Asylum (1972)

Asylum (1972), directed by Roy Ward Baker.

Aka House of Crazies, from Amicus Productions.

An upscale British horror/thriller anthology written by Robert Bloch from four of his stories. Macabre but not very gruesome, the segments are much like episodes of Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1969) series. Despite their sometimes lurid titles, Amicus titles were usually genteel and without explicit sex or violence.

We have a rich set of familiar faces.

In the framing story a new shrink arrives at a country estate mental hospital and is told the head doctor is now a patient. I immediately suspected we had walked into Poe's "The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather", where we find the inmates are running the asylum. I will leave it to the viewer to decide if I was right.

Each patient has a story:

• Frozen Fear: Once pieces of the wife are in the freezer, shouldn't they stay there?

• The Weird Tailor: Actually the weird customer, who wants a suit of glowing fabric made after midnight. The title is no doubt a play on "Weird Tales" magazine where Bloch got his start in the HP Lovecraft years of the 1930s.

• Lucy Comes To Stay: Imaginary friends are not harmless. Bloch said this was a precursor to the novel used for Psycho (1960).

• Mannikins of Horror: Devil doll loose in the hospital! I found this one ridiculous, especially with the "Night on Bald Mountain" music, but some people have doll phobia and I wouldn't spoil their fun.

Available on Blu-ray from Severin. The director and camera operator join with a host for a relaxed commentary track. Lots of technical details.