Second Sight, out now

‘Rest in pieces!’

Like the movie that’s releasing at the same time – The House That Dripped Blood, reviewed here – this is the more affordable version of the recent limited edition (reviewed here) of a classic Amicus horror anthology. Like its companion, Asylum still comes with a brand new reversable Graham Humphreys cover and some of the original extras. Shot in only 24 days, this has gone on to become a cult classic of the genre.

Arriving for a job interview at an isolated asylum – which looks more like a manor house spa – fresh-faced Dr Martin (erstwhile Jesus Christ, Robert Powell) is set a task to prove his worth. Dr Rutherford (Patrick Magee) asks him to identify the former chief of the place, Dr Starr, who had a complete mental breakdown and is now counted amongst the inmates. And so the scene is set for a series of tales to chill the blood.

Accompanied by Reynolds (Catweazle himself, Geoffrey Bayldon), Martin is shown the patients one by one, beginning with Bonnie (Valley of the Dolls’ Barbara Parkins), who was mixed up in a bit of spousal killing: her lover bumps off his wife, but really isn’t prepared for the kind of revenge that comes afterwards. This is soon followed by Bruno (Space 1999’s Barry Morse), who used to be a down-on-his-luck tailor. Commissioned by the mysterious Mr Smith (horror legend Peter Cushing) to create a strange suit, the results sent Bruno quite mad.

Barbara is next up (a very young Charlotte Rampling), who tells of her last encounter with Lucy (Britt Ekland from The Wicker Man) – a figure that’s definitely a bad influence on her. Finally, we have Dr Byron: a genius who likes to create little figures he claims can house the human consciousness. But which one is Starr, and what twists will come in the startling finale?

The effects might look a bit ropey by today’s standards, and the stories themselves won’t take any long-time horror fan by surprise, but like the other Amicus anthologies, Asylum has a distinct charm about it. Where else would you get to see body parts wrapped up in brown paper and string like they’re about to be posted off, a glowing suit that looks radioactive and a robotic toy with a human face wielding a scalpel. The actors famously filmed their pieces at breakneck speed – Cushing was on set for just a couple of days, while Lom was meant to be there a day and did his turn in half that time – and there were last-minute substitutions (Spike Milligan was slated to appear as Reynolds; imagine what a different performance that would have been!), yet all this only adds to its appeal.

As mentioned, there are still a decent clutch of extras with this mass release, including the terrific audio commentary with director Roy Ward Baker and camera operator Neil Binney plus a trailer. Then there’s Two’s A Company, a BBC report from around the time of filming, which shows Amicus’ HQ (basically a wooden hut at Shepperton) and includes interviews with the likes of co-founder Milton Subotsky (‘The most important part of a film is the script!’), Rampling, who enjoyed the pressure of the quick shoot (‘There’s much less time between takes than usual!’) and Baker (‘I will deliberately not shoot unnecessary footage.’).

There’s a fascinating retrospective of writer Robert Bloch by David J. Schow, starting with his first sales when he was only in his teens – Lovecraft pastiches – through to selling Psycho and seeing the film made, his TV work, right up to his long association with Amicus and the attempts to get his work back in print through Subterranean Press; what really comes across is Schow’s love and respect for his old friend (‘Bob was one of the least bitter people I’ve ever known.’). Fiona Subotsky remembers her late husband Milton, who she met in 1964-5 (‘The films he had out then were The Skull, Dr Terror’s House of Horror and Dr Who and the Daleks.’), and laments the onset of Slashers which created an increasing demand for sex and violence (‘Milton didn’t care for that.’).

Inside the Fear Factory is a unique insight into the workings of Amicus, including contributions from the other half of the founding duo, Max J. Rosenberg (‘It’s hard to sustain horror for 90 minutes, but when you have a series of different stories…’), director Freddie Francis (‘Peter Cushing was just delightful…Worth twice his weight in gold for any horror film!’) and Baker again (‘Asylum was a very clever idea… Milton wanted an envelope to put the stories in.’). Frankly, you’d be crazy to miss out on this one.

‘Never turn your back on a patient!’ 8/10

Paul Kane             

Click here to order Asylum from Amazon.co.uk