Customer Reviews

Asylum [VHS]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

During Hammer's Hay-day, they had competition with from Amicus. Amicus' productions tended to be lush productions with an eye to detail and costumes, with solid directing, scripting and acting. This one is no exception.

You have the marvellously talented Robert Powell (Jesus of Nazareth) coming to an old Gothic mansion that has been converted for a home for the criminally insane. He is applying for a job there as a doctor, and he soon find himself proving his worth in a test. He is presented with three different patients. He most go in, interview them and learn why they are there. One of them is a former doctor at the institute, but has flipped out and has been confined. Powell's task is to determine which one is the former doctor.

It's the frame works for some nifty horror tales, with fine directing by Roy Ward Baker and script by Robert Bloch.

A great fun evening with a super cast of Powell, Peter Cushing, Patrick Macnee, Herbert Lom, Barry Morse, Barbara Parkins, Charlotte Rampling, Richard Todd.

Long out of circulation (except in an inferior bad transfer and print) "Asylum" finally reappears on DVD. One of Amicus' finest efforts is told anthology style much like "Tales from the Crypt" and "The House That Dripped Blood" from a screenplay by Robert Bloch (the novel Psycho among many other genre offerings)most fans of the film know the story but I'll briefly recap it here after I mention the new stuff on the DVD.

For this edition from Dark Sky Films has struck a new print from the 35mm negative, transfered it in high definition and presents it in an anamorphic widescreen presentation. The extras include a commentary track by director Roy Ward Baker and Director of Photography Neil Binney, biographies for Baker, Cushing, Lom, Britt Ekland and producers Milton Subotsky & Max J. Rosenberg. There's also a featurette on Amicus entitled "Inside the Fear Factory" as well as liner notes and a still gallery. The only thing I could have asked for that isn't included is a appreciation in the form of a featurette for some of the deceased stars such as Peter Cushing.


Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives at Dunsmoor a hospital for the mentally ill. Martin is challenged by the director of the hosptial Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee) to prove his mettle as a doctor; Martin must figure out who of the recently admitted inmates is Dr. Starr the former director of the hospital who's gone insane. Martin listens to the stories of different inmates (played by Barbara Parkins,Charlotte Rampling and Herbert Lom)and tries to determine which of them was the former director. Each has a bizarre story to tell from a reanimated dismembered corpse, suits that bring the dead to life to hand made little "people" that their maker can "will" himself into. Curiously Robert Bloch is credited as Robert Black on the box. Considering all the care that went into the re-release I'm surprised this happened.Also featuring Peter Cushing, Barry Morse and Charlotte Rampling "Asylum" is the gem in the Amicus crown.

The featurette features Max Rosenberg discussing the formation of Amicus and how the first couple of films came to be. For example Rosenberg discusses how he and Milton Subotsky became involved in Hammer's first successful horror production "Curse of Frankenstein". Freddie Francis also appears discussing how he got into direction, working with Peter Cushing and his work for the duo.

The previous edition has been out of print for far too long. It looks as if the plentiful extras and usual care that MPI takes with their releases is here as well. It's taken a while for this gem to become available again but I'm happy it has finally come "back to life". This creepy horror thriller scared the heck out of me as a kid and while some of the edge may have been dulled by the more explicit horror films out there for younger horror fans the subtle direction and storytelling has kept this film vital and makes this film an essential horror thriller to pick up on DVD.

As one who has often panned for gold in the stream of little-known horror delights, I have discovered much more fool's gold than gold dust, but Asylum is a magnificent gold nugget. Produced by Amicus, the British equivalent of Hammer Studios, this classic film features a remarkable cast bringing to life a compelling, delightfully shocking tale which comes straight from the pen of none other than Robert Bloch. I think the whole idea of the movie is brilliant, especially the way everything is put together, meshing four largely unrelated tales into one overall and amazingly successful story. We begin with Dr. Martin's arrival at the asylum in pursuit of a position. He is surprised to learn that Dr. Styles, the asylum director and the man he expected to speak with about the job, is now one of the incurably insane inmates housed upstairs. Dr. Rutherford is willing to hire Dr. Martin, but only if he passes a certain test. There are four inmates upstairs, and he must determine which one is actually Dr. Styles (who has assumed a brand new identity for himself). As Dr. Martin makes the rounds, accompanied by the doctor posted upstairs, we are presented with each individual's story as to how they came to be institutionalized.

