Movie Review - Asylum

Asylum

1972

Production Companies:  Amicus Productions & Harbour Productions Limited.

The first thing which should draw you to this little horror flick is its writer... Robert Bloch, the man who penned Psycho - that in itself should have you excited.  I had totally forgotten he'd written this anthology, so it brought a massive smile to my face when I saw it in the credits.  Another plus for this movie is the great cast.  I didn't know of any of the director's other work, but after watching this film I would be very happy to watch anything else he may have directed.

Bloch's stories are strong and teeter on the edge of sanity and the paranormal.  Both he and Baker do an excellent job of using the fifth story to tie all the others together.  Dr Martin arrives at Dunsmoor Asylum to start work only to find Dr Rutherford is standing in for Dr Starr, who appears to have suffered a mental breakdown.  Dr Starr has been moved upstairs to be confined with patients of a similar malady.  So Rutherford sets out to test Martin by challenging him to talk to the patients on the ward and to diagnose which one is Dr Starr.  Once on the ward, we are introduced to the inmates and their delusions.

The first tells of a married man who's having an affair.  However, when his wife informs him that she'll never let him go he has to take extreme measures... though she has some ideas of her own on the matter.  Tale two tells of a struggling tailor about to lose his business.  Needing a quick influx of cash he takes on the job of creating a suit for a stranger, out of some strange material...  Story three is of a sister returning to her family home after a stay in a hospital.  Upon her return, her best friend starts to weave doubts into her mind over what her brother and the nurse are really after.  Can she be telling the truth or does she have an ulterior motive?  Story four is about Dr Byron and his creations.  At the moment they are just effigies of his former colleges, though he has a plan to bring them to life...

Each story is acted superbly by its cast (I found nothing bad about any of the performers or their portrayals) and are beautifully filmed.  There are some wonderful camera shots, not too outlandish but very subtle that you don't notice them.  For example, when Martin enters the Asylum he is met by a nurse.  The camera follows behind her slowly.  Once they are acquainted they turn down a hallway and the camera pans with them.  As they stand outside Rutherford's door they are just silhouettes.  The camera work is so steady and smooth.  In today's film, it'd be jerky - to give it a "realistic" feel - and they would more than likely stay with them or have quick cuts from hallway to outside the door.  I know which I prefer.  Baker does a good job of using not only the camera work but lighting and sound to create atmosphere.  In the first story, where there's a little action, he creates a creepiness though with an exciting sting to it.  For the second story, Baker ups the eerieness element to unnerve the audience.

The only reason it didn't get full marks is that I am marking by today's standards, which means that some of the special effects let it down a little.  I've never been one for the "Stuffed attacking beast" or "decapitated body part" attacking scenes - I've always known it's nothing more than the actor holding a prop.  As a viewer I want to lose myself in the story, incidents like these just bring me out of that story a little... usually with a giggle.  This hurts the film and the enjoyment of it because you're meant to be scared - not amused.  That said, some of the other effects are top notch.  Loved the dolls internal organs and the mirror scene was pretty much perfect.

I would recommend this film to every horror fan out there as this is how it should be done.  Though it isn't perfect I would still watch this over a lot of the "so-called" horror of today.  Well worth a watch and well worth keeping.

Movie Review -.The Being

The Being

1983

Bill Osco Productions

Best Film & Video Corp / New World Pictures / Thorn EMI Video

5.25 / 10

This isn't a magnificent movie, though it isn't a bad one either.  This is pretty much as average as they come.  A year before Toxi the Toxic Avenger graced out screens there was The Being.

This is a story about a boy who falls foul to a greedy Mayor who sells his soul to a corporation so they can dump pollution in his township.  Once the boy is mutated, his damaged brain send him on a killing spree.  As always, with the plethora of horror films, this could have been better, especially the story which is only there to create The Being.

What this film has in its favour is it's cast, though not the cream of the crop there are some very good masters of their craft involved.  Both Martin Landau and Jose Ferrer in their respective roles of Dr Garson Jones and Mayor Gordon Lane, who is nice and sleazy.  In fact, most of the cast give good performances with the material they have, even Roxanne Cybelle Osco, who is the little girl in the Easter Egg Hunt scene (one of my favourites in the film).  The only person who seems miscast is Bill Osco as Detective Mortimer Lutz, his style is that of a Chippendale chair...  Oh, and there's even a naked Traci Lord painting her toenails before being attacked by a rubber monster (sorry I couldn't resist - though it is true).

So why didn't this get a higher rating?  For me, it's the directing.  Though Jackie Kong's story isn't too bad for an '80's horror film his directing skills aren't up to the same standard.  That said there are some good scenes.  As I stated I liked the Easter Egg Hunt; I liked the opening sequence where you hear a radio broadcast informing the town that the storm has passed, this creates a nice atmosphere... which is then spoiled by a narration.  The narration isn't required as everything is explained throughout the movie.  I don't know if this was requested to be added later, it feels that way, or if it was the original plan, but what I do know is that it kills the atmosphere and spoils the feel of the film.  This may even get a few people turning off.  Kong is also good at filming in the dark as he opts to make everything visible (there's nothing worse than when a scene is so dark you cannot see what's happening).  He can even build up the tension as the scene in the dinner shows, nice and creepy.  If he could have kept this up for the entirety of the film it would have been so much better.

Then there are the effects.  The ripping out of a heart is well done as is the oozing pollution which comes through the car's vents and radio.  However, the monster itself is laughable and it's a good thing that you don't see it fully until the finale.  It resembles a box of goo on a skateboard and the one eye it has doesn't look at all realistic; I was waiting for the glue to go off and the table tennis ball to fall off.

If you like, leave your brain at the door '80's horror and you've not seen this one yet then give it a gander as it's at least worth one viewing.  It should be said that it would be better viewed in the dark with a nice cold drink... or two... or three... while the rain outside is spattering your window.