retro movie review: Asylum
I first heard of the horror anthology film Asylum while reading the Halloween issue of The Onion's non-satirical entertainment section, "The A.V. Club." The Onion was interviewing filmmaker Edgar Wright about his favorite horror movies, and his description of Asylum was so intriguing, I had to Netflix the movie as soon as I got home.
The set-up: Robert Powell stars as Doctor Martin, a young psychiatrist who travels to a remote mental hospital to interview for the newly vacant job as head of operations. Dr. Martin immediately clashes with the interim head psychiatrist conducting the interview, Dr. Rutherford, when the idealistic Martin advocates continued treatment while the cynical Rutherford insists that the patients there are "incurably insane" and can only be imprisoned, but never effectively treated.
Rutherford, who hints that he is about to retire, reveals that he has no interest to head operations at the asylum, and only inherited the role because the previous head of operations, Dr. Starr, has himself gone insane, developed an entirely new personality, and become a patient at his own asylum. Rutherford tells Dr. Martin that if he can figure out which of the patients is the former head of operations, the job is his for the taking. As Dr. Martin interviews the patients one by one, they each tell Dr. Martin how they came to be viewed as "insane" and thus imprisoned in an asylum. Each of their stories are told in flashback sequences based on short stories by screenwriter Robert Bloch (he of Psycho fame).
As with many (but not all) anthologies, the quality and even the style of Asylum varies with each story. I don't want to give away any endings, but I will, briefly, describe the basic plot concepts of each story:
The first story, "Frozen Fear," stars Barbara Perkins and Richard Todd as two lovers conspiring to murder Todd's wife. Because the outcome of such a murder is predictable to anyone who has ever seen a horror movie, whether you enjoy this particular tale depends not so much on the "twist" ending, but instead on how much suspense director Roy Ward Baker can milk out of the situation -- and the answer to that question is probably different for every viewer. My guess is that most viewers my age and younger would be bored by the slow pace, while older or more patient viewers, who are more used to films that take their time to build suspense, might enjoy this segment more. Call it "horror for the Matlock crowd." You might also want to think of this segment as a morality tale -- if you can consider "don't murder your wife" as a morality lesson that isn't already obvious.
The second segment, the misleadingly titled "The Weird Tailor," is easily the best of the four, and stars Barry Morse in a brilliant performance a million miles removed from his familiar role as Lt. Gerard in The Fugitive. Morse stars as Bruno, a German immigrant tailor whose business is failing despite his talents and good reputation. Broke, behind on his rent, and about to be evicted, Bruno seems to get the answer to all his prayers when he is approached by Smith, played with class and dignity by the late, great Peter Cushing. Mr. Smith has a "special order" for Bruno, and although the tailor is bewildered by Mr. Smith's mysterious specifications for exactly how the suit should be made, the oddity of it all seems harmless enough, and besides, Mr. Smith is willing to pay a lot of money.
As with "Frozen Fear," the final twist of "The Weird Tailor" is a bit predictable, but there are some minor surprises along the way, and both Cushing and Morse are at the top of their craft. Director Baker pays much more attention to atmosphere in this segment than in the others, as if the talented thespians in front of the camera inspired him to bring his A-game; although the events presumably take place in modern day (since the frame story takes place in modern day, and Bruno is currently one of the patients at the asylum), the setting has a kind of timeless quality that could take place now, or in the 70s, or in the 20s, for that matter.
"Lucy Comes to Stay" is by far the blandest of all four tales, a 70s soap opera that will challenge your ability to stay away from the fast forward button. Charlotte Rampling stars as a former mental patient who returns home to be cared for by her brother, only to immediately reunite with her best friend, the "bad influence" Lucy. Until the final few moments of this segment, Lucy's "bad influence" behavior is so tame that you'll spend much of the segment wondering what the big deal is. The ending is done pretty well, although it's really not worth the journey.
The final segment, "Mannikins of Horror,", which is intertwined with the framing story, benefits from the presence of the always effective Herbert Lom, but is hindered by Bloch's genre intentions, which are all over the map. Despite an intelligent and intriguing opening, in which Dr. Byron and Dr. Martin discuss the relationship between philosophy and psychiatry, the story quickly deteriorates into an unintentionally silly melding of fantasy, gore, horror, and Frankensteinian science fiction.
So, as I said, uneven. Would I recommend this film? I'd answer with a cautious yes, but a yes nonetheless. Some of the stories may struggle with pacing and predictability, but the great thing about anthology films that you can skip past the boring parts without missing any important plot points about the better segments. With that in mind, the "Weird Tailor" segment stands on its own as an atmospheric, well-crafted, old-fashioned horror tale, and the frame story (notwithstanding its connection to the dreadful "Mannikins of Horror") has an intriguing premise, interesting characters, and a satisfying ending. This may not be the kind of movie you'll want to watch with a bunch of your friends on a Saturday night, but it's perfect for a dark and rainy afternoon.
