Computer Killers (1973)
"Horror Hospital" (original title)

Jason, a member of a 1960's pop group, decides he needs a break at a country retreat. On the train he meets Judy, niece of Aunt Harris who owns the place with her husband Dr Storm and who ... See full summary »

Director:

Antony Balch

Writers:

Antony Balch (screenplay), Alan Watson (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Gough, Robin Askwith, Vanessa Shaw

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Gough	...	Dr. Christian Storm
Robin Askwith	...	Jason Jones
Vanessa Shaw	...	Judy Peters
Ellen Pollock	...	Aunt Harris
Dennis Price	...	Mr. Pollack
Skip Martin	...	Frederick
Kurt Christian	...	Abraham
Barbara Wendy	...	Millie
Kenneth Benda	...	Carter
Martin Grace	...	Bike Boy
Colin Skeaping	...	Bike Boy
George Herbert	...	Laboratory Assistant
James Boris IV	...	'Mystic' Rock Group (as James IV Boris)
Allan 'The River' Hudson	...	'Mystic' Rock Group (as Allan {The River} Hudson)
Simon Lust	...	'Mystic' Rock Group

Storyline

Jason, a member of a 1960's pop group, decides he needs a break at a country retreat. On the train he meets Judy, niece of Aunt Harris who owns the place with her husband Dr Storm and who are using the guests for surgical mind-control experiments. So while Jason and Judy are pretty quickly making out, they are just as quickly working out how to get away.

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Plot Keywords:

mind control | zombie | mad doctor | wheelchair | midget | 

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Taglines:

The Operation is a Success ... When the Patient Dies

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Computer Killers

Filming Locations:

Knebworth House, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noteworthy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 100 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Abraham was first offered to Nicky Henson.

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Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Doucement tombe la pluie"
Music by Pierre Arvay
De Wolfe Music Ltd

User Reviews

Completely ridiculous camp classic!

Horror Hospital is far too silly to be taken seriously, but that's what makes the film so good! The film throws in one illogical sequence after another, and if you tried to account for all the events in the movie and make sense of them; you'd be completely wasting your time. In fact, if you're watching this film you are, in fact, wasting your time, but the film makes up for this by being lots of fun and this ensures that it's always delightful. The film clearly knows that it's trash rather than a serious horror film, and this is shown throughout by the tongue-in-cheek mood that runs through it. The filmmakers clearly couldn't keep a straight face while making this film and that translates onto the screen. The ridiculous plot follows the insane Dr Storm and his "heath farm". After travelling there for a holiday and meeting a young lady on her way to see her aunt (who works at the "health farm"), a British man named Jason finds that his holiday might not be going as planned, and once he finds out that the not-so-good doctor is conducting experiments into making zombies; Jason, the girl and some other bloke that turns up must make a bid for freedom!

When it comes to bad movie-making, this film has it all; a terrible script, duff cinematography, useless actors delivering stupid performances, daft music, a clichéd, rip-off ridden and implausible plot and the list goes on.... yet, somehow, it all moulds together into something very watchable. I think another reviewer summed it up best when he talked about the hilarious sequence that sees the utterly superfluous character, Abraham, introduced into the film. I actually had to rewind that part of the film about five times just to fully take in how amazingly stupid it is. The film is full of moments like that, and that's why this piece of trash appeals much more than the standard trash that was produced en mass in the seventies. Michael Gough helps to make this film a winner with his delightfully over the top camp performance as the 'evil' Dr Storm. You can always count on Gough to overact and make himself look silly, and that's exactly what he does here. On the whole, if you like your movies to be serious; you wont get an ounce of enjoyment out of Horror Hospital. But if you like them to be stupid and camp - prepare for a truly GREAT ride!