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Torture Garden (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Torture Garden' is a 1967 British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Burgess Meredith, Jack Palance, Michael Ripper, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing, Maurice Denham, Ursula Howells, Michael Bryant and Barbara Ewing. The score was a collaboration between Hammer horror regulars James Bernard and Don Banks.
Made by Amicus Productions, it is one of producer Milton Subotsky's trademark "portmanteau" films, an omnibus of short stories (in this case all by 'Psycho' author Robert Bloch, who adapted his own work for the screenplay) linked by a single narrative.
Plot
Five people visit a fairground sideshow run by showman Dr. Diabolo (Burgess Meredith). Having shown them a handful of haunted house-style attractions, he promises them a genuinely scary experience if they will pay extra. Their curiosity gets the better of them, and the small crowd follows him behind a curtain, where they each view their fate through the shears of an effigy of the female deity Atropos (Clytie Jessop).
* In 'Enoch', a greedy playboy (Michael Bryant) takes advantage of his dying uncle (Maurice Denham), and falls under the spell of a man-eating cat.
* In 'Terror Over Hollywood', a Hollywood starlet (Beverly Adams) discovers her co-stars are androids.
* In 'Mr. Steinway', a possessed Bechstein grand piano by the name of Euterpe becomes jealous of its owner (John Standing)'s new lover (Barbara Ewing) and takes revenge.
* In 'The Man Who Collected Poe', a Poe collector (Jack Palance) murders another collector (Peter Cushing) over a collectable he refuses to show him, only to find it is Edgar Allan Poe himself (Hedger Wallace).
In an epilogue, the fifth patron (Michael Ripper) goes berserk and uses the shears of Atropos to "kill" Dr. Diabolo in front of the others, causing them to panic and flee. It is then shown that he is working for Diabolo, and the whole thing was faked. As they congratulate each other for their acting, it is then revealed that Palance's character had not run off like the others, and he too commends their performance, sharing a brief exchange with Diabolo and lighting a cigarette for him before leaving (using the same lighter he borrowed in his vision, implying that the events actually happened). Diabolo puts the shears back into the hand of Atropos, and then breaks the fourth wall by addressing three words to the audience, thereby revealing himself actually to be the devil.
Cast
* Jack Palance as Ronald Wyatt
* Burgess Meredith as Dr. Diabolo
* Beverly Adams as Carla Hayes
* Peter Cushing as Lancelot Canning
* Michael Bryant as Colin Williams
* Barbara Ewing as Dorothy Endicott
* John Standing as Leo
* John Phillips as Storm
* Michael Ripper as Gordon Roberts
* Bernard Kay as Dr. Heim
* Maurice Denham as Uncle Roger
* Ursula Howells as Miss Chambers
* David Bauer as Charles
* Niall MacGinnis as Doctor
Production
The film was meant to star Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee; however, Columbia, which was providing the budget, wanted two American names, and this led to Palance and Meredith's casting.Ed. Allan Bryce, 'Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 50-55
Critical reception
Allmovie's review of the film was mixed, writing, "'Torture Garden' lacks the strength and inventiveness to qualify as a top-tier horror anthology but it offers enough spooky thrills to qualify as a Saturday afternoon diversion."
References
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