Nigel P 'Asylum' is an anthology film from the Amicus Company, based on stories by Robert Bloch. It has the distinction of proving more popular than the Hammer films of the time. The bombastic strains of 'Night on Bald Mountain' by composer Modest Mussorgsky accompany Dr Martin (Robert Powell) as he drives towards an imposing, mist-drenched asylum where he is to attend a job interview with Doctor Rutherford (Patrick Magee). This 1867 score is used again as Martin explores the corridors of the stately building – to be honest, the music is certainly rousing, but is too much to accompany what is after all, a man looking at some pictures, no matter how unsightly the images of early psychiatric treatments may be.Rutherford sets Martin a task. If he can identify former medical specialist Dr Starr amongst the inmates, the position is his. He has to visit a selection of cases – first, guided by the orderly Reynolds (Geoffrey Bayldon, in a role for which Spike Milligan was also considered), he meets Bonnie (Barbara Parkins). What follows in 'Frozen Fear', is that Walter (Richard Todd) and Bonnie agreed to dismember Walter's wife, occult practitioner Ruth (Sylvia Syms) and live off her money. Despite this, she escapes from the freezer into which her various body parts have been stored, and her assorted limbs, head (which is still breathing) and torso, carefully wrapped in brown paper and string, attack first Walter and then Bonnie … apparently (we see this in flashback, and it is one of this film's greatest and most effective scenes. It is intentionally horrific and hilarious, perfectly balanced). This is Bonnie's story, but she has no proof, only gaping wounds on her face where she axed her alleged attacker/s. Chances are, if you have seen this film, then the scene of the dismembered limbs scuttling across the floor is what will stick in your mind.'The Weird Tailor' is next. Barry Morse plays Bruno, a struggling tailor who accepts an order from 'Mr Smith' (Peter Cushing) to create a suit made from special material, and to work on this at specific times over four nights. Smith promises a great deal of cash, but when the suit is delivered, is revealed to live in a house empty of furniture: Smith is penniless. Both actors are at a peak here and ably supported by Ann Firbank as Bruno's wife (Bruno is a lot more sympathetic here than in Bloch's original story and our sympathies are with him throughout as a result). Even the (enjoyable) silliness at the end of the episode doesn't detract from its deep sense of melancholy and longing. Directed often in close-up, the squalidity of the two men's desperation is expertly conveyed. This is not only my favourite segment from 'Asylum', but from any Amicus production.Any tale that follows that would be hard pressed to match it, and sadly 'Lucy Comes to Stay' (originally planned as the first instalment, but moved to third place at Producer Milton Subotsky's insistence) is the weakest of the three. This is by no means a bad story, the climax nevertheless shares similarities with 'Frozen Fear'. It contains a terrific cast including James Villiers, Charlotte Rampling, Megs Jenkins and Britt Ekland.Another Doctor – Doctor Byron – features next. Played by the always brilliant Herbert Lom, Byron has created tiny mannequins based on former colleagues of his. 'These are not ordinary figures', he explains, and goes on to explain that each figure is living and perfectly capable of functioning. He can bring them to life with his 'conscious', and his final model is based on himself. Absurdly (the viewer has to go along with this for it to be effective), this last mannequin travels downstairs and kills Doctor Rutherford, who is responsible for Byron's incarceration.And yet who is the elusive Dr Starr? The answer is brilliantly directed by stalwart Roy Ward Baker. It is the Bayldon's orderly. Starr killed the original Reynolds, and does the same to Dr Martin. We finally see him as he truly is, frighteningly deranged, holding a stethoscope to Martin, cackling furiously, an insane child-like laughter. Bayldon is terrific throughout. Often a player of secondary characters, he is unassuming and courteous – and that is why the reveal is so very effective.Finally, another candidate for the job arrives at the asylum and is greeted by Bayldon, echoing an earlier line about closing the door and keeping out the draughts. 'As Dr Starr used to say' he remarks with a knowing glance to the audience. Witty and unnerving, this is my favourite Amicus film.

Leofwine_draca Yet another slice of early '70s British horror, once again in an anthology format, and from who else but Amicus, who were responsible for lots of films like this. ASYLUM has a powerful Gothic atmosphere which literally oozes off the screen in the opening moments, when the mansion appears and a loud, Gothic score plays out. There is another good scene where Powell looks at a number of classic paintings of insane people while the music again plays loudly, this is reminiscent of the opening titles of BEDLAM. The film benefits from being written by Robert Bloch (the man who wrote PSYCHO).The first story is a typical tale which looks like it was filmed on the same set as the Terry-Thomas segment from THE VAULT OF HORROR. It would be an interesting if oversimplistic tale if it wasn't for the amazing special effects which are really striking when first seen. The severed, animated limbs are all moved ingeniously and you can never quite work out how they are moved. The use of the crinkly brown paper on the soundtrack is also effective, and quite simply these moving body parts are some of the best special effects ever to be seen in a '70s British horror film.The second story has a more complex plot and is once again enlivened by some original special effects. The horrors of the landlord demanding money and the moving dummy are nicely juxtaposed throughout the story, which makes you really feel for the poor tailor involved in the hassle. Peter Cushing is once again on top form as the man who wants to bring his deceased son back to life, giving a moving performance of grief, anguish and finally desperation. The special effects are mainly involved in the climax where a shop dummy comes to life, and take the form of a shimmering, shiny suit. The effects are quite startling as the colours twist and fade in quick succession and it's definitely different. A bit of originality goes a long way in these films.Of course there had to be a dud somewhere in the film and the third story is it. It's a little tale of psychological trauma, and, while it has its interest, it doesn't really fit into the formula which these films have. Charlotte Rampling puts in a good performance as the tortured Barbara, while Britt Ekland and James Villiers lend solid support, but they can't do much with the bland story which has been addressed many times before, and an ending which you can spot a mile off. It's definitely not one to write home about and has no redeeming qualities at all really, apart from the fact that its thankfully short.Happily, if you manage to sit through the third story, the fourth story is just about the best of the bunch. Herbert Lom puts in an excellent performance as Doctor Byron, a man who's created life in his own image. The story also ties in nicely with the wraparound story involving Powell and Magee, and the scenes in which the doll comes to life and makes its way downstairs are genuinely spooky, helped by the return of the Gothic music which played over the opening credits. The ending is also unexpected and a classic twist. Patrick Magee puts in a solid performance and Robert Powell is a charismatic lead.All in all, ASYLUM is an excellent example of the anthology film at its best, and definitely one of the best films that Amicus put out. With a superb cast, excellent special effects and three out of four stories also being good, it really is unmissable entertainment for those of us who enjoy classic British horror.

