StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Mark Burden I had the pleasure of seeing this film at The Odeon Cinema in Horsham (with the obelisk outside - anyone remember it?) in February 1973, when I was taken by my brother and sister in law. Asylum played second feature to Steve Spielberg's classic debut Duel. This was the first X film I saw at a cinema; and at the age of 15 (OK, so cinema staff weren't too vigilant in those days - and anyway I was tall enough to pass as an 18 year old!) My fondest memory was the giggle that went up from the audience when Richard Todd finishes assembling Sylvia Syms' neatly wrapped body parts into the newly installed chest freezer before smirking and saying: "Rest in pieces". I also think the diagrams in Peter Cushing's special book which explains how to reanimate a corpse are very well - um - executed - as an o level student of tech drawing at the time I especially liked the diagrams of the suited skeletal corpse with dimension arrows added. Electronics company Toshiba may have borrowed this idea for their mid 1980s advert voiced by Alexei Sayle to the tune of his recent hit single "Hello John, Gotta New Motor?" reworded "Hello Tosh, Got A Toshiba?" Geoffrey Bayldon perhaps lets the film down at the end with his maniacal lunatic laughter - but, like Bloch's Psycho, the whole thing is meant to be a bit of an outrageous giggle and not something to be remotely real or possible.

AaronCapenBanner Roy Ward Baker directed this horror anthology set in a mental asylum, as a new doctor is introduced to the back stories of four inmates: 'Frozen Fear' - A man is terrorized by his murdered wife. 'The Weird Tailor' - A tailor is paid to make a most unusual suit for a grieving father. Starring Peter Cushing & Barry Morse. 'Lucy Comes To Stay' - A woman(played by Britt Eckland) believes her brother is conspiring against her. 'Mannequins Of Horror' - A man(played by Herbert Lom) builds tiny dolls, one that looks just like himself, that must kill. Mediocre film with the second tale being the only one of note. Framing story has a surprise ending, which isn't enough to save it.

John H Viewed in 2013, this film is a strange mixture. A lot of its plot elements seem corny and it's let down badly by the mannikins in the final episode, which fall laughably below the description given by their creator in the dialogue. Douglas Gamley's music score seems a cop-out in some respects, stealing great chunks of Mussorgsky's Night on Bare Mountain and Pictures at an Exhibition without mention in the credits. However, in its quieter moments the music is wonderfully atmospheric, creating an eerie ambiance unmatched by any other composer in horror films of the period - managing to evoke the 1970s with clever use of a Vibraphone, mixing in other "period" instruments like an electric organ and yet somehow never sounding "cheesy".The script is excellent except for a few bits of clunky dialogue. "No-one can stop me now" would have sounded much better as "No-one will stop me from doing this." That the film still works is down largely to the excellent cast. The number of good (even great) actors that was affordable within the Amicus budget is amazing - Geoffrey Bayldon, Megs Jenkins, Patrick Magee, Robert Powell, Charlotte Rampling, Sylvia Syms, Richard Todd, James Villiers - a roll-call of British acting talent. Probably the best of all are Barry Morse and Peter Cushing, both giving performances that outshine many more respected actors, and depicting a vaguely absurd storyline with utter conviction. Barry Morse even manages to be convincing while affecting an eastern European accent - an achievement for any Anglophone actor - and the double act between these two greats turns their episode into a genuine tragedy.Asylum is never less than watchable and, in its best moments, is genuinely chilling.

salgreco This 1972 movie very well places you in a world where all things in life have gone out of control...ironically, all in a setting where the intent is to control one's life and give it a sense of normalcy. This is not where I'd choose to live, yet for a moment (during the entire film) it's an inescapable all too real place which becomes and threatens to describe our world at large. The conditions and scientific terms depicted in the movie are grounded in reality, which makes it even more frightening, because it's easily within the realm of possibility. The four stories are very well linked in terms of general themes and psychotic disorders. Although the stories are all moralistic and simple in their message, their execution (pardon the pun) is quite different. The end is shocking, and it's not what you'll expect, so sit back and enjoy a moment in time where all things are ultimately controlled by things beyond ourselves and our best efforts. The maniacal laugh at the end communicates, embodies and oozes pure "Horror".