Asylum

Asylum                                                                                    G

I usually try to reserve this blog for more recent fare, but I never saw this anthology film from 1972 until now after seeing it posted on social media (keep informing me!).  Yes, I always amaze myself at what I haven’t seen and still wonder what I have yet to see (or just never got around to seeing).  I’m especially surprised I haven’t seen this before considering I love anthology films, love Seventies movies, and the segments were based on stories by Robert Bloch (most famous for penning Psycho).  There are four tales contained amongst a wraparound story which is arguably a tale itself tied in with one of them.  A potential hire arrives at an asylum and is tasked with meeting the inmates (providing each segment) before answering a question that will be the determining factor for his employment.  You’ll recognize the one guy from A Clockwork Orange (Patrick Magee).  “Frozen Fear” involves an unfaithful husband that can’t seem to successfully get rid of his wife.  It works despite being slightly silly and audiences must have thought it was innovative at the time.  “The Weird Tailor” is about a down-on-his-luck (you guessed it…) tailor tasked with making a suit, initially unbeknownst to him, containing a rather specific quality; Peter Cushing appears.  “Lucy Comes to Stay” stars Charlotte Rampling and would be far from fresh nowadays, but it’s still an effective yarn and the only one I recalled reading the short story for while watching (it was largely faithful from recollection).  Finally, “Mannikins of Horror” ties in with the wraparound segment and involves a patient making lifelike dolls that wouldn’t seem out of place in a Puppet Master film.  Let’s just say the dolls look lifelike for a reason and things don’t turn out so well for the dollmaker and someone else in the asylum.  Afterwards, I read “Mannikins of Horror” and “Frozen Fear” from my Robert Bloch collection (The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch:  Final Reckonings), “The Weird Tailor” not being contained within, and, like “Lucy Comes to Stay,” the adaptations are largely faithful; I, myself, liked “Mannikins” better in print and “Frozen Fear” better visually.  This film is largely bloodless, but I can expect it given the time of release, and implied violence, as evidenced here, can sometimes suffice.  All in all, I didn’t dislike any of the segments even though they may not have felt fresh (this was released in 1972 after all), but given all that I’ve seen in my lifetime, anthology films or otherwise, this film was entirely passable viewed through a 2020 mindset.  I’m still amazed I haven’t seen it until now!  7/7/2020

Bonus review:

The Baby-Sitters Club:  Season One                           OK/G

I never read a single book in the series created by Ann M. Martin and I have an older sister that owned them all.  I was busier reading Goosebumps and Fear Street books (I still do!).  I read this was a modern update of the series available on Netflix and decided to give it a shot after seeing all the episodes were under 30-minutes, and I figured it couldn’t be as bad as that 1995 movie I just remember being corny (I might be more forgiving of its corniness now, but I don’t plan on re-watching it anytime soon).  Apparently there was another TV series in 1990 on HBO that I just found out about as of this writing.  As for this current adaptation, I did watch all 10 episodes in a short period of time, so that has to say something, no?  Like I said, I never read a single book and I’ve only seen the 1995 movie, so I wouldn’t know if any of this was faithful to the literary material; I just saw it as a harmless, coming-of-age series that clearly knows its target audience and everyone else might enjoy it if they momentarily set aside their age and gender; I think we’re all non-binary despite what any trans(women)phobic feminazi girly girls or homophobic toxic masculinists would say!  I, myself, would’ve preferred something more raw given it primarily involves seventh grade girls, but I still think it realistically incorporated much of what young girls (and boys) go through at that age, i.e. drama, fights, crushes, puberty, and it scores points for inclusivity (meaning sexuality and gender identity are recognized in addition to race and gender).  Now, I don’t plan on reading any of the books now, nor do I plan on checking out the 1990 series, or even look forward to any upcoming seasons, but for someone that never really was a fan of the series and kind of enjoyed it enough (at least momentarily), I’m curious as to what someone that actually is or was a fan will think.  7/8/2020

---Sean O.
7/9/2020