Phil Hubbs Boy they liked their horror anthology movies back in the 70's didn't they, well Amicus certainly did. This movie actually has a genuinely eerie title that has of course been reused since, and the movies poster is actually quite scary too. Usually these old horrors have cheesy titles with very daft posters but this one breaks that mould somewhat.So its an anthology movie, therefore as you might have guessed its the same premise yet again with a selection of four short tales sandwiched between a bookend tale usually with a narrator of sorts. This time a young Robert Powell plays a young doctor who is visiting an asylum to apply for a position within. Oddly he is set the task of interviewing all four patients within the asylum to figure out which one used to be the head of the asylum...if he can he gets the job, just like in reality.First patient and first tale recounts a plot to murder the wife of a wealthy middle aged couple. The murder is planned by the gent of the couple and his bit on the side. The thing is the gents wife studies voodoo, as white middle aged wealthy folk do, and when she is killed off she comes back for revenge. Its a very rudimentary vignette that doesn't really show much imagination methinks, although I must admit it is quite unnerving when the dead wife comes back in the form she does. This was probably the very first old fashioned horror tale in these anthologies that actually gave me the willies, very creepy.Second patient who is an ex-tailor, tells us of a mysterious man (the mighty Cushing) who orders a fine suit to be made out of a special material. The catch being this tailor must make the suit under a specific set of instructions that must be followed precisely. Once completed and taken to Cushing in his dark dark residence we discover the suit is for his long dead son. Why you ask? well it can bring inanimate objects to life, not dead but inanimate as we find out when a store mannequin is accidentally dressed in the suit. This is again a simple tale that didn't really grab me, many questions are raised as usual and as usual left unanswered. Not really an issue as I'm used to this with these movies but the ending is very weak with this one, I guess the tailor made it out of the situation alive then, how very unexciting.The third patient is a female who appears to be suffering from dissociative identity disorder, in other words she has multiple personalities or in this case a second personality. The young woman in question believes she is being told to escape her boring life by another young woman which results in her murdering her brother and a nurse. This whole short is very predictable and really rather unimaginative I think, its pretty obvious the young blonde is a figment of the girls imagination and what follows is bland to say the least.The final patient is played by the legendary Herbert Lom and his little vignette blends into the bookend story involving Powell. Bizarrely this short story looks like a forerunner to the horror movie franchise 'Puppet Master'...kinda. Lom is creating a little toy robot that is a likeness of himself (why a likeness?), he intends to transfer his mind (somehow) into the toy robot so he can...escape? not too sure actually. I can't quite see how this will benefit this patient if his mind is inside a small slow waddling toy robot but there you go. Plus how on earth did he manage to recreate a miniature working version of his own viscera for the little robot and why would it even need that??! This short offers an intriguing premise but it makes no real sense as I've already pointed out, the final outcome seems coincidental and I'm not even sure if that was the characters actual game plan. It merely serves to run into the bookend story which in itself is weak and ends on a flat note that wasn't setup well in the first place.Overall I found this anthology tame and very clichéd with stories that have been told a billion times before, there is nothing much on offer here that feels really fresh. Yes the casting is top notch as they tend to be and the visuals/effects are particularly well done this time round but the stories are sooooo routine, there is better out there.4.5/10

salgreco This 1972 movie very well places you in a world where all things in life have gone out of control...ironically, all in a setting where the intent is to control one's life and give it a sense of normalcy. This is not where I'd choose to live, yet for a moment (during the entire film) it's an inescapable all too real place which becomes and threatens to describe our world at large. The conditions and scientific terms depicted in the movie are grounded in reality, which makes it even more frightening, because it's easily within the realm of possibility. The four stories are very well linked in terms of general themes and psychotic disorders. Although the stories are all moralistic and simple in their message, their execution (pardon the pun) is quite different. The end is shocking, and it's not what you'll expect, so sit back and enjoy a moment in time where all things are ultimately controlled by things beyond ourselves and our best efforts. The maniacal laugh at the end communicates, embodies and oozes pure "Horror".