Director Roy Ward Baker had considerable experience as a director of horror films, as he had tackled Quatermass and the Pit and Scars of Dracula. even crazier than that, the man who wrote this movie Robert Bloch had written the novel PSYHCO, on which the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock was based.
So how the fuck is this movie so.... blandly British.
Asylum (also known as House of Crazies in subsequent US releases) is a 1972 British anthology horror film made by Amicus Productions. The film was directed by Roy Ward Baker and produced by Milton Subotsky. A young psychiatrist interviews four inmates in a mental asylum to satisfy a requirement for employment. He hears stories about the revenge of a murdered wife, a tailor who makes a suit with some highly unusual qualities, a woman who questions her sanity when it appears that her brother is conspiring against her, and a man who builds tiny toy robots with lifelike human heads.
i have talked in the past about how different regions have different flavor's of horror, and UK Horror is one my newest discoveries. Just like there is a formula for making 70s horror in the United States, there is unquestionably a formula for UK's video nasties. Just like the 70s brits themselves, everything is very prim and proper, and until Clive Barker rolled into town a strong aversion to showing all the grime and yuck of the UK. Its the exact type of boring educational documentary traditional values type thinking that Monty Python was rebelling against, and there is unquestionably that shade of boring old man to this movie. Even with its over the top soundtrack and admitably cool choice of font, this opening feels more like a board meeting than a horror movie.
But hey, this is an Anthology movie! so this little opening bit doesn't really matter. its just a rather dull intro to our first of the four stories, so lets start the interview process and meet some crazy people!
"Frozen Fear"
A lot of old TALES FROM THE KRYPT comics use black magic or Voodoo out of ignorance and vague racism, and this is another one of those stories.
Our first patient Bonnie recounts the plot to murder Ruth, a possessive heiress who studies voodoo. i was surprised how violent this first kill was even while being mostly off screen, and even more surprised after Ruth's dead body gets dismembered, wrapped in individual parcels, and stuffed in the freezer. That weird ass head thing on this movies poster? That's Ruth wrapped up in butcher paper and twine, all without a speck of blood to be seen.
Pretty classic post mortem revenge tale here minus the standard over the top gore effects, so hopefully things will get nastier the further we go. its strange this movie goes to all the nastiest places on paper, but with that classic British aversion to the sight of blood and gore
i mean seriously no blood?
8/10
"The Weird Tailor"
This story was earlier adapted as an episode of the Boris Karloff-hosted television series Thriller ("The Weird Tailor", Season 2, Episode 4)
Bruno recounts how poverty and impending eviction forced him to accept the unusual request of a Mr. Smith to produce an elaborate suit of clothing from a mysterious, scintillating fabric that must be sewn only after midnight. intriguing setup even just reading a description of it, and Barry Morse as Bruno is instantly likeable. and speaking of instantly likeable, Peter Cushing (HORROR OF DRACULA, STAR WARS, and countless more) is amazingly strange as Mr. Smith.
After learning what the suit will be used for (bringing Mr. Smith's dead son back) and that Mr. Smith has no money to pay the tailor, Bruno fights Smith and accidentally kills him. He returns with the unsold suit. His wife Anna uses the suit to adorn their store mannequin, and its true powers are revealed when the mannequin comes to life.
Great story, good execution, still no blood. maybe i should stop holding my breath for any kind of gore effects or even blood...
7/10
"Lucy Comes To Stay"
The definitely not crazy Barbara informs Martin she has been in an asylum before as we dissolve into a flashback. After her release, she is closely monitored at home by her brother George and a nurse, Miss Higgins. This goes full on A CURE FOR WELLNESS with some weird treatments that aren't all they seem to be. its a pretty standard paranoia tale that gets much less standard when her mischievous friend Lucy comes to visit. and by mischievous friend i mean one of her split personality's/imaginary friend/drug fueled hallucination.
Sure we have seen it before, but have we seen it with a slightly Scottish and very murderous DREAM OF JEANNIE Barbara Eden look a like? i think not
HOLY SHIT WE ACTUALLY SEE SOME BLOOD IN THIS ONE!
And some minor practical effects!
zzzHOLY SHITzzz/10
"Mannequins of Horror"
This story was later loosely adapted for the Monsters episode "Mannequins of Horror"
Martin interviews Dr. Byron, who holds Rutherford in contempt. Byron explains he is working towards soul transference with a small automaton whose head is a likeness of his own, showing Martin several earlier models and his plans to "will" his mannequin to life. And these mannequins/shitty toy robots look absolutely horrible. if i knew yall had these abortion looking effects, i would have stopped asking for practical effects. Martin concludes his interview rather quickly, and Max shows him downstairs to deliver his judgment to Rutherford for this movies....
Epilogue
Byron successfully brings his mannequin to life, which then makes its way to Rutherford's office and kills him with a scalpel. yes the robot boy still looks dumb as shit, but hey man any port in a storm when it comes to this movies kills. Martin then destroys the mannequin, which results in the death of Dr Byron, and seeks help. Dr Starr's true identity is revealed: it is "Max Reynolds", who had murdered the real Reynolds two days before. He then strangles Martin to death.
Sometime later, a new candidate for the job arrives and is met by Dr Starr, who escorts him into the asylum.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This movie takes a very 70s approach to what qualifies as insane, and a old British mans attitude towards the horror genre as a whole. it may be the most kid friendly horror movie i have ever seen, and the only term i can accurately use to describe this movies existence is..
Bizzare.
4/10
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