365horror

It’s not difficult to see that this film would be great even before viewing. With a cast including Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Robert Powell, Sylvia Syms, Britt Ekland and Charlotte Rampling, how could it fail? Roy Ward Barker directs (other notable credits include DrJekyll & Sister Hyde, Vampire Lovers and numerous episodes of Minder) and Robert Bloch writes. It’s a dream cast and crew really for this ’72 Shepperton classic.

Robert Powell plays Dr Martin who visits four mental hospital inmates to assess each case as a means of an interview for a new practice position at the hospital. Each tell a tale of terror and weirdness which makes up this classic anthology of British horror with all involved using this as a platform to showcase great talent. It really cannot be faulted with some of the most memorable performances. Peter Cushing is top of his game here and it’s possibly Britt Ekland’s best performance. Richard Todd’s sequence (Frozen Fear) is by far the most disturbing with body parts, wrapped in brown paper coming back to life. Still sends shivers down my spine now.