Plot
A special sideshow torture exhibit has
the power, according to the showman Dr Diablo, to warn people of the evil in
their futures. Five sceptical punters decide to try it and find out what the
future holds for them, each one hiding greed or violence within themselves.
Review
Another one of Amicus' horror
anthologies from back in the heyday of British horror, Torture Garden
is probably one of the weakest on the bunch. As usual there are a number of
smaller stories with a themed plot to link them all together and there are
too many poor individual entries to make it work. The linking story isn't too bad
though. Here it's the fortune-telling mannequin in Dr Diablo's sideshow but
as per usual, the story comes full circle towards the end to put a little
spin on what you think has happened. You can see it a mile away (Diablo is another name for what?)
but at least Burgess Meredith has some fun in the role of the showman. You
can just imagine him quacking and saying that he was going to destroy Batman
when he has a Penguin-like suit on. Fortunately for the film he doesn't.
The first story, Enoch, about a
witch's cat who feeds on people's heads starts off silly but actually works,
especially towards the end when no one will believe that a cat would do it.
Making good use of dingy basements, creaky barns and with a dark streak a
mile long, the story never fails to convince you that this is a nasty kitty.
I mean feeding on heads is classic horror material, even if it is by a cat!
Just when you think the whole episode is over and Michael Bryant's character
has been locked up and sent away for his psychological problems, along comes
a nice twist ending which rounds it all off nicely. The film goes downhill
pretty quickly after this entry though. The second story called
Terror Over Hollywood is rubbish and possibly the worst segment
Amicus ever did. It's about a wannabe actress who will do
anything to get into the movies and make a career in Hollywood, including
sabotaging a friend's dinner date with a producer. She then enters in
Hollywood's inner circle and uncovers a shocking secret about how the
biggest stars have managed to retain their youthful looks throughout the
years. This episode is pathetic. It wouldn't scare a
three year old. It's a nice idea but not for a horror film. The sets look
cheap and I don't think anyone would be so gullible as to believe that this
story is taking place in America.
Mr Steinway, the next story, is about a
protective piano which is inhabited by the spirit of it's pianist's deceased
mother and refuses to let anyone come between him and his natural talent. So
when an admirer falls in love with him, the piano takes it upon itself to
stop it. If you think it sounds bad then wait until you see the piano
"moving" around towards the end, attempting to push an unlucky young woman
out of a window whilst playing the funeral march! The material doesn't
warrant as much time as the story is given and the silliness of a killer
piano is prolonged when it should never have been filmed in the first place.
Freddie Francis gives us some close-ups of the piano, with it's keys bearing
like teeth ready to chomp down on a victim. But there's no sense of
tongue-in-cheek and the seriousness of this segment is what kills it. The final story,
The Man Who Collected Poe, is arguably
the best but mainly because of it's strong casting. Jack Palance is great as
the nerdy and eccentric collector of all things Edgar Allan Poe and is
fascinated by his work and his dabbles into the occult. He meets Peter
Cushing's collector who has the world's greatest collection of Poe items
including many unpublished works. Upon further examination, it seems that
Poe has been writing from beyond the grave. Or is he really dead? It may be
a little confusing at times but the two principle actors in the segment
really give it their all. This last story also leads perfectly into the
final part of the wraparound story and brings the film full circle.
Verdict
Torture Garden
comes off as a pale follow-up to the decent Dr Terror's House of Horrors.
The two middle stories really drag on and it's only the final one which
really manages to capture the imagination and the essence of what the link
story was trying to achieve in the first place. Cats feeding on heads. Robot
actors. Killer pianos. Not exactly things to get worked up over are they?
