster), are absolutely superb, and the re-imagining of the film's artwork is a lovely, garish, representation of the best elements within the portmanteau itself.I only wish the technical side of the project, in respect of the quality of image on display, could have been carried out with the same proficiency as was evident in the work undertaken on the extras, etc.

Another extreme case of "quality" in the eye of the beholder. I do wish sometimes, that I could see a copy of a DVD/BLURAY which has a ONE star review for quality when I think my copy is very good. Are we watching exactly the same release?? Anyway, whilst perhaps not the best BluRay I have seen, the quality was, for me, very good. Good colour, sharp picture, sound and good optional English subtitles. Plenty of extras listed here, not seen by me yet. I don't know if it was the weather, my wine, or just my mood, but on ths viewing I was a little bit disapointed. I found the plot slow and the direction not up to Roy Ward Baker's usual standard. The cast is good, especially Geoffrey Bayldon as a staff member of the asylum. Lots of lovely ladies - Ekland/Rampling/Ann Firbank/Barbara Parkins (wasted)/Sylvia Syms ditto. Cushing gets top/first billing, but his part could almost be played by anyone, though he gives his usual 100%. In the end 4 stars is fair for me. Amicus made some entertaining portmanteau films, and whilst I may not regard it as one of the best, it is worth seeing for the cast alone.

*contains spoilersTypical, Amicus, [Milton Subotsky & Max J Rosenberg] 'portmanteau' or 'magazine' picture as Roy Ward-Baker describes it, sandwiched between The House That Dripped Blood [1971] and Tales From The Crypt [1972]. Like Torture Garden [1967], it was scripted by Robert Bloch [Psycho] and featured his own short stories that appeared in various magazines between the late 1930's and early 1950's. Like its inspiration, Dead Of Night [1945], the whole thing is knitted together by a 'framing story' or 'narrative link', in this case, a visit to an asylum by young, idealistic, psychiatrist, Robert Powell.Dr Martin [Robert Powell, in a horrible suit] drives to a gated, secure hospital - complete with wisps of fog - and to a meeting with Dr Rutherford [Patrick Magee] to discuss a potential appointment. Rutherford sets Martin a challenge - to identify Dr Starr who has gone completely insane and is now hiding amongst the patients. The orderly, Max Reynolds [Geoffrey Bayldon], introduces Martin to his charges and so begin, the four strange tales.'Frozen Fear' has Walter [Richard Todd] and Ruth [Sylvia Syms] as an unhappily married couple. While Todd is carrying on with his bit on the side Bonnie [Barbara Parkins], Ruth is carrying on with a voodoo priest. With the knowledge of Bonnie, Walter murders his wife and dismembers her. Naturally, bits of her come back to life - remember the voodoo - and exact a terrible revenge. This is a fairly basic story with professional performances and at least one good scare. 'The Weird Tailor' [Barry Morse] has fallen on hard times and needs the rent money. Just as he begins to despair, a strange customer, Mr Smith [Peter Cushing] arrives with a bizarre request. An occultist, he requires that a suit for his son be made during the night. However, it turns out Smith has even less money than the timid tailor because he's spent it all on a occult book to revive his dead son. This has a nicely nuanced performance from Morse while Anne Firbank playing his wife Anna and the great, Peter Cushing offer able support. 'Lucy Comes To Stay' has Barbara [Charlotte Rampling] going back home - presumably, from an asylum - to a prosperous home in the country and into the care of her nurse [Megs Jenkins] and her brother [James Villiers]. When, Barbara stops taking her pills the malevolent, Lucy [Britt Ekland] appears. Another solid tale, this originally began the film but was moved to third later on. The final tale, 'Mannikins of Horror' is the best of the lot and although short it follows through into the penultimate scene. Dr Byron [Herbert Lom] is sculpting miniature robots - in the original Bloch story, in clay - of people including himself [although Ward-Baker thinks it looks more like Harold Wilson]. He claims he can transfer himself into these dolls and will them to do as he wills. There follows a final reel that I won't spoil in case you haven't seen it. So, that's voodoo, the occult, split personalities, golems and the genuinely crazy ... I'd imagine that was a full house on Subotsky's bingo card. Of course, it could all be in their imaginations as well.Directed by Roy Ward-Baker [A Night To Remember] , it was Amicus's fourth 'portmanteau' film, after Dr Terror's House Of Horrors [1965], Torture Garden [1967] and The House That Dripped Blood [1971]. By this time - 1972 - portmanteau films were a safe bet for Amicus. As discussed in the commentary, from beginning of filming to its release in the cinema was about three months. Like all the Amicus productions this managed to gather an incredible cast and some, like Lom, were only there for one day. This was the Amicus way - good scripts and high production values with fast and efficient, filming and editing.There has been some discussion here about the image on this Second Sight blu-ray. It's not a restoration I would guess, in fact, it's almost certainly the same master used by the Severin blu-ray of last year. However, it's certainly not 'dirty' as some have suggested. It's somewhat grainy and the image is often very soft but it's indisputably, high definition. I suspect there's not much you can realistically do with this because even an extensive restoration wouldn't make much difference. It is what it is. It's similar to, The Satanic Rites of Dracula [1973] which did get the restoration treatment [by Warner Archive] so make of that what you will. Maybe, it's the film stock they were using at the time, who knows? If you hate film grain then look elsewhere, if you enjoy the cinematic look of grain then this is for you. The colours have probably faded a little but still look good while the sound is more than acceptable. The main title music - by Mussorgsky - comes across as very loud.The commentary by an elderly, Roy Ward-Baker and camera operator Neil Binney [moderated by Marcus Hearn] has a lot of dead air and is mostly concerned with the technical aspects of film making i.e. various shots, dissolves etc. The best extra is the 20 minute, BBC, on-set report - Two's Company - about Amicus productions featuring Subotsky, Ward-Baker, Rampling, Jenkins, Villiers, editor, Peter Tanner and production designer, Teresa Bolland. There is a 10 minute interview with Subotsky's widow Fiona. She describes her experiences on set - mainly, The Monster Club with her sons - and gives us a brief biography of her husband. 'Inside The Fear Factory' features the mysterious Max J Rosenberg while David J Schow tells us all about famed horror writer, Bloch. English subtitles.

Similar contents to the US release but overall wins hands down as Second Sight have taken the disappointing Severin images and cleaned them up substantially so the viewing experience is far easier on the eye. Classic movie of course and nice bonuses. Second Sight Limited Editions are always classy. The rigid cases add quality