The first story, that of Bonnie, is a wholly remarkable one. Her lover, having finally agreed to kill his divorce-denying wife and run off with her, chops his wife into several pieces and stows everything in the freezer, including her voodoo-ish protective bracelet He is quite shocked shortly thereafter to see the head, wrapped in butcher's paper, roll into view upstairs, and he is even more surprised by what happens next. When Bonnie arrives, she finds herself menaced and attacked by the separate body parts of the seemingly undead murdered woman. Next we have the story of Bruno the tailor. Facing economic ruin, he is offered two hundred pounds to make a suit for a rather strange gentleman named Mr. Smith (played magnificently by Peter Cushing). The suit must be created under the unusual conditions specified by the customer and must be made from the remarkable fabric Smith has provided Bruno. This metallic, strangely glittering coat is actually an instrument of magic, Bruno finds out upon delivering it. Supposedly it has the power to give or restore life to whoever wears it. Cushing's performance helps make this the strongest of the four stories, in my opinion. Next up is Barbara, who denies having committed the murders that resulted in her institutionalization. It was her friend Lucy, she says. The story plays pretty well until the end, when whatever mystery lingered concerning the truth about Lucy is rather unnecessarily done away with. Finally, we have Dr. Baron, maker of robotic men; actually, he says, the creatures are quite human on the inside, and he claims to have the power to will his own mind into one such creation and essentially make it come alive with his own consciousness. This tale has its weaknesses, but its effect on Dr. Martin is profound and sets in motion the thrilling conclusion of the movie. This conclusion, I must say, is remarkably good, treating me to a wonderful surprise and devilishly good twist.

The plot of Asylum does have a weakness or two in it, but the film's overall effect on the viewer is so gripping that minor questions cease to matter very much. Frankly, I have never seen an anthologized movie such as this succeed so well. Few movies can combine separate tales and succeed as a unified whole, but Asylum accomplishes this feat quite easily. This is an intelligent horror movie that fans of the genre can point to with great pride.

Wow, this movie was fun. I never saw it before and, because I've been on a big Hammer and Amicus kick lately, took a chance on it. I was not disappointed.
Like other Amicus productions, what we get here are several horror stories in one, all centered on "incurably insane" patients in a British asylum. There are some great stars here that make it work oh so well, including Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), Robert Powell (Tommy, Jesus of Nazareth), Herbert Lom (Phantom of the Opera-1962), Peter Cushing (Do I need name all of his great horror films?), Richard Todd (Stage Fright)Barry Morse (Gerard from the 1960s TV series classic The Fugitive), Geoffrey Bayldon (The House That Dripped Blood), the scrumptious Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man-1973), beautiful Charlotte Rampling (The Fury), and lovely Bonnie Parkins (The Mephisto Waltz).
The transfer from Dark Sky Films is fantastic; it looks like a brand new film. It's presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks great when played in a progressive scan DVD player on a HD television.
Looking forward to the upcoming release of "From Beyond the Grave" from Image. Never saw that one before, either, but am looking forward to buying it just the same.
I'm hopeful other Amicus classics, including "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors," "Tales from the Crypt (1972)," and "Vault of Horror" will be released on DVD soon. There are rumors abound that Vault and Tales will soon be released by 20th Century Fox in England, but that won't help those of us living in the states much. Dr. Terror was released in England on DVD, but never in the U.S. There is a demand for these films here. Let's get with it, whoever owns the rights.

This is one of a series of horror anthology movies released by Amicus Studios in the early 70's. (i.e. "Tales From the Crypt", "The House That Dripped Blood", "Vault of Horror").Each anthology is held together by a certain theme.

