The Amicus Collection (Asylum / And Now The Screaming Starts / The Beast Must Die)
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DVD details
Actor: Barbara Parkins, Peter CushingBrand: MPI
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 270 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MPI Home Video
Product features:
- Asylum When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives at the Dunsmoor Asylum for the incurably insane, he expects to be interviewed by asylum director Dr. Starr. Instead he is met by Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who explains that Dr. Starr had suffered a mental breakdown and now is one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford decides that if Martin can deduce which one is really Dr. Starr, then he will be giv
DVD Reviews of The Amicus Collection (Asylum / And Now The Screaming Starts / The Beast Must Die)
DVD Review: Great Amicus collection.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great place to start of your Amicus collection, if your a fan of classic British horror then you'll probably love this set, and what makes this set even better is that all three films star Peter Cushing. This collection has some of Amicus' best along with one really bad film but it shows the type of films that were being made by this great film company. From the early 60's through the mid 70's, Amicus produced films were giving their British counterpart Hammer Studios a run for their money in the production of top-notch sci-fi and horror films. While never the force that Hammer was, Amicus produced films were still entertaining and very stylish. Amicus were well known for making Anthology type horror films, although the studio certainly didn't limit itself to just anthologies. Amicus films covered a little bit of everything from sci-fi to horror, psychological thrillers and fantasies and the reason for Amicus' success was the fact that they employed fantastic writers, directors and actors/actresses and part of the reason that Amicus may be considered a rival to Hammer horror is that so many of the actors and actresses as well as the directors that built their reputations on Hammer films, did cross over and work on Amicus films too. Here's a synopsis for each film:
Asylum was directed by Roy Ward Baker and was written by Robert Bloch who also wrote Psycho and some other Amicus films, the film has four stories which are told by a different patient that lives in the Asylum and they are played by an all star british cast that you may recognize that includes Peter Cushing, Brit Aklend, Herbert Lom etc. This film has got to be the best anthology horror I have ever seen, it's not gory but it had one of the best format storylines. The four stories are woven together with a clever framing device the story begins as a psychiatrist applying for a position at an English insane asylum and it seems like the previous director of the institution has gone mad and has become one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee) tells him that he must pass a test in order to be hired which is to find out who the director is and it all ends in a surprise I'm not going to ruin it.
The first story is about a young woman whose boyfriend cut his wife into little pieces and put the parts in the freezer but it soon turns out to be a tale of revenge when the pieces start moving, this part was very cheesy and hilarious but it still worked and was effective cause it was the best storyline.
The second story is about Bruno the tailor who is hired by Peter Cushing to design a magical suit for his son. It was a bit predictable but still great because of the performances from the actors.
The third story is about a woman named Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) who had been in a mental institute before, when she arrives back home she finds her friend played by Britt Eklend who causes alot of trouble by murdering people and might send Barbara back to the institute.
The final story is about Bryan (Herbert Lom) who makes little robot dolls which can be controlled by his mind and are able to do anything including murder. This one has a lot of twists and turns and it all concludes with the psychiatrist trying to figure out who the real director is. The film is not scary but still fun to watch (by the way, this review was already written back in 2006 so I decided to cut and paste).
And Now The Screaming Starts was a period piece horror film, it has a great gothic atmosphere, nice sets, Peter Cushing, an experienced horror director, a severed hand and a vengeful ghost. Catherine (Stephanie Beacham) the new bride of Charles Fengriffen (Ian Ogilvy) comes to live at his old family estate. On their first night together a family curse suddenly occurs when a ghost rapes and impregnates Catherine. Dr. Pope (Peter Cushing) is brought into the mix to figure out the mess and solve the riddle of the curse.
And Now The Screaming Starts is a solid tale from the Amicus Studios. The acting is on a par with this type of film, slightly over the top and hammy but that's to be expected for this type of film. While the production value is close to the grand productions of Hammer Studios it did feel like something was lacking, while the first half establishes all the characters and starts off great with the flashback sequence and the creepy family portrait that stares at the victim, the second half kind of falls apart, but still this was a very good film and was entertaining.
The Beast Must Die, a millionaire brings an assortment of characters to his heavily secured mansion. He then tells each of the guests that they were brought for here for a reason and that one of them is a werewolf. The rest of the story goes through the paces of finding out who the beast is and what must be done with it. This film was so corny but I guess it was still enjoyable, the outfits, the hairstyles, and that awful-yet-appropriate soundtrack were outdated and had that 70's look. The cast includes alot of great and accomplished British actors like Peter Cushing, Michael Gambon and Charles Gray. I love Amicus movies, even though this film was abit rubbish, I like the mini-backgrounds and the lengths that the main character (who looks like a Shaft wanna be) was going to to catch the wolf.
And then the film simply failed to move anywhere, we got no more hints other than the film picking someone they really wanted you to think as the wolf, completely ignoring the other characters. There wasn't that much action and what they did have was so dark and grainy and the pacing was slow. Oh yeah the film also has this cheesy werewolf break towards the end to keep the audience guessing, this cheap gimmick was kind of fun it's too bad that the rest of the film wasn't. Overall this collection was great and should appeal to those who like classic British horror or Peter Cushing, enjoy.....
Description of The Amicus Collection (Asylum / And Now The Screaming Starts / The Beast Must Die)
Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 10/30/2007 Run time: 271 minutesBestsellers in DVD
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