Torture Garden (1967)

 "Did you know that there are ways to raise the dead...?"

This is, I believe, the only one of the Amicus horror anthologies that I still had to blog until now- do let me know if I'm wrong. The format is much as we'd come to expect, though- four lurid tales of grand guignol with an overarching narrative.

What separates this film from the norm is its more than usually transatlantic cast, with Burgess Meredith chewing the scenery in the best possible way as the delightfully devilish(!) Dr Diabolo. Even the opening titles, with the background of a creepy old amusement park at night, set the scenes superbly, and the framing device does its job to perfection.

Not all the tales are equally good, but all are entertaining. The third, in which a lady's pursuit of a desirable man leads to her death at the, er, hands(?) of a jealous piano, is hilarious. The first two, concerning a black cat and the secret reason why Hollywood stars never seem to age, are nicely and evilly gothic and lurid.

Yet it's the final story, with the unusual pairing of Jack Palance and Peter Cushing, that lingers in the mind, as two men bond over a shared enthusiasm for Edgar Allan Poe. This is a delightfully effective warning of the dangers of the more toxic sides of fandom,with deliciously absurd revelations leading to a perfectly melodramatic ending.

This is grand guignol at its best.

They Came from Beyond Space (1967)

 "I will not have sentiment interfering with our vital work!”

I knew, before watching, only that Amicus made this film at the same time as Daleks: Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, and reused some sets, costumes or whatnot.

Having seen it last night, though, I strongly suspect another Doctor Who connection. Yes, this is basically a cheeky rip-off of Quatermass II, both in terms of the plot and in terms of having an American star amongst an otherwise all-British cast. If you’ll forgive a brief Doctor Who fanboy diversion, though, I strongly suspect Robert Holmes saw this film, at the pictures, a couple of years before writing Spearhead from Space. I suspect said story’s debt to Nigel Kneale comes at least partly via this film, which not only has the plot based on alien meteorites leading to mysterious alien doings, but has as its hero an endearingly rude scientist with a vintage car. Yes, quite.

Rip-off it is, but the film is rather good. The cast may be fairly low-wattage, but they do a good job. The visuals are nicely trippy in a 1967 way, making this rather old-fashioned sort of film look relatively contemporary. It does, admittedly, run out of both ideas and budget once the story leaves Earth, but the rather sudden conclusion is brilliantly hilarious in a way which must surely have been intended. Let us just say that the cameo by Michael Gough is… unique.

This film is utterly bonkers. I can’t call it a classic, but I can say it’s thoroughly enjoyable.