Torture Garden

Dr. Diablo, a carnival horrors man, shows five people a "special" entertainment in a private showing. Each person looks carefully at the scissors held by a mannequin of one of the Greek fates and soon sees a fate that may or may not come to pass. These visions serve as the basis of the movie as we are entertained to four story adaptations of Robert Bloch stories. The first man sees a story about greed and a witch's familiar. The second story deals with android-like beings in Hollywood, the third story with a malicious piano. The last story is based on Bloch's story "The Man Who Collected Poe" and is about one man's obsession with the master of the macabre. All four stories are brought to screen with care and style, thanks in part to the workman-like direction of Francis. Burgess Meredith is exceptionally good as the devious Dr. Diablo in the frame story. The last story is the best and is highlighted by fine performances by both Peter Cushing and Jack Palance. Look for Michael Ripper in the frame story as well.

A special sideshow torture exhibit has the power, according to showman Dr. Diablo, to warn people of evil in their futures. Ore by one, skeptical customers stand before the Fate Atropos to be shown the greed and violence they are hiding.

This has been called the worst of the Amicus anthologies. That may be true, but it is still enjoyable. Written by Robert Bloch ("Psycho"), starring Burgess Meredeth, Peter Cushing and a young Jack Palance, and directed by Freddie Francis... how can you go wrong?

Some stories are better than others. The cat story was a bit weak, whereas the Hollywood tale was pretty good and "Man Who Collected Poe" was probably the best, if for no other reason than it featured a Poe-themed house.

Interestingly, we have a being named "malfeasor" (literally "wrongdoer"), which seems to clearly be the inspiration behind the villain in "Witchboard".

There is not very much to add here. Torture Garden is entertaining and has a good amount of atmosphere and some good performances but is also a rather uneven film, and there are stronger Amicus anthology films around (understandably as this was a reasonably early effort for them). Also agree with the general consensus that the first and last segments are the best and the second and third come up short.

The story linking the four segments is mostly very well done, it's suspenseful, it's fun, intriguingly written, ties the segments beautifully and succinctly and it has the bonus of having Burgess Meredith playing his tailor-made role with delicious relish. Some might find that the carnival setting's somewhat gaudy, but to me that was effective, it suited the atmosphere and carnivals are so in the first place anyway to an extent. It is a shame though that Diablo's real identity was a little too obvious and the ending can be smelt a mile off.

Of the four segments, The Man Who Collected Poe comes off the most successfully. It is very macabre, very intelligently written and has a good deal of suspense. It is also the best-looking segment of the four, with the Gothic atmosphere evoked wonderfully. Jack Palance is devilishly enjoyable here, he's over-the-top but also very menacing, vintage Palance really. Peter Cushing proves himself to be a great contrast, a more subtle performance but very dignified and urbane. Enoch has a very creepy ambiance and doesn't go through the motions at all with the scares. The cat didn't look too cute personally, and does bring the right amount of chills as the antagonist of the story.

Conversely, Terror over Hollywood and particularly Mr. Steinway don't fare anywhere near as strongly. Terror over Hollywood at least had a very intriguing subject, but it descend into weird silliness often and while striking Beverly Adams is rather too pretty and lightweight for the over-ambitious diva, when she does try to bring some menace or hard edge it feels very forced. Mr. Steinway is very dull from the get go and goes so overkill in the absurdity factor that it is really difficult to take seriously or be scared by it, only the piano's unsettling final attack prevents it from completely falling apart. John Standing is also rather bland here.

Visually, Torture Garden's not one of the better-looking Amicus anthology productions and it's less than beautiful-looking, but it doesn't look too cheap at all either. In fact, it's very competently made and gives off a very nice atmosphere. Some of the sets are a touch tacky, with the exception of The Man Who Collected Poe and the appropriate carnival setting and the editing occasionally may lack slickness, but it's very stylishly shot, that takes maximum Gothic effect to imaginative heights, and the lighting's not too garish, in fact the use of colour is very like watching a Mario Bava film. James Bernard's score is rousing, haunting and thrillingly booming, Robert Bloch's script is skillful and combines many horror elements with wit and creepy atmosphere without feeling too over-stuffed and Freddie Francis directs engagingly at least for the first and last segments and the linking story. And while the acting in Torture Garden is very varied, Palance, Cushing and Meredith are incredibly strong and are more than enough to make one stick with the film.

Overall, entertaining and above-decent but uneven, with one outstanding segment, one great segment and two misfires, along with a compelling story linking them together. Worth seeing also for the strong performances from Palance, Cushing and Meredith. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

"Torture Garden" is, overall, a fun if unexceptional horror anthology from Amicus, a company that specialized in that sort of thing for a number of years. With a screenplay written by Robert Bloch of "Psycho" fame, and efficient direction by Freddie Francis, it's unfortunately a little uneven. It's divided into four segments, and segments two and three aren't quite as punchy, and more amusing than anything; segment one, which is rather leisurely paced, would have been better off as the third in the movie.

The ever wonderful Burgess Meredith is a sort of host for the proceedings, playing a sideshow personality named Dr. Diabolo, who takes various customers into his "torture garden" and places them in front of an exhibit that can foretell their futures, and see the darkness buried within each of them.

