X
  • 1972
  • PG
  • Cinerama Releasing Corporation
  • 1 h 28 m
  • 1972
  • PG
  • Cinerama Releasing Corporation
  • 1 h 28 m

Summary A young psychiatrist interviews four inmates in a mental asylum to satisfy a requirement for employment. He hears stories about 1) the revenge of a murdered wife, 2) a tailor who makes a suit with some highly unusual qualities, 3) a woman who questions her sanity when it appears that her brother is conspiring against her, and 4) a man wh...

Directed By: Roy Ward Baker

Written By: Robert Bloch

  • 1972
  • PG
  • Cinerama Releasing Corporation
  • 1 h 28 m
  • 1972
  • PG
  • Cinerama Releasing Corporation
  • 1 h 28 m

Asylum

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 6 Critic Reviews
65
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Where to Watch

Summary A young psychiatrist interviews four inmates in a mental asylum to satisfy a requirement for employment. He hears stories about 1) the revenge of a murdered wife, 2) a tailor who makes a suit with some highly unusual qualities, 3) a woman who questions her sanity when it appears that her brother is conspiring against her, and 4) a man wh...

Directed By: Roy Ward Baker

Written By: Robert Bloch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Barbara Parkins

Bonnie (segment "Frozen Fear")

Richard Todd

Walter (segment "Frozen Fear")

Sylvia Syms

Ruth (segment "Frozen Fear")

Peter Cushing

Smith (segment "The Weird Tailor")

Barry Morse

Bruno (segment "The Weird Tailor")

Ann Firbank

Anna (segment "The Weird Tailor")

John Franklyn-Robbins

Stebbins (segment "The Weird Tailor")

Britt Ekland

Lucy (segment "Lucy Comes to Stay")

Charlotte Rampling

Barbara (segment "Lucy Comes to Stay")

James Villiers

George (segment "Lucy Comes to Stay")

Megs Jenkins

Miss Higgins (segment "Lucy Comes to Stay")

Herbert Lom

Byron (segment "Mannikins of Horror")

Patrick Magee

Dr. Rutherford (segment "Framing story")

Robert Powell

Dr. Martin (segment "Framing story")

Geoffrey Bayldon

Max (segment "Framing story")

Frank Forsyth

Asylum Gatekeeper (segment "Mannikins of Horror")

Daniel Johns

Otto the Dummy (segment "The Weird Tailor")

Sylvia Marriott

Asylum Head Nurse (segment "Mannikins of Horror")

Tony Wall

New Houseman (segment "Mannikins of Horror")

View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 6 Critic Reviews
65
67% Positive
4 Reviews
33% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 6 Critic Reviews
65
67% Positive
4 Reviews
33% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
83
Asylum was written by Robert Bloch, the author of the original novel Psycho, and produced by the U.K.’s Amicus Productions, which was responsible for a series of horror anthologies during the ’60s and ’70s. Asylum remains, by far, their finest offering, in part because of its pitch-perfect gothic mood, and in part because its stories present varied perspectives on the depths of obsessive madness.
By Nick Schager FULL REVIEW
80
They're all rather deliciously far-fetched stories but fun to watch. And the demented camera angles and fast pacing makes the tales far more unsettling than you might imagine.
FULL REVIEW
75
Asylum tries telling similar tales (twice) and comes up pathetically short in the scare department, but the atmosphere and theatrics of the Amicus presentation make it a more than worthwhile trip down memory lane for die-hard horror buffs.
By Jeremiah Kipp FULL REVIEW
70
It's a trim little chiller, with a moderate quota of blood and mayhem, polished performances and smooth direction.
FULL REVIEW
60
Buoyed by a distinguished cast of horror veterans, Bloch's well-written script, and Baker's deft direction, Asylum is the most satisfying of the horror anthologies of the 1970s.
FULL REVIEW
50
I think Bloch and Rosenberg should get organized and take on the cabbage. If nothing else, a horror movie about cabbages could help Rosenberg work through his obsession and save a lot of analyst's fees.
By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Harbour Productions Limited, Amicus Productions
Release Date Nov 17, 1972
Duration 1 h 28 m
Rating PG
Genres
Tagline See what the author of "Psycho" is up to now!
View All Details

Awards

Berlin International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations

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