The set-up: Robert Powell stars as Doctor Martin, a young psychiatrist who travels to a remote mental hospital to interview for the newly vacant job as head of operations. Dr. Martin immediately clashes with the interim head psychiatrist conducting the interview, Dr. Rutherford, when the idealistic Martin advocates continued treatment while the cynical Rutherford insists that the patients there are "incurably insane" and can only be imprisoned, but never effectively treated.
Rutherford, who hints that he is about to retire, reveals that he has no interest to head operations at the asylum, and only inherited the role because the previous head of operations, Dr. Starr, has himself gone insane, developed an entirely new personality, and become a patient at his own asylum. Rutherford tells Dr. Martin that if he can figure out which of the patients is the former head of operations, the job is his for the taking. As Dr. Martin interviews the patients one by one, they each tell Dr. Martin how they came to be viewed as "insane" and thus imprisoned in an asylum. Each of their stories are told in flashback sequences based on short stories by screenwriter Robert Bloch (he of Psycho fame).
As with many (but not all) anthologies, the quality and even the style of Asylum varies with each story. I don't want to give away any endings, but I will, briefly, describe the basic plot concepts of each story:
The first story, "Frozen Fear," stars Barbara Perkins and Richard Todd as two lovers conspiring to murder Todd's wife. Because the outcome of such a murder is predictable to anyone who has ever seen a horror movie, whether you enjoy this particular tale depends not so much on the "twist" ending, but instead on how much suspense director Roy Ward Baker can milk out of the situation -- and the answer to that question is probably different for every viewer. My guess is that most viewers my age and younger would be bored by the slow pace, while older or more patient viewers, who are more used to films that take their time to build suspense, might enjoy this segment more. Call it "horror for the Matlock crowd." You might also want to think of this segment as a morality tale -- if you can consider "don't murder your wife" as a morality lesson that isn't already obvious.
The second segment, the misleadingly titled "The Weird Tailor," is easily the best of the four, and stars Barry Morse in a brilliant performance a million miles removed from his familiar role as Lt. Gerard in The Fugitive. Morse stars as Bruno, a German immigrant tailor whose business is failing despite his talents and good reputation. Broke, behind on his rent, and about to be evicted, Bruno seems to get the answer to all his prayers when he is approached by Smith, played with class and dignity by the late, great Peter Cushing. Mr. Smith has a "special order" for Bruno, and although the tailor is bewildered by Mr. Smith's mysterious specifications for exactly how the suit should be made, the oddity of it all seems harmless enough, and besides, Mr. Smith is willing to pay a lot of money.
As with "Frozen Fear," the final twist of "The Weird Tailor" is a bit predictable, but there are some minor surprises along the way, and both Cushing and Morse are at the top of their craft. Director Baker pays much more attention to atmosphere in this segment than in the others, as if the talented thespians in front of the camera inspired him to bring his A-game; although the events presumably take place in modern day (since the frame story takes place in modern day, and Bruno is currently one of the patients at the asylum), the setting has a kind of timeless quality that could take place now, or in the 70s, or in the 20s, for that matter.
"Lucy Comes to Stay" is by far the blandest of all four tales, a 70s soap opera that will challenge your ability to stay away from the fast forward button. Charlotte Rampling stars as a former mental patient who returns home to be cared for by her brother, only to immediately reunite with her best friend, the "bad influence" Lucy. Until the final few moments of this segment, Lucy's "bad influence" behavior is so tame that you'll spend much of the segment wondering what the big deal is. The ending is done pretty well, although it's really not worth the journey.
The final segment, "Mannikins of Horror,", which is intertwined with the framing story, benefits from the presence of the always effective Herbert Lom, but is hindered by Bloch's genre intentions, which are all over the map. Despite an intelligent and intriguing opening, in which Dr. Byron and Dr. Martin discuss the relationship between philosophy and psychiatry, the story quickly deteriorates into an unintentionally silly melding of fantasy, gore, horror, and Frankensteinian science fiction.
So, as I said, uneven. Would I recommend this film? I'd answer with a cautious yes, but a yes nonetheless. Some of the stories may struggle with pacing and predictability, but the great thing about anthology films that you can skip past the boring parts without missing any important plot points about the better segments. With that in mind, the "Weird Tailor" segment stands on its own as an atmospheric, well-crafted, old-fashioned horror tale, and the frame story (notwithstanding its connection to the dreadful "Mannikins of Horror") has an intriguing premise, interesting characters, and a satisfying ending. This may not be the kind of movie you'll want to watch with a bunch of your friends on a Saturday night, but it's perfect for a dark and rainy afternoon.
posted by Movie Man at
8:22 PM
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