In "Asylum" a young psychiatrist interviewing for a job in an asylum is told that the head of the asylum has gone crazy and is now a patient. The young psychiatrist must hear the stories of some of the patients and then determine who was the head of the Asylum. If he is correct, he gets the job.

The stories give the feel of old horror comics, which inspired many horror anthologies. The characters are one-dimensional and driven by such deadly sins, as greed and lust. In most cases, with a twist and a touch of macabre, the fates get their revenge on the evil-doers.

The stories are mostly enjoyable and solid entries in the horror anthology genre. The British countryside, where the stories are mostly set, adds an extra chill.

The movie is recommended most to fans of horror anthologies, such as HBO's "Tales From the Crypt" or Stephen King's "Creepshow", and the movies noted earlier. It would also be great for those who remember how much fun these movies were when they first came out.

More general audiences would be entertained, but I don't think this movie should be ranked with 5-Star horror masterpieces ("The Exorcist", "Halloween", "Psycho"), nor would I expect most general audiences to rank it so highly.

The DVD quality is definitely noteworthy, having sharp, rich colors which enhanced the movie's experience.

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

This is without a doubt one of the greatest horror films ever made. I first saw it when I was about 8 years old and haven't forgotten about it since. I've watched it several times and it still scares me all these years later. I think the head at the top of the stares is still one of the freakiest and scariest things I've seen in film. It's just a good all around horror film with that chilling English feel to it. You have to love Peter Cushing and the rest of the all star cast. If you haven't seen it yet - get it!

FLASHBACK- High School and we are asked by teacher if we'd like to attend a movie in the auditorium. I think we had to cough up $2 to go see this movie- which was never explained what we were going to see- not even the title. Imagine our...MY surprise when the credits roll and the title "Asylum" comes up. Confusion spreads across our face and shortly after that....terror! Oh my word- when the woman's body is chopped up and neatly wrapped in butcher's brown paper and then stacked in the deep freezer...WTF?! And then the pieces come alive!! Come on! What does this have to do with reading, writing, and arithmatic?!! This movie is a cut above the rest. Good stuff!

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 now it is not gory but it had one of the best format storylines, Amicus allways made these low budget horror films in the 70's and were trying to rival Hammer but usually there films turned out to be very bad and cheesy. 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 and I highly recommend this great British horror film and two thumbs up!.

I just finished watching Amicus Productions' "Asylum" and was thoroughly entertained throughout! This collection of macabre tales is imaginative, intelligent and contain some genuine thrills! As the trailer for the film advertised, "come to the asylum..." we have a young doctor arriving to take the head position of the psychiatric department. That is, if he can first identify the former doctor, who is now a mental patient of the asylum and is now residing upstairs with the other "incurably insane." We meet each of the patients one by one as they reveal how they became patients of the asylum.

(1) British actor, Richard Todd (Disney's "The Story of Robin Hood" and "The Sword & The Rose") stars in the first story revealing a murder with a dash of voodoo mixed in for some truly chilling results, you'll never look in your deep freezer again, without remembering this horrific scene!

(2) The second story gives a new meaning to "owning a good suit." Peter Cushing hires a tailor to make him a new suit for his son. The material Cushing brings is "special" and even glows! Wait till you see Cushing's son, and then how the suit effects the tailor's store mannequin!

(3) The lovely Britt Ekland stars as the friend of a wealthy young girl, who is on the edge of insanity. Is Britt real or a figment of the girl's pill induced imagination?

(4) The fourth and final of the tales, involves the great Herbert Lom (Hammer's "Phantom of the Opera" and as Chief Inspector Drefus of "The Pink Panther" films). Lom's character is a psychotic genius, which has invented several doll-like robots that not only can do his bidding, but the robot becomes the actual person it is created to resemble. This one is the best of the tales and rounds up the collection with a good solid finale.

Also available in the Amicus Collection is "And Now the Screaming Starts" and "The Beast Must Die," both starring Peter Cushing and a must have for any Hammer Studios horror fan or collector! I hope Dark Sky Films will continue with more titles in their "Amicus Collection," for these are just a few of the fine films that were produced from this Hammer Studio rival.