Amicus released Asylum on 17 November 1972. The UK got it the previous July. And it premiered in the US on 11 October 1972 in Los Angeles.
By my count, Amicus produced 28 films between 1962 and 1977. But only four of them were not psychotronic. Sixteen were horror films. And of these, seven were anthology films. Today, the company is most known for these films:
- Dr Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)
- Torture Garden (1967)
- The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
- Tales from the Crypt (1972)
- Asylum (1972)
- The Vault of Horror (1973)
- From Beyond the Grave (1974)
Asylum is not my favorite of the anthology films. But it has the best frame story of the lot. Most anthology films feature perfunctory frame stories. And that’s fine. Actually, I’m fine with no frame story at all.
Film producers have long claimed that people don’t like short films so anthology films need something to sew them together. I don’t know if this is true. The excellent Southbound (2015) has no real frame. That’s also largely true of V/H/S (2012). The film industry is heavily dependent on conventional wisdom based on little but vibes. It is kind of like political consulting, but with more money.
In my experience, short films are, on average, far better than feature films. The argument against anthology films is that audiences won’t like all of the shorts. But do audiences like every part of most feature films? Or is it — like with sketch comedy — that audiences can better express their displeasure?
I think the shorts could be better if no time were wasted trying to tie them together. But if we must tie them together, it should be done as it is in Asylum. And on this 53rd anniversary, let’s watch it!
Asylum (1972) poster via Archive.org. It is in the public domain.