Asylum
by Roy Ward Baker
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Actor: Barry Morse, Britt Ekland, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Peter CushingDirector: Roy Ward Baker
Brand: MPI
Cinematographer: Denys N. Coop
Editor: Peter Tanner
Producer: Gustave M. Berne
Producer: Max Rosenberg
Producer: Milton Subotsky
Writer: Robert Bloch
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Portuguese (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-07-25
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Model: 8118
Studio: Dark Sky Films
Product features:
- When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives at the Dunmoor Asylum for The Incurably Insane, he expects to be interviewed for a job by the asylum s director, Dr. Starr. Instead, he is met by Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who explains that Dr. Starr has suffered a mental breakdown and is now one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford states that if Martin can deduce which patient is Dr. Starr, then he will b
DVD Reviews of Asylum
DVD Review: You have nothing to lose but your mind.
Summary: 4 Stars
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).
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Description of Asylum
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