"Enoch" stars Michael Bryant as Colin, a man in need of money who thinks he'll get it from his dying uncle (Maurice Denham). After accidentally causing the old man's death, he discovers what kinds of secrets his uncle had been keeping, and they revolve around a spooky "cat" that will develop a powerful hold on him. This is interesting and atmospheric stuff, with a great denouement and enjoyable shock moments.

In "Terror Over Hollywood", cunning and ambitious young actress Carla (Beverly Adams) manages to make the acquaintance of some power players in the business, including veteran star & producer Bruce Benton (Robert Hutton). She soon finds out that there's a reason why Benton and company are able to maintain a facade of youth. This leads to a real hoot of a revelation, which gives this episode its element of "horror".

"Mr. Steinway" is definitely something different: the only story this viewer has seen that can claim to be a love triangle between a journalist, Dorothy (Barbara Ewing), a star pianist, Leo (John Standing), and Leo's piano. Yup, a musical instrument. This is rather cheesy stuff, and entertaining, but hardly scary.

Peter Cushing and Jack Palance star in "The Man Who Collected Poe", about two men obsessed with the legendary author. Ronald Wyatt (Palance) is determined to find out everything that he can about just what kinds of things Lancelot Canning (Cushing) is hoarding. As it turns out, Lancelot truly has the treasure to beat them all. At least we can say that this movie ends with the best story of the bunch.

Taken as a whole, the movie is enjoyable for horror fans, although it is somewhat plodding and has its ups and downs. The top notch cast makes it a worthy viewing; John Phillips, Michael Ripper, Bernard Kay, David Bauer, Niall MacGinnis, Hedger Wallace, Clytie Jessop, and Timothy Bateson also appear. It's also noteworthy for having American stars (Palance and Meredith) be top billed. It's not the best of the Amicus anthologies, but it's not bad at all either.

Seven out of 10.

TORTURE GARDEN is the second in a series of seven Amicus horror anthologies. If THE MONSTER CLUB is included as part of the series, this would make eight movies. Although, that movie is very different from the others.

I look upon the Amicus anthologies with great memories as I used to love them when I was in my teens. My feelings for them today are just as strong.

TORTURE GARDEN is a very misleading title for this movie because there is no torture and no garden.

The movie has been unfairly maligned by IMDb users. I will put up an argument in its defence.

The linking story in this movie is easily one of the best found in Amicus anthologies. It provides a long but highly interesting introduction that had me hooked from the first moment. Burgess Meredith gives a truly magnificent performance as the sinister showman, Dr. Diabolo. He persuades a group of fairground visitors that he can show them real horror. Four of the visitors have their futures predicted and this constitutes the framework for the stories.

The first story sees Michael Bryant as a somewhat opportunistic young man who allows his uncle to die just so he can get his hands on his money. The uncle has a mysterious cat that leaves coins behind every time someone is killed. Bryant ends up going on a mini killing spree to get the money. In the end, he goes crazy and is locked up. He thinks he's free of the cat, but is he? Watch and see. This story provides a solid start to the movie. Michael Bryant gives a great performance as a greedy man who is driven to insanity.

The second story takes a very different course to the first. In this quirky tale, Beverly Adams plays an actress determined to find out why other actors manage to stay young. This story is very much maligned. I admit that one really has to suspend disbelief when viewing this story but I found it entertaining and Miss Adams looked very glamorous in her part.

The third story sees Barbara Ewing as a journalist falling in love with a pianist, played by John Standing. This strange piano with a mind of its own becomes jealous of their affair and decides to do something about it. This is easily the weakest story in the movie. It not only requires suspension of disbelief but is mostly boring to sit through. The end is unintentionally funny but not really entertaining enough to endure the rest of the story for. John Standing is very bland in his role and his performance is flat and lifeless. However, he can't really be blamed for that given the absurd story he has to work with. Barbara Ewing fares better, giving everything she's got, but even she can't save this story.

The final story and easily the best puts the movie back on track. Jack Palance is a fanatic of Edgar Allan Poe's work. He meets a fellow fanatic, played by the late great Peter Cushing. Cushing lets him into a secret - Poe has come back from the dead and is writing new stories. The finale of this story is very confusing but interesting to watch. Jack Palance does little more than stand around smoking a pipe in this and the linking story. Another IMDb user has stated on the comments page that Christopher Lee would have been a better choice for the role. I certainly agree with that analogy.

Freddie Francis directs the material he is given very well, adding a particularly unique effect at the end of each story. When the transition is made from a story back to the linking story, a pair of scissors is seen and heard cutting a ribbon. This creates the effect of snapping both the character and the audience out of what is presented as a kind of nightmare. Some excellent camera angles in the first story help to make it seem more macabre than it really is. Some intelligent editing is employed in the third story to try covering up its absurdity.

Overall, TORTURE GARDEN has its flaws but is a must-see for fans of the Amicus anthologies, fans of other Amicus movies or fans of portmanteau horror movies. If my summary provides the movie with enough appeal in your eyes, check it out. You'll enjoy it!