BY MARK MAWSTON
In the
music scene of the 60’s you had two bands that stood on their own: the Beatles
and the Rolling Stones. In films of the same period and into the early 70s, Amicus and Hammer were the Beatles and the
Stones of the horror film genre. At their best, both reflected the popular
tastes of era as it pertained to movies of this type. The early 70s saw
creative highlights. With Hammer it was the Carmilla trilogy, Vampire Circus, Captain Kronos and, with Amicus, we had
the splendid portmanteau films which had started with Dr Terrors House of Horrors and reaching their creative peak at the
beginning of the new decade. Two of the company’s best efforts are now released
by Second Sight on Blu-ray as stand-alone discs after appearing as part of a
boxed set last year, The House That
Dripped Blood and Asylum-the keystones on which Amicus based
their famous trilogy of Tales from The
Crypt, The Vault of Horror and From
Beyond The Grave, all of which have huge cult followings to this day.
The
difference between the Beatles and the Stones was that they looked and sounded
very different whereas Amicus and Hammer tended to cross pollinate in the
public perception. This is probably due to the fact that Amicus used many of
the actors who had made their name at Hammer, such as Christopher Lee, Peter
Cushing and Ingrid Pitt, yet it was Amicus that offered Cushing some of
his most memorable roles, which is another one of the reasons why these films
are held in great affection by fans. Who can ever forget Cushing’s
transformation as Arthur Grimsdyke from Tales
from The Crypt, for example? The main difference between the two was that
Amicus was more hex than sex, driven by its producers to make their films more
family friendly, as in The House That
Dripped Blood, though that didn’t make any of the Robert Bloch portmanteau
films any less scary, as in Asylum.
Although The House That Dripped Blood is seen by
many critics as the best of the Amicus portmanteau films, its 1972’s Asylum that has always held a special
place in my heart and is still to this day one of my favourite horror films
ever, mainly due to The Weird Tailor
segment (again featuring Cushing) which simply terrified me as a child, in the
same way the similar- looking Autons had done in Dr. Who. Perhaps it’s just down to the fact that mannequins were
something I’d see in every store front window when my Mum dragged me shopping,
as opposed to vampires or killer plants. It’s the things from the real world
transferred to the reel world that frighten you most when you’re a kid and I
couldn’t walk past our local Burton’s department store windows for ages without
cupping my hands over my eyes to avoid seeing the snappy 70s style suits on
display on those mustachioed tailor’s dummies. (Looking back, I’d probably do
the same, as those big collared and flared nylon suit styles now look just as
frightening without the mannequins!) The main difference with these new Blu-ray
releases, bar the great transfers, is the wonderful artwork that adorns their
covers by legendary horror poster artist Graham Humphreys. These covers also appear
in his latest movie poster book, Hung,
Drawn and Executed, that I recommend all horror fans to add to their
collections. It contains images that will have the collector salivating.
As a horror
poster collector myself, I always found the original 1970s quads and one sheet
posters lacking when it came to these two iconic titles. So with that in mind,
I asked Graham how he approached both of these cult classics when it came to
designing the reversible covers on the new Blu-ray releases.
‘The
House that Dripped Blood’ and ‘Asylum’ are two films that are hardwired into my
brain. Like all the Amicus anthology films, each has its strengths and
weaknesses, but remain totally entertaining, packed with unforgettable images
and characters.
It’s
always a dilemma when presented with such well-loved genre films, how to
approach the subjects to meet the expectations of the customer. In each
instance, the original posters are well known, but my job is to provide an
alternative. With anthologies, you either try to make a visual summary using
the wrap-around theme, or attempt to portray all the content within.
Watching
the films with fresh eyes, it struck me how powerful the character performances
had grown. I wanted to celebrate the raft of fantastic actors that embody all
the breadth and eccentricities of UK acting talent, still towering above the
self-obsessed, surgically enhanced, botoxed mediocrity of current mainstream
screen candy.
Faces
that are etched with pain, abandon, addiction and cunning... these are what
made these films so visceral and compelling, that’s why I decided to focus on
the faces rather than settings, props or symbolism. It’s a dark parody of
‘heads-in-the-sky’ photocomps, delivered in graveyard colours with funeral
pomp.
Both Asylum and The House That Dripped Blood are out now as Region 2 (UK) Blu-ray
special editions from Second Sight, ready to add to your collection.
Bonus extras for The House That Dripped Blood:
Audio Commentary with Director Peter Duffell and Author
Jonathan Rigby
Audio Commentary with Film Historian and Author Troy
Howarth
Interview with Second Assistant Director Mike Higgins
'A Rated Horror Film- - Vintage featurette featuring
interviews with Director Peter Duffell and Actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt
and Chloe Franks
Theatrical Trailers
Amicus Radio Spots
Stills Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys
and original artwork
SDH English Subtitles for the Hard of Hearing
CLICK
HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK
Bonus extras for
Asylum:
Audio Commentary with Director Roy Ward Baker and Camera
Operator Neil Binney
"Two's a Company": 1972 On-set BBC report
featuring interviews with Producer Milton Subotsky, Director Roy Ward Baker,
Actors Charlotte Rampling, James Villiers, Megs Jenkins, Art Director Tony
Curtis and Production Manager Teresa Bolland
Screenwriter David J. Schow on Writer Robert Bloch
Fiona Subotsky Remembers Milton Subotsky
Inside the Fear Factory Featurette with Directors Roy
Ward Baker, Freddie Francis and Producer Max J. Rosenberg
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham
Humphreys and original artwork
SDH English Subtitles for the Hard of Hearing
CLICK
HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK