Asylum (1972)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I'm a sucker for an anthology film. More horror for less I guess. This one sounded pretty interesting, with a surprisingly effective wraparound story that is more than just filler.The first segment, "Frozen Fear", is a typical wronged spouse revenge story but with a nice beyond the grave twist. There are some creepy scenes involving animated body parts (creepy AND funny, I should say).The second, "The Weird Tailor, despite having Peter Cushing in it, is weaker than the first. It's mostly goofy and none too scary.The third, "Lucy Comes to Stay", is easily the best segment. It's about a woman with a split personality that manifests itself as another person, and while it's mostly a scenario that's been played out before, this one at least has good fun with it and never pretends the audience isn't in on the twist.The fourth, "Mannikins of Horror", actually evolves out of the wraparound segment in a neat little surprise. An absolutely baffling, but strangely compelling premise is completely undone by a poorly paced ending. Watching that mannikin walk around the hospital was some kind of torture (even the laughs subside long before the scene does).The wraparound keeps your interest and resolves like you expect, however it's effective for what it needs to do. This is a solid anthology film, with the usual ups and downs, but most of them right around the median.

The young psychiatrist Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) comes to an isolated mental institution for a job interview with Dr. B. Starr; however his associated Dr. Lionel Rutherford (Patrick Magee) tells that the chief doctor had a mental breakdown and now is an inmate. Dr. Rutherford proposes Martin to interview four inmates to find who Dr. Starr is; if he succeeds, he would have the position. He goes upstairs and is received by the nurse Max Reynolds (Geoffrey Bayldon).1st Interview: Bonnie ("Frozen Fear"): The inmate Bonnie (Barbara Parkins) tells that her lover Walter (Richard Todd) and she have plotted to kill his wealthy wife Ruth (Sylvia Syms), who studies voodoo with a powerful priest, and hide her body in a freezer. Walter dismembers her body and wraps the pieces; however Walter and Bonnie will have a dreadful surprise.2nd Interview: Bruno ("The Weird Tailor"): The tailor Bruno (Barry Morse) is completely broken and needs money to pay the rent to his landlord Stebbins (John Franklyn-Robbins); otherwise, his wife Anna (Ann Firbank) and he will be evicted. He accepts a weird request from the mysterious Mr. Smith (Peter Cushing) to make a suit for his son. But when the suit is ready, Mr. Smith tells that he has no money to pay for his work and there is a tragic consequence.3rd Interview: Barbara ("Lucy Comes to Stay"): Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) is released from an asylum under the custody of her brother George (James Villiers) and he brings her home to be nursed by the nurse Miss Higgins (Megs Jenkins). Out of the blue, her best friend Lucy (Britt Ekland) visits her and invites Barbara to flee with her. What will Barbara and Lucy do?4th Interview: Byron ("Mannikins of Horror"): Dr. Byron (Herbert Lom) explains that he has built organic toys to transfer soul to it. Who might be Dr. Starr?"Asylum" is a British cult-movie from the 70's divided in four segments. It is good to see Charlotte Rampling and Britt Ekland in the top of their beauties and the always creepy Peter Cushing among others again. Unfortunately this type of sophisticated British horror film is no longer made and remains only in the memory of mature audiences. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Asilo do Terror" ("The Asylum of the Horror")

A portmanteau (multi-part) 'horror' film from Robert (Psycho) Bloch and Roy Ward (Quatermass) Baker, who, it turns out, went to my old school. Anyone who's seen the original UK Avengers will find the sound of the silky strings, vibraphone and Farfisa soundtrack familiar, along with most of the cast who switched between UK film and TV in the early '70's.Any film with Britt Ekland and Charlotte Rampling in their pomp doing a whole story together has got to be worth a look - if only from a feminist angle, but the real star of 'Asylum' has to be art director Tony Curtis (no, not that one) whose work features so heavily. Brown paper-wrapped body parts that commit murder, tailor's dummies that come to life, and the fantastic Herbert Lom robots. I do hope the great Herbert got to take one home.Apart from that, it's great to see Richard Todd doing something a little less earnest and stiff-upper-lip for a change, like dismembering his wife with an axe after several brandies.Not one turn of the plot(s) makes any concession whatever to logic, but it doesn't matter because it's FUN. Remember fun? We didn't know we had it back in 1972.

Admittedly I was somewhat reserved in my ranking on this one. All the stories had more of Alfred's taste in them (I would assume via the director). I will understate my drooling, obvious prejudice over Charlotte Rampling. Anything she is in makes any movie worthwhile. The shorts themselves were all good standing alone in their own right. Trying to tie the last one together was a little loose. I couldn't be sure if this was the writer or the director's issue. At any rate, the movie, as a whole, was worth the watch. Though, I probably won't view it again anytime soon. Also, because I have been a decades long enthusiast of Hitchcock, I felt that the "hair raising" factor was missing in the presentations. One story in particular had really reworked an old endearing plot....you can decide which. At any rate, if you haven't put the popcorn on yet, do so now. Sit back and enjoy and above all else trust no one.......Q(:-}