Review: Torture Garden

Mephistophelean carnival barker Dr. Diablo (Burgess Meredith) offers glimpses of the future to several customers. The film follows each of these horrific future scenarios.

Enoch: Greedy Michael Bryant withholds uncle Maurice Denham’s medicine to coerce him into coughing up his fortune, and watches him die instead. Afterwards a talking cat (!) promises to tell him where the money is…so long as he continues to kill for him. Terror Over Hollywood: An aspiring Hollywood star (Beverly Adams) discovers the unsettling secret to the longevity of Hollywood’s elite. Mr. Steinway: Journalist Barbara Ewing goes to interview introverted pianist John Standing and they soon form a bond. Unfortunately, Standing’s piano takes this new entanglement very poorly. Yes, a piano. The Man Who Collected Poe: A devoted Edgar Allen Poe collector (Jack Palance) goes to extreme lengths to get his hands on a piece owned by a rival collector (Peter Cushing).

 

Solid anthology from Amicus studios, this 1967 Freddie Francis (“Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors”, “Tales From the Crypt”) flick has zero dud segments and several fine performances, especially by Burgess Meredith and Peter Cushing. Meredith is our host and his wrap-around segments are done in exactly the same manner as Ralph Richardson’s Crypt Keeper in Amicus’ later “Tales From the Crypt” (including the same camera angles). Meredith’s Dr. Diablo is the cheap carnival barker version of the Crypt Keeper and lots of fun. Meredith is in fine form and even has the cigarette holder thing he’d use for The Penguin on TV’s “Batman”. Personally I prefer “Tales From the Crypt” but that may be partly because I saw it first, and this film is solid too.

 

Our first segment features Michael Bryant, Niall MacGinnis, and a frail Maurice Denham. Bryant is good in a thoroughly rotten part, but old pro Denham is even better in this classic tale of greed. Jolly good, macabre stuff it’s very indicative of its screenwriter Robert Bloch (“Psycho”, “Asylum”, “The House That Dripped Blood”), and with a touch of Edgar Allen Poe in there too. I do wish Denham were in more of the story, but that’s a minor issue. The second story is sleazy and creepy stuff, especially looking at it in the #MeToo era. It may not feel very horror-like but it’s creepy and just plain weird at times. It kinda has a “Twilight Zone” vibe to it, and is both quite original and completely absurd. I personally think it’s weaker than the first story, but it’s quite original and interesting nonetheless. The third story has a terrific performance by Kiwi-born Barbara Ewing, who in my view deserved a bigger and better career. This tale of a haunted piano is more typical of the horror anthology deal than the previous story, if perhaps a bit less original. The set design and camerawork are particularly interesting in this one. There’s at least one great, creepy set piece near the end as well. Our final story features Jack Palance and Peter Cushing and it’s the best story of a solid lot. Admittedly I found Palance a bit too fidgety and intense, but Cushing is all class and the Poe-infused story is a terrific one. Overall this is one of Amicus’ most consistent anthology films and well worth a look.

 

Rating: B